Alexander Povetkin knocked out Mike Perez in the first round in Moscow on Friday night to move closer to a heavyweight title fight. Photos by World of Boxing.

The Russian won inside the distance for the 21st time in 30 professional fights, finishing the elimination bout in 91 seconds.

He can now challenge the winner of the fight between WBC champion Deontay Wilder and Eric Molina who meet on June 13.

The 35-year-old Povetkin, the 2004 Olympic Games heavyweight champion, improved his professional record to 29-1 and again showed the power that makes him a dangerous challenger.

Perez, whose record fell to 21-2, with 13 shortcut wins, never recovered after stopping a crushing right in the first minute. The 29-year-old southpaw went down, got up and immediately returned to the deck as Povetkin completed the night’s work.

If Wilder retains his title against Molina and then defends it against Povetkin, another short fight will be on the cards because the American is undefeated after 33 fights, of which he won 32 inside the distance.

Povetkin has beaten fighters such as Ruslan Chagaev, Cedric Boswell, Marco Huck, Hasim Rahman and Andrzej Wawrzyk.

His only defeat was in October 2013 when Wladimir Klitschko, the WBO, IBF and IBO champion, beat him on points.

Povetkin Perez