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Klitschko camp worried Povetkin will back out again

Both Wladimir and Vitali Klitshcko are concerned that Alexander Povetkin will withdraw from his October 5 fight with Wladimir, as he's split with Vladimir Hryunov, who will promote the fight.

Ralph Orlowski

Will Alexander Povetkin go 0-for-3 on actually showing up for signed fights with Wladimir Klitschko? That's what the Klitschko team is worried will happen, now that Povetkin and many other fighters have left manager Vladimir Hryunov, whose $23 million purse bid won the fight, which is currently signed for October 5.

Wladimir had this to say a few days ago:

"I'm careful when it comes Povetkin," Klitschko said to the Hamburg Morgenpost. "In the past, we've twice agreed to fight and he pulled out. With Povetkin you never know what'll happen. He pays close attention to what others tell him. I hope his people tell him to fight."

Older brother Vitali added his concerns recently:

"Based on the fact that the fight fell apart twice, we fear that - God forbid - the fight could fall through again for a third time without reason. For our part, Team Klitschko, I can say that Wladimir is ready to prove [his worth against] any athlete in the world and defend the title against the strongest [contenders], whoever it is, including Povetkin," Vitali said.

Povetkin (26-0, 18 KO) pulled out of signed fights with Klitschko in 2008 and 2009, replaced by Hasim Rahman and Ruslan Chagaev, respectively. The massive amount of money on the table for this fight makes it less likely that he'd withdraw, but there is that sense that it's very possible. Povetkin, Denis Lebedev, and other fighters recently broke their connection to Hryunov after some controversy during Lebedev's loss to Guillermo Jones, which involved a fight doctor claiming he was ordered to not stop the fight despite Lebedev's severe eye injury.

Will Povetkin bail again, or will the fight finally happen? And if he does pull out, would you have more sympathy this time if the reason is Hryunov and not money, "fear," or whatever else?

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