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Doping scandal in Russian sports

International Testing Agency temporarily suspends Russian boxer Povetkin

Alexander Povetkin announced his retirement from sports in 2021

MOSCOW, October 31. /TASS/. The International Testing Agency (ITA) has temporarily suspended Russian boxer Alexander Povetkin on suspicion of violating anti-doping regulations, the ITA’s press office said in a statement on Thursday.

Povetkin was officially ruled to be suspended by the ITA on October 21 based on the database from the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory and the agency officially announced its ruling today. The suspected anti-doping rule violation was reported by the International Boxing Federation (IBA) on October 25, 2014.

On October 14, 2014, Povetkin defeated Cameroon’s Carlos Takam in the fight for the WBC (World Boxing Council) Silver champion's belt.

The ITA announced that it had temporarily suspended Russian boxer Povetkin on suspicion of violating anti-doping regulations and, according to the source close to the situation in Povetkin’s team, traces of Enobosarm, the same substance for which he already served a sentence in 2016, was detected in the Russian boxer's testing sample.

The source also said that Povetkin would come up with substantiated arguments in his defense against the pressed accusations and his suspension.

"Alexander has already served a penalty regarding this violation. There must not be a follow-up punishment regarding this offence. The necessary data on what had happened will be provided," the anonymous source added.

Commenting on the news about Povetkin’s recently emerged doping accusations, Interim Secretary General of the European Boxing Confederation (EUBC) Kirill Shchekutyev told TASS that at this point, these allegations are simply "idiotic."

"This is just ridiculous," Shchekutyev said. "After all these years, they are trying to find something. It's becoming idiotic."

Povetkin, 45, is known to the fans as the ‘Russian Vityaz,’ and boasts a personal record of 36 wins (25 KOs), three defeats and one draw throughout his career. The Russian boxer is also the gold medalist of the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens.

He announced his retirement in 2021 and in May 2024 Povetkin was appointed to the post of the deputy governor of Russia’s Vologda Region.

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Doping scandal in Russian sports

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