Heavyweight contenders Hughie Fury and Alexander Povetkin will clash on Aug. 31 at the O2 Arena in London, Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn announced Wednesday.
The bout will take place on the undercard when pound-for-pound king and unified lightweight world champion Vasiliy Lomachenko defends his belts and goes for a vacant title against England’s Luke Campbell. The card will stream live in the Untied States on ESPN+ (5 p.m. ET) and air on Sky Box Office pay-per-view in the United Kingdom.
“I can’t quite believe this fight has been made,” Hearn said. “It’s happened very quickly and it has to be said Hughie Fury has a big set of balls. There’s huge risk in the fight, but there is also huge reward and if Hughie can beat Povetkin, he catapults himself into huge fights and immediate world title contention.”
Former world title challenger Fury, a first cousin of lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, signed with Hearn last week and will take former secondary world titlist Povetkin in the first bout of their deal.
“I can’t wait. These are the kind of fights I want to be in,” Fury said. “Matchroom can get me these big names and I’m just really looking forward to it. Povetkin is a dangerous man. You can’t take anything away from that. He’s not been where he’s been for nothing. It’s a very serious fight, but I’m confident of getting the win on the night.
“This fight here represents a massive opportunity. As soon as it was suggested, I said yes. Povetkin is a completely different level to my last fight and I believe his style will complement mine.”
Fury (23-2, 13 KOs), 24, of England, has won two fights in a row since a decision loss to Kubrat Pulev in a world title eliminator in October. Fury’s only other loss came by majority decision challenging then-world titlist Joseph Parker in 2017.
Povetkin (34-2, 24 KOs), 39, a 2004 Russian Olympic gold medalist with two failed drug tests for performance-enhancing drugs on his checkered resume, will be coming off an 11-month layoff since suffering a highlight-reel seventh-round knockout challenging then-unified world titleholder Anthony Joshua last September at Wembley Stadium in London.
“Hughie Fury is a young, strong and challenging boxer for me to face,” said Povetkin, whose only other defeat came by decision challenging then-unified world champion Wladimir Klitschko in 2013. “I am glad this fight will take place in the United Kingdom where people really love their boxing. I am anticipating an exciting fight and I look forward to returning to London next month.”