Wilder, 30, is set to put his heavyweight belt on the line next January 16 against an opponent to be named despite the fact that number one contender Povetkin was stipulated to be given his chance before the end of the same month.
Povetkin’s impressive final round win over Mariusz Wach last week means the Russian former WBA champion won’t be ready in time to take on Wilder and Sulaiman has now moved to outlined the situation as it currently stands.
“I think it’s important to note that Povetkin is the mandatory and was offered the fight immediately after Wilder’s voluntary against Johann Duhaupas in September,” Sulaiman exclusively told World Boxing News.
“By that time, Povetkin had already signed a title defense of his silver WBC championship on November 4 against Wach and advised us that he would be ready to contest for the title between April and May of 2016.
“That is the reason the WBC has approved this latest voluntary on January 16 for Wilder as it would not be fair to make the champion sit around waiting for the challenger,” he added.
Wilder has been linked to facing a host of names already, including Vyacheslav Glazkov and Lucas Browne, both of whom are ranked below Povetkin in the latest WBC Ratings.
An announcement is expected by the end of November as ‘The Bronze Bomber’ aims for a 36th straight win before taking on the former Olympic gold medallist.
