By Phil D. Jay

Londoner David Haye, the WBA heavyweight champion, is reportedly looking at other options in the event that his mandatory challenger, Ruslan Chagaev, is denied a license to box in Britain. Chagaev's Hepatitis B status will likely force the British Board to deny him the ability to box in England.

The 30-year-old champion has now turned his attention to the boxer ranked in the number two spot by WBA, Alexander Povetkin. According to Boxrec News, Haye is having positive negotiations to face the unbeaten 2004 Olympic gold medal winner. The possible bout would happen at the O2 Arena in London on May 21.

The 31-year-old Povetkin, who is 21-0 with 15 knockouts since turning pro in 2005, boasts victories over the likes of Chris Byrd, Larry Donald and Eddie Chambers on his unblemished record.

For Haye (25-1), it represents a disappointing step down from the unification bout that he promised to his fans, with the former cruiserweight champion overlooking the intended target Wladimir Klitschko, who decided to defend his WBO, IBO and IBF titles against Dereck Chisora on April 30th.

Phil D. Jay covers the boxing scene for worldboxingnews.net