Promoter Eddie Hearn is looking for a new opponent for heavyweight Dillian Whyte 27-2 (18) after Alexander Povetkin 36-2-1 (25) was hospitalised.
The 41-year-old Russian veteran scored a come-from-behind one-punch knockout of Whyte in the fifth round of the 12-round contest at Matchroom Fight Camp in Brentwood, Essex in August.
Povetkin was down twice in the fourth round before landing a bomb of an uppercut in the following frame to end proceedings at the 0:30 mark.
An immediate rematch was quickly organised for November before being rescheduled for January 30 after Povetkin tested positive for Covid-19.
Povetkin’s promoter Andrei Ryabinsky now says it is unlikely his charge will be ready for the new date.
“Alexander had to go to the hospital again to be examined. Days after he was discharged and now he had just started training. We will increase the workload in stages, under the supervision of doctors,” Ryabinsky told TASS.
“For now, he looks like he won’t be able to fight Whyte in January. We must face the consequences of the virus and we will not allow Povetkin’s health to be put at risk.”
Matchroom Boxing boss Hearn, who promotes Whyte, is now trying to hastily organise a replaced fighter for the assignment.
The four-man shortlist of opponents consists of former world champions Deontay Wilder and Andy Ruiz Jr, along with perennial contenders Luis Ortiz and Dereck Chisora.
“We will be reaching out to other players in the heavyweight division to see if they fancy it,” Hearn told Sky Sports News.
“I’d love to make Ruiz Jr vs Whyte, Wilder vs Whyte, Ortiz vs Whyte.
“Chisora is always ready. He is another name to throw in the mix, potentially, for Whyte if the Povetkin fight is delayed.
“He is always in excellent fights, always entertaining, he is on good form.
“But I really feel that Dillian needs to wipe that [defeat] off his record against Povetkin.
“That fight was planned for January 30 and previously November 21.
“Povetkin does need more time recovering from Covid but not too long. We expect him to have a four-week delay.
“When I conveyed that news to Whyte it didn’t go down very well!
“His first question was: ‘Who else can we fight?’
“‘Can we fight Luis Ortiz, Deontay Wilder, Andy Ruiz Jr?’
“The answer is: ‘Yes any of those would be fantastic’.
“But he does want, more than anything, to avenge the defeat that he suffered at the hands of Povetkin.
“That is on his mind.
“So I said to him: ‘I think you should wait [to fight Povetkin]’.”
Last weekend Whyte was ringside at The SSE Arena in Wembley, London to watch his old rival Anthony Joshua knock out Kubrat Pulev in nine rounds
“It was a strange performance,” Whyte told Sky Sports.
“Don’t get me wrong, he did well. He got the job done.
“But strange because he was like he was trapped between two different styles.
“What got him the victory was going back to the old him and being aggressive.
“It was a good performance but he could have made easier work of it. He let Pulev hang around longer than he needed to.”
