By Carlos Boogs

On the eve of his world title eliminator, World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman has announced that Alexander Povetkin (30-1-0, 22 KO’s) has tested positive for a banned substance.

The fight is now in jeopardy. He is scheduled to face Bermane Stiverne (25-2-1, 21 KO’s) on Saturday night at the Ekaterinburg Expo Center in Ekaterinburg, Russia. The winner of their highly anticipated clash will be the mandatory challenger to current WBC Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.

Sulaiman announced on the social networks that he was informed by testing agency VADA, that Povetkin tested positive for ostarine, which is the same substance that Lucian Bute tested positive for in the aftermath of his draw against Badou Jack on April 30 at the D.C. Armory in Washington, D.C.

"The WBC has been notified by VADA of adverse result of banned substance Ostarine from Alexander Povetkin. Ruling to come soon," wrote Sulaiman.

According to documents online, the drug may be used by athletes to assist in training and increase physical stamina and fitness, potentially producing effects similar to anabolic steroids. For this reason, it was banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency in January 2008.

Back in May,Povetkin was scheduled to fight Wilder, but shortly before the fight was going to take place - it became known that Povetkin had tested positive for meldonium.Povetkin admitted to taking the drug last year, when it was still legal. The drug was officially listed as a "banned substance" in January of this year.

The WBC conducted a very long investigation, and they cleared Povetkin and approved him to take part in this eliminator with Stiverne.

A few weeks ago, Stiverne came up positive for a banned substance in a random drug test. After a brief investigation, it was revealed that Stiverne had inadvertently ingested the substance from an energy drink.