By Yuri Tarantin
According to Ivan Kirpa, trainer for Olympic gold medal winner Alexander Povetkin (30-1, 22KOs), his fighter is ready - right now - to face WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (36-0, 34KOs).
Povetkin was back on November 4th when he stopped Polish giant Mariusz Wach in the twelfth round of their bout in Kazan. Wilder is set to make a voluntary defense on January 16th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The opponent could very well be IBF mandatory challenger Czar Glazkov.
Wilder captured the title in January when he decisioned Bermane Stiverne. He then knocked out Eric Molina in June and came back in September to batter Johann Duhaupas for another knockout win.
Povetkin is the mandatory challenger to the title and wants to face Wilder as soon as possible. The WBC has allowed Wilder to make the voluntary defense in January.
"I don't even like to talk about it, because I never talk about an upcoming fight when there is no fight....there is no date and no signed contract. Right now Wilder still has to fight in January, and this is a voluntary defense but anything can happen. I don't want to look too far ahead by analyzing the opponent, but I can say this - Alexander is ready to fight him right now," Kirpa said.
Povetkin suffered a cut during the win over Wach. Kirpa says the wound was not deep and won't create any issues.
Some felt Wach was a starting point for a fight with Wilder, but Kirkpa disagrees.
"Personally, I do not consider this fight as a rehearsal for a fight with Wilder. Wilder and Wach may have similar features [like height], but in general they are different boxers. We would have the opportunity to hold another training camp - if the fight will take place - where we'd work out the strategy for Wilder. We have enough time to prepare for this fight. Wilder is very tall and he does have explosive properties and a powerful punch. But he also has his drawbacks, which we can use to our advantage," Kirpa said.
Yuri Tarantin covers boxing for Allboxing.ru