Don King suggests Stiverne-Povetkin fight could be at site of 'Rumble in the Jungle' or 'Thrilla in Manila'
Never one to let a good idea go to waste, legendary promoter Don King wants to take the WBC heavyweight fight between Bermane Stiverne and Alexander Povetkin to a far-flung international location, listing The Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly Zaire, and The Philippines as possible sites.
King, who promotes Stiverne, the WBC's No. 2-ranked fighter, suggests the bout against No. 1 Povetkin to decide the challenger to injured WBC champion Deontay Wilder will happen before the end of 2016. The winner will become the interim champion and defend the title until Wilder is ready to come back from a broken hand and torn biceps muscle sustained in his July KO of Chris Arreola.
The WBC has said that the negotiation period for Povetkin vs. Stiverne began on Aug. 17, and unless a deal is made before Sept. 16, a purse bid will be conducted, with a 50-50 split for each fighter, plus random drug testing conducted by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) for the bout.
King says Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and Russia are also among international possibilities and New York and Las Vegas could be in the mix as well. The Congo (formerly Zaire) hosted the "Rumble in the Jungle" in 1976 and the Philippines hosted the legendary "Thrilla in Manila" in 1975 between Ali and Joe Frazier.
Despite all of King's talk of revisiting sites from 40 years ago, if Povetkin's promoter wins the purse bid, it's likely the fight will take place in Russia.
The 85-year-old King promoted Ali in his "Rumble in the Jungle" against George Foreman, best remembered as the fight Ali introduced the "rope-a-dope" strategy and knocked Foreman out in one of the great upsets in heavyweight history.
"This sparked the idea to do something fantastic by memorializing 'The Greatest of All Time' Muhammad Ali, to the benefit of the people," said King "So, reflecting on my memories and my historical association with The Greatest … Ali, we, his spirit and I, seized upon the idea to create 'A Salute to Greatness Championship Series' by celebrating and paying homage to great boxing champions of the world and paying tribute to great champions of humanity and peace for the world. . . . We will spotlight countries that four decades ago held the most memorable heavyweight fights in history. We will visit new countries that may be able to have that same impact on, to gain international fame and acclaim, catapulting the name of their country to the forefront of world recognition. . . .
"We want to bring the world together. I have been taking calls for weeks from interested parties and we will consider all options. We want to reverse the effects that war, hatred, bombs and bullets have had …and with love, respect, harmony and togetherness we can make a better world."
King has also said he would love to have Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump sitting ringside.
Stiverne, 37 (25-2-1, 21 KOs) is the only fighter who has gone the distance with Wilder, losing a unanimous decision and his WBC title to "The Bronze Bomber" in January 2015 in Las Vegas. He has fought just once since, a victory against Derric Rossy last November.
"I would like to thank Don King and the honorable Mauricio Sulaiman of the WBC for giving me this opportunity to fight for the heavyweight title once again," said Stiverne. "For the betterment of boxing in general, and the heavyweight division in particular, I plan to knock Povetkin out and bring this title to America. Then I will get my revenge against Wilder, when he is ready."
Povetkin (30-1, 22 KOs) is the former WBA heavyweight champion, winning the title against Ruslan Chagaev in 2011, followed by four successful defenses before losing the belt to Wladimir Klitschko in October 2013. Povetkin has since won four in a row. But his scheduled title fight against Wilder in Moscow on May 21 was canceled less than a week before the fight when Povetkin tested positive for meldonium, a performance-enhancing drug that aids in stamina.
Povetkin, 36, not only avoided suspension but is now one win away from realizing that title fight against Wilder.
(Photo of boxing promoter Don King talking to the media at the Republican Convention by Robert Deutsch, Paste BN)