by Nino Celic | Mon. July 19, 2010

At today's official press conference for the Klitschko vs. Povetkin fight set for Sept. 11, the Ukrainian champion, Wladimir Klitschko, had to pose with a cardboard version of Alexander Povetkin because his opponent didn't show up. Povetkin, who suffers from sinusitis, sent Klitschko a fax at 11:50 pm yesterday stating he would not be in attendance at the press conference in Frankfurt.

Klitschko's Manager Bernd Bönte is clearly irritated: "He can train, but he cannot fly. To me that sounds like an excuse. This behaviour is incomprehensible and clearly unprofessional."

By not attending such events as today's press conference Povetkin is taking the risk of breaking the contract he recently signed. The consequences as yet are unclear, but there is a possibility of the IBF dropping Povetkin as the mandatory challenger, which means the man currently ranked the IBF's #2 heavyweight, Samuel Peter could step in to face Klitschko.

Klitschko also expressed his discontent with Povetkin's behavior saying, "I didn't choose Povetkin. He is the number one in the rankings, he is my mandatory challenger. If Povetkin doesn't seize this chance, it's his own fault."

This is only the latest bump in the road on the way to a Klitschko vs. Povetkin fight. The Russian infamously tripped over a tree root, scrapping his last slated match with the champion.