Eddie Hearn has claimed that Anthony Joshua’s proposed WBA mandatory defence against Alexander Povetkin is a “much more competitive fight” than a potential match-up against Deontay Wilder.
The bout, in which Povetkin enters as mandatory challenger for Joshua WBA ‘Super’ belt, has been rumoured to be slated for September, with the teams holding a meeting today and a deal expected to be made imminently.
After the WBA issued an ultimatum to Joshua and promoter Eddie Hearn yesterday – giving them just 24 hours to make a deal for the bout to take place – it appears that negotiations have moved swiftly between representatives of the two camps.
“I’m happy that everything is working out.” said Povetkin’s promoter Andrey Ryabinskiy in an interview with Sky Sports.
“It’s been a pleasure going through the negotiations with Eddie and I cannot wait for us to start the preparations for the fight.”
Vadim Kornilov, Povetkin’s manager, also participated in the meeting, and was hopeful when discussing a potential timeframe for the bout to be completed.
“We are very close and we plan to finalise the deal very soon.” he told Sky Sports.
“The WBA has actually been very patient, but now they are pushing us to finalise this mandatory deal.”
Kornilov would go on to state that he felt a match-up between Joshua and Povetkin would represent the best fight in the division currently – and not the heavily-hyped potential bout between Joshua and WBC champion Deontay Wilder.
“I think Povetkin and Joshua are two gold medallists, a very competitive, top of the line fight. I think this is the best fight in the heavyweight division today.” he finished.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn – who has come in for criticism from some sections of the boxing fraternity after being perceived to be stalling the Joshua-Wilder fight – agreed with Kornilov, claiming that Joshua vs Povetkin would be a “much more competitive” fight than a bout against Wilder.
“If the Wilder-Joshua fight is going to happen, it’s going to happen. Right now Povetkin-Joshua and that’s what it’s all about.” said Hearn.
“The fans should be happy, they should not be disappointed, because to be honest with you, I think the fans are going to get a much more competitive and exciting fight in this one.”
“Wilder-Joshua has been a lot of hype, this fight is the real deal.” Hearn finished.
Kornilov would conclude the interview by reiterating his faith in his fighter, calling the contest a “50-50 fight” before going on to state that the former WBA World heavyweight champion is confident of toppling the unbeaten British superstar.
“Povetkin wanted the fight really bad, and I believe that in this fight, it’s a 50-50 fight, it could go either way.” said Kornilov.
“The motivation and the desire for this fight shows Povetkin’s confidence.”