“I actually invited them to come and see Aleksander fight on April 4 against Jason Estrada. We will get our title shot after that and I want Wladimir Klitchko to see that my fighter is ready for him.”

Last summer Aleksandr faced another American, Taurus “The Bull” Sykes, before his title bout with Vladimir Klitchko. It ended in embarrassment for Sykes and triumph for Povetkin, who floored him in the fourth round.

The IBF heavyweight title fight was scheduled for December, but the Russian Knight sprained his ankle ligament and the shot was given to someone else.

The extra year has played into Povetkin's hands.

“You will see my condition in the ring. I feel good now, but I will feel excellent on the day of the fight. Since last year I started paying more attention to defense. That's probably one major change since last year. But you will see everything in the ring,” says Povetkin.

In the run up to the Taurus-Sykes fight, Povetkin had a couple of great sparring partners. This time around, another American stepped in to help. Leo Nolan (27 wins – 10 of them by knockout) is sure he's helped Povetkin with his jab, and as a smaller fighter, helped him with speed as well.

Povetkin's injury seems to be a thing of the past at the moment. But it certainly remains in the thoughts of the Russian boxer despite all the time and resources devoted to his readiness.