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The heavyweight potential blockbuster between Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder was put at risk with the WBA, which ordered Joshua to sign an agreement to fight mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin.
Joshua was given only 24 hours to accept an agreement to fight Povetkin, with the fight expected to take place in September.
Wilder, who owns the WBC heavyweight belt, reportedly failed to sign a contract sent to him by Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn.
The WBA gave Joshua 's team a one – month extension to negotiate with Wilder but eventually lost patience this week.
"Today, the WBA has asked for an answer to Anthony Joshua's team regarding his fight with mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin," said WBA President Gilbert Mendoza at Sportsmail in a statement.
"The WBA has allowed more than a month to extend negotiations with Povetkin and also ongoing discussions with Deontay Wilder.
"It seems that Wilder's team has not returned the contract for the fight and therefore we are asking for a date for Joshua's fight against Povetkin with immediate effect."
A unification fight between Joshua and Wilder seemed to be coming to fruition after the American announced on social media in June that he was going to fight in the UK this year.
Hearn sent a contract to the Wilder team, but it still has not been signed two weeks later.
Povetkin (34-1) was recently defeated on the undercard of Joshua's victory over Joseph Parker unanimously in Cardiff, winning a devastating fifth-round knockout against David Price.
The 38-year-old has a victory over former two-time heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman, whom he eliminated in two rounds in 2012. Povetkin can also boast of victories over Joshua's former player Carlos Takam and former WBA champion Ruslan Chagaev.
The solitary professional loss of Povetkin was decided unanimously by Wladimir Klitschko in 2013.
Sources suggest that a Joshua-Povetkin fight would take place in September, forcing a unification fight with Wilder until February 2019 at the earliest.
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