WBC interim heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin could be two fights from retirement, according to promoter Andrei Ryabinsky.
Earlier this week, Povetkin (36-2-1, 25 KOs) withdrew from a projected January return with Dillian Whyte for a second time after struggling with the effects of the Coronavirus. The Russian had previously pulled out of a November 30 rematch after contracting Covid-19 in his homeland.
Povetkin, of course, stunned Whyte with a fifth-round KO in August, having dragged himself off the canvas on two occasions in the previous round. The 41-year-old is the nearing the end of his career and Ryabinsky hopes that retirement beckons in two fights’ time. Povetkin-Whyte II now seems likely to land in March.
“I think that he needs to retire, I will try to persuade him,” Ryabinsky told Match TV. “[Alexander] had to return to the hospital for an additional examination. The other day he was discharged and is only now starting to train. We will increase the training load in stages, under the supervision of doctors. Boxing is a serious load on the body, I will not allow Alexander’s health to be risked.
“The date [of January 30] is no longer relevant, but it will not move by much, probably to the beginning of March. I think the fight will take place in London. Negotiations are at the stage of determining the dates, everything else is already there, everything else has been agreed upon.”
Main image: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing.