POVETKIN-RAHMAN BACK ON FOR SEPT. 29 AS PART OF HEAVYWEIGHT TWIN BILL

Press Release: Hamburg, Germany will host a heavyweight doubleheader on September 29th. The main event will be the WBA regular championship bout between Alexander Povetkin (24-0, 16 KOs) (pictured) and ex-world champion Hasim Rahman (50-7-2, 41 KOs). The co-feature has European champion Kubrat Pulev (16-0, 8 KOs) defending against giant Alexander Ustinov (27-0, 21 KOs) from Russia in an IBF eliminator.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.eventim.de and www.boxen.com.

“We were going to fight in Hamburg on July 14. But we had to cancel the event due to an injury sustained by the challenger Hasim Rahman. Now it seems that Rahman is back to full fitness and we are happy to be fighting in Hamburg on September 29,” said Sauerland Event's Chris Meyer.

This will be Povetkin's second outing in Hamburg, located in the north of Germany. In November of 2005 he won a one-sided decision against Canadian Stephane Tessier. “I still remember this fight really well. After that, I have been to Hamburg on several occasions visiting my promoter Kalle Sauerland,” said Povetkin. The 32-year-old is planning on delivering a great fight against the former champion from the USA who beat Lennox Lewis in 2000.

“This will be my third defence since winning the [vacant] title last year against Ruslan Chagaev. I have been preparing a long time for this fight. Obviously I was disappointed after Rahman pulled out in July due to his injury. But that is in the past. Now my whole focus is on September 29th and defending the world championship in Hamburg.”

The 31-year-old Pulev won the EBU-Title against Alexander Dimitrenko in Erfurt on May 5. The student of coach Otto Ramin, who trains in Berlin, has a huge following in his homeland Bulgaria. Now his next mission is to defend the European title against the Russian colossus Ustinov who weighs over 300 pounds. But the winner will not only be in possession of the belts but he will also move up to number one in the rankings of the IBF and is one step closer to a fight for the world championship.