By Vadim Pushkin

Russia's Alexander Povetkin (31-1, 23 KOs) is hoping to get a crack at the new king of the heavyweight division, WBA, IBO, IBF world champion Anthony Joshua (19-0, 19 KOs) of the UK.

Back in April, Joshua secured the throne after surviving a knockdown in the sixth round to eventually stop former division ruler Wladimir Klitschko in eleven rounds before a crowd of 90,000 fans at Wembley in London.

Povetkin lost a twelve round decision to Klitschko back in 2013. Since then, the former WBA champion has knocked out five opponents in a row. He fights later today in Russia, against tough Andrey Rudenko (31-2, 19 KOs) of Ukraine.

Povetkin, like Joshua, won a gold medal in the Olympic games. Povetkin got his medal in 2004, while Joshua became an Olympic champion in 2012.

Joshua is set to return in the fall, either in a rematch with Klitschko or a mandatory title defense against Kubrat Pulev.

"I have a desire to fight for all the championship belts. I was set to fight for the WBC's version, but as you can see they took me and shoved me to the side. But I think that the truth will still be on our side. Deontay Wilder or Joshua? Both are strong fighters, but I don't like to plan something in advance. At the moment, I need to get through this fight with Andrey Rudenko, but I would be interested in facing Joshua, who is also an Olympic champion," Povetkin told Oleg Bogatov.

Povetkin failed two drug tests last year. One that canceled a planned fight with Wilder, and another in December that canceled a planned fight with Bermane Stiverne.

After testing positive for ostarin prior to the fight with Stiverne, Povetkin was removed from the rankings by all of the major sanctioning bodies - and he was suspended by the WBC.

But, he's recently reclaimed his standing with the WBA and WBO - and both organizations have sanctioned regional titles for the Rudenko fight. If Povetkin wins, he will likely have a place in the top ten of both sanctioning bodies.