The hits keep coming for Alexander Povetkin, whose positive test for Ostarine scuttled an interim WBC title fight against Bermane Stiverne in December. "Sasha’s" B sample has come back positive for the drug, a selective androgen receptor modulator which provides benefits similar to anabolic steroids.
Promoter Andrey Ryabinski stood firm behind his assertion that the minuscule quantities of the drug found in his system prove Povetkin’s innocence, the same stance he took when the former Olympic gold medalist tested positive for meldonium. RT reports that this could result in an "indefinite ban from all WBC events."
Povetkin (31-1, 23 KO) is 5-0 since falling to Wladimir Klitschko in 2013, finishing all five in brutal fashion. Most recently, he obliterated Johann Duhaupas, who replaced Stiverne on less than a day’s notice.
Barring standout performance from World of Boxing’s legal team, this could signal the end of Povetkin’s run as a contender. As World Boxing News points out, he's now 37 and can’t afford the sort of layoff this result entails.
Russia gonna Russia, I suppose.