Next week’s huge heavyweight showdown between Russia’s Alexander Povetkin and WBC champion Deontay Wilder is in danger of cancellation, as Povetkin has reportedly tested positive for meldonium.
On Saturday, May 21st, WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (36-0, 35 KOs) is scheduled to travel to Russia, where he’ll face Alexander Povetkin (30-1, 22 KOs), who stands to date as the biggest challenge of his career. A win for the American would more than validate him as an elite heavyweight, and answer a lot of questions about he would fare against tougher competition.
…That is, until a VADA (Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency) drug test result came back. The promoter for Povetkin set up VADA testing for both fighters, which he’d planned after successfully winning the purse bid to stage the fight. Unfortunately, one week out from the big showdown, ESPN’s Dan Rafael reports that Povetkin has tested positive for the controversially banned meldonium.
Two sources with knowledge of test have told ESPN that Povetkin tested positive for meldonium with title fight vs Wilder a week away.
— Dan Rafael (@danrafaelespn) May 13, 2016
Status of the #WilderPovetkin fight is unclear at the moment after Povetkin’s positive test. #boxing
— Dan Rafael (@danrafaelespn) May 13, 2016
Povetkin’s positive test was in a VADA-conducted urine test. #boxing
— Dan Rafael (@danrafaelespn) May 13, 2016
RingTV’s Mitchell Abramson also reported Povetkin’s failed test, and noted that the status of next week’s fight is now in jeopardy.
I can confirm Alexander Povetkin tested positive for meldonium, leaving heavyweight title fight with Wilder in doubt, according to a source.
— Mitchell Abramson (@mabramson13) May 13, 2016
Wilder was guaranteed at least $4.5 million, with Povetkin assured of just under $2 million. The remaining $715,000 of the $7.1 million purse would go to the winner.
Povetkin’s promoter released this statement, in which he denied that his fighter had taken meldonium since it was banned at the start of 2016.
1/2 @Ryabinskiy : Alexander Povetkin used to take meldonium in September last year, when the drug was permitted
— World of Boxing Rus (@worldofbox) May 13, 2016
2/2 @Ryabinskiy: Povetkin has not been taking this drug since January, but theoretically meldonium could remain in the blood #boxing
— World of Boxing Rus (@worldofbox) May 13, 2016
If the meldonium story sounds familiar, this has affected a UFC fighter. Islam Makhachev was pulled from last month’s UFC on FOX card after he had tested positive for the same substance, and in larger sporting terms, Maria Sharapova failed for meldonium. While meldonium is not approved for use in the US, it is primarily used in Russia (and Russian Federation members Moldova, Ukraine, Armenia, and Belarus), which ties directly into the overwhelming number of positive test results coming from that region. Karim Zidan’s Bloody Elbow article on WADA’s handling of the meldonium ban highlights the ongoing issue with the lack of clarity on when meldonium leaves the athlete’s system.
WADA has come under fire for their inefficient method of notifying athletes. Despite their efforts to publicize the information ahead of the ban at the start of the year, nearly 200 tests were flagged for meldonium after Jan 1. The agency also released a statement this week that meldonium could potentially linger in the athlete’s system months after they stop ingesting it. Therefore it is unclear whether some of the positive urine tests that occurred over the past few weeks/months actually contained meldonium samples from 2015.
“Limited data exists to date on the urinary excretion of meldonium,” WADA said in a statement. “Several studies are currently being conducted involving WADA-accredited laboratories, and WADA will share these results with its stakeholders when available.”
We’ll see what happens from here, but it looks like an important fight in boxing could be lost to a random drug test failure.
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