By Igor Lazorin, tass

The B-Sample to Alexander Povetkin's failed random drug test, from December 6th, will be opened in January, according to his promoter Andrey Ryabinsky from World of Boxing.

On December 17th, Povetkin was scheduled to face Bermane Stiverne for the interim-WBC heavyweight title, but everything fell apart on the morning of the fight after Povetkin’s drug test from December 6th, handled by VADA, came back positive for Ostarine. The event still went forward with Povetkin knocking out very late replacement Johann Duhaupas in six rounds.

Povetkin and his team believe there some form of contamination either from food or a dietary supplement - and they feel confident in their position based on the minor trace of Ostarine - [0,00000000001g] - found in Povetkin's system.

Povetkin's team is conducting their own investigation after the boxer's random drug test from December 13th - taken four days before the fight and also handled by testing agency VADA - came back clean. There was also a test done on December 15, which also came back clean.

"Team Povetkin has requested an autopsy of the B-sample. Presumably it will be opened in January of next year," Ryabinsky said.

But, this is the second positive test for Povetkin in the last seven months. He failed a drug test in the lead-up to his scheduled title fight with WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder back in May. That fight was also canceled.

The last time he tested positive was for meldonium, which became a banned substance in January of this year. Povetkin admitted to taking the drug last year when it was legal. In that matter, the WBC conducted an investigation and cleared him of any wrongdoing. The WBC has an ongoing investigation on what transpired.