Team Sauerland has announced that they had to pull out of the EBU purse bid for an Alexander Povetkin-Alexander Dimitrenko bout due to a scheduling conflict. With no free TV slot available on Germany’s ARD network prior to the summer break, Sauerland decided not to bid for the heavyweight fight. European cruiserweight champion Marco Huck and WBA heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev will fight in May before IBF middleweight champion King Arthur Abraham will return to the ring in June. “The EBU rulebook dictates that a fight has to take place within 60 days following the purse bid,” Sauerland Event General Manager Chris Meyer stated. “Unfortunately, our TV schedule is already full. That is why we had no opportunity to stage this bout. And to let Alexander fight on a Universum card was no option at all.”

Meyer left the door open on a potential meeting at some point in the future. He added: “Instead of waiting until August, we would like to give Dimitrenko the chance to fight for the vacant title now. Povetkin can still beat him in a couple of months.”

Povetkin (17-0, 12 KOs) made a successful return on April 4 when he defeated Jason Estrada in Dusseldorf to remain the IBF’s mandatory challenger. He was set to take on heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in December 2008 before an ankle injury forced the 2004 Olympic gold medal winner to postpone the showdown. The 17th victory in as many fights has put him back on track. “The win over Estrada was a step into the right direction,” Povetkin said. “I am back.”