Even though heavyweight champion Wladamir Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin both have other bouts scheduled, a purse bid was held Tuesday for their mandatory bout. In a huge surprise, Russian promoter Vladamir Hryunov won, with a whopping bid of $23,333,330.
It is believed to be the highest ever for a purse bid, and was far more than any could have hoped for the fight. K2, the Klitschko’s company, bid just over $7 million, and Povetkin’s promoter, Sauerland Event, bid just over $6 million at the event, which was held in Panama City.
Klitschko will get 75 percent of the bid ($17,499,997), while Povetkin gets 25% ($5,833,333). Those amounts will represent the most that either fighter has earned in their respective careers.
Should both fighters escape unscathed in their interim fights, a proposed date of Aug. 31 has been mentioned, with the fight possibly taking place in either Moscow, Berlin or Las Vegas.
Twice before Povetkin was the mandatory challenger for Klitschko, but failed to come off after the challenger pulled out. For those fights, K2 won the purse bid both times.
Wladamir Klitschko is first scheduled to make a title defense on May 4, when he faces Francesco Pianeta (28-0-1, 15 KO’s) of Italy. That fight will be held in Mannheim, Germany.
Povetkin, meanwhile, will fight on May 17 in Moscow. There he will be facing Andrzej Wawrzyk (27-0, 13 KO’s) in the main event.
Hryunov was required to make a deposit of 10% of his purse bid as down payment, $2.3 million, as the WBA rules state. If he defaults on the bid, he will forfeit the down payment, with the money being split between the fighters and the WBA.
