By Igor Lazorin, tass
Andrei Ryabinsky, promoter for Olympic gold medal winner and former WBA champion Alexander Povetkin (30-1, 22KOs), is planning to use VADA [Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency] for the mandatory showdown against WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (36-0, 35KOs).
In February, Ryabinsky submitted the winning purse bid to secure the promotional rights for the fight. He put in a bid of over $7 million to win, while Wilder's side, led by promoter Lou DiBella, put in $5.1 million.
The promoter will stage the highly anticipated event on May 21 in Moscow, Russia.
As part of his plan to beef up the event. He will set a high profile co-feature, which is going to have WBA cruiserweight champion Denis Lebedev and IBF champion Victor Ramirez battle in a unification. The bout was originally being planned for April 30th in Moscow.
Wilder's team demanded a solid organization to handled the drug testing protocol for the fight. VADA was one of the companies they preferred to use.
VADA is now working very closely with the World Boxing Council, who plan to start testing champions and top contenders on a regular basis for performance enhancing drugs.
"The WBC is working with VADA, and I understand that with them there are less problems and they have earned an excellent reputation and reputation. They can be trusted and recognized by the World Anti-Doping Agency," Ryabinsky said.