By Igor Lazorin, tass

Andrei Ryabinsky, promoter for Olympic gold medal winner Alexander Povetkin of Russia, says he's been in talks with Eddie Hearn, who promotes IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (21-0, 20 KOs).

Povetkin is the WBA and WBO mandatory challenger, and wants to fight Joshua sooner than later.

Both boxers were in action on Saturday night, before nearly 80,000 fans at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.

In the main event of the evening, Joshua went the distance for the first time when he won a twelve round unanimous decision over undefeated Joseph Parker to add the WBO title.

While Joshua-Parker lacked the necessary fireworks, the same can't be said for the co-feature involving Povetkin.

Povetkin pulled off a very brutal knockout victory over Olympic bronze medal winner David Price. Both boxers had scored knockdowns in the fourth round, but Povetkin landed a two-punch combination in the fifth round to drop Price down and out. The fight was waved off very quickly.

"We spoke with [Joshua's promoter] Eddie Hearn. We discussed beforehand that the next fight should take place between Povetkin and Joshua, but until the contract is signed, it's too early to talk about it as being something concrete. We plan to do it [fight] before the end of the year, probably in the fall," Ryabinsky said.

Whether or not they fight next, Povetkin will continue to remain as the official contender under the World Boxing Organization (WBO) and the World Boxing Association (WBA).

The 38-year-old Russian veteran has a record of 34 wins (24 by knockout), and one defeat. The sole defeat on his record came at the hands of then division ruler Wladimir Klitschko back in 2013. He's been on a real strong winning streak since then, with victories over Carlos Takam, Mariusz Wach, Christian Hammer, Manuel Charr, Johan Duhaupas and several others.