By Luke Furman

Polish heavyweight giant Mariusz Wach (31-1, 17 KOs) is not making a lot of money on November 4 when he steps in in the ring in Kazan for a big showdown with Olympic gold medal winner Alexander Povetkin (29-1, 21 KOs).

In fact, Wach is practically fighting for free. The fighter is having difficulties with his promoter Jimmy Burchfield and saw this fight as the perfect opportunity to get out of the contact. After this bout, Wach will become a free agent. Should he win, he might become the mandatory challenger to WBC champion Deontay Wilder. Povetkin is the current mandatory to the title.

"After four days of stormy negotiations, I signed the contract to fight with Povetkin. The situation is such that 90% of the purse will not fall into my pocket. The money will go to [everyone else like] Jimmy Burchfield, who must share with Mariusz Kolodzeem. But after the fight with Povetkin I will become a free agent. Therefore, the fight against Povetkin is practically taken for free," Wach explained.

"I will get [very little], and the amount is not even enough to fully cover the costs of training camp. I pay the additional amounts out of my own pocket. The fight with Povetkin will not only be to become the mandatory challenger for the title of the WBC, but also to gain freedom from the promotional contract."

Luke Furman covers boxing for bokser.org.