By Luke Furman

WBC silver heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin (29-1, 21KOs) says it wasn't easy to find sparring partners for Polish giant Mariusz Wach (31-1, 17KOs).

Both fighters have suffered a sole defeat to the same man, heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko. Their bout takes place on November 4th from the Basket-Hall Arena in Kazan.

The winner of Povetkin-Wach will move forward to a mandatory fight with WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. It's a dangerous fight for the Olympic gold medal winner from Russia. He could have sat back and waited for his shot but he wanted to stay active.

Povetkin's team had a tough time finding sparring partners with the size and fighting style of Wach.

He's been sparring with, among others, undefeated Robert Helenius.

"I have two training sessions per day, working five days a week," said Povetkin. "With the coaching staff we study the opponent, build strategy and tactics. I can say that Wach is a patient fighter and also very strong. Another feature of the Pole is his size. It was not easy to pick up sparring partners, who have relevant attributes to Wach. But everything is fine, I'm happy with how the training process is proceeding. I look forward to entering the ring," Povetkin said.

Luke Furman covers boxing for bokser.org