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Russian heavyweight boxer Povetkin to pay World Boxing Council $250,000 fine

On November 8 the WBC dropped the indefinite suspension against Povetkin

MOSCOW, November 8. /TASS/. Russian heavyweight boxer Alexander Povetkin still has to pay a fine of $250,000 to the World Boxing Council (WBC) although the organization earlier lifted his indefinite suspension, a boxing promoter told TASS on Wednesday.

"We have managed to prove that (banned substance) ostarine entered Povetkin’s body with nutritional supplements," Alexei Karpenko, a senior partner with Forward Legal company representing Povetkin’s interests, said in an interview with TASS.

"The fine will be paid since there was a fact of negligence regarding the sports nourishment, which led to the cancellation of a scheduled bout," Karpenko added.

Traces of prohibited substance ostarine were discovered in Povetkin’s doping sample in December 2016 before his bout with Canada’s Bermane Stiverne for the title of the interim WBC world champion.

The WBC ruled to suspend the Russian boxer indefinitely and slapped a financial penalty on him as well. Povetkin appealed the WBC’s decision this past April.

Earlier in the day, Andrey Ryabinsky, the head of the Boxing World promotion company, announced that the WBC dropped the indefinite suspension against Povetkin and the Russian boxer was again eligible for WBC bouts starting December 6.

Known to the fans as ‘Russian Vityaz,’ Povetkin (W-32; L-1; 23 KOs) was reinstated this summer in the ratings of the World Boxing Association (WBA), the World Boxing Organization (WBO) and the International Boxing Federation (IBF).

The Russian boxer held his latest fight on July 1 in Moscow against Ukraine’s Andriy Rudenko. Povetkin defeated his opponent by a twelve-round unanimous decision of the referees (120-109, 120-108, 120-108) and seized the WBO International and WBA Continental heavyweight titles.

Povetkin is scheduled for his next bout on December 16 against Romania’s Christian Hammer (W-22; L-4; 12 KOs). The fight will be held in Russia’s Urals city of Yekaterinburg.