By Vadim Pushkin

Andrei Ryabinsky, promoter for Olympic gold medal winner and former WBA champion Alexander Povetkin (30-1, 22KOs), has set down the date of May 21 in Moscow for the mandatory showdown against WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (36-0, 35KOs).

Last month, Ryabinsky submitted the winning purse bid to secure the promotional rights for the fight. He put in a bid of over $7 million to win, while Wilder's side, led by promoter Lou DiBella, put in $5.1 million.

The promoter revealed earlier this week that Wilder-Povetkin was going to take place in Russia.

As part of his plan to beef up the event. He will set a high profile co-feature, which is going to have WBA cruiserweight champion Denis Lebedev and IBF champion Victor Ramirez battle in a unification. The bout was originally being planned for April 30th in Moscow, but the plans have changed.

In an earlier article on BoxingScene.com, Ryabinsky explained the reasoning behind his decision to stage Wilder-Povetkin in Russia.

"I really thought about having the fight take place in America. There are positives in doing so. First, the economy. And secondly, Alexander will not have the pressure of dealing with [the local media] abroad. But I came to the conclusion that this is not a fight in which to experiment," Ryabinsky said.

"Still, it's a battle for the world title, and everything here is serious and calm. And we needed to create the right conditions which would help Alexander in this battle. Therefore, in this regard, I have decided to [disregard] economy and public relations - and do everything in Russia."

The Russian promoter admits that he is not making a profit with this fight taking place in Russia, considering the high cost of the purse bid and related event costs.

"I have another business where I'm earning well and I can afford, so to speak, to be involved in Russian boxing. That's why I just terribly hate it when they call me a promoter. Because in most cases the promoters are minor parasites who are profiting from the athletes. And for me, all of that makes me sick. We are people from different worlds who are on opposite sides."