Wilder KOs Povetkin over fight cancellation

World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder has won a fight with Russian contender Alexander Povetkin - not in the ring, but in the courthouse.

After less than an hour, a federal jury in Manhattan on Monday ruled in favor of Wilder in a civil trial, finding that Povetkin ingested meldonium after a World Anti-Doping Agency ban of the drug went into effect in January 2016.

A title bout between the two was canceled after the Russian tested positive for a banned substance.

The question of Povetkin's drug use was at the heart of dueling lawsuits the boxers had filed against each other over the match scheduled for last May in Moscow, which was called off after Povetkin tested positive for meldonium on April 27.

Lawyers for Wilder and promoter DiBella Entertainment Inc argued that Povetkin's positive urine test came after three negative ones earlier in April, which meant the Russian took the drug after passing the earlier tests.

But lawyers for Povetkin and promoter Andrew Ryabinskiy's company, World of Boxing LLC, said the fighter had, like many other athletes, taken meldonium at a doctor's direction before the World Anti-Doping Agency had even announced plans to ban it.

Judd Burstein, a lawyer for Wilder, said he was "extremely happy" with the verdict.

Povetkin's lawyer, Kent Yalowitz, called the verdict an "outrageous miscarriage of justice" and indicated he would seek to have it thrown out.

The lawsuits came after the WBC announced on May 13 Povetkin had tested positive. The sanctioning body announced cancellation of his title challenge the day before the fight was scheduled.

In June, Wilder and DiBella sued Povetkin and Ryabinskiy, saying they were owed at least $5 million for the defendants' breach of a contract requiring Povetkin to be produced for the match.

Povetkin and World of Boxing quickly countersued, seeking $34.5 million for what they said was Wilder's own breach of contract for walking away from the fight and for engaging in a "smear campaign" that amounted to defamation.

The WBC in August announced that, based on scientific and medical information it received, it was not possible to determine whether Povetkin ingested meldonium after Jan 1, 2016, when it was officially banned.

In December, a bout between Povetkin and Haitian-born Canadian Bermane Stiverne was called off after the Russian tested positive for a different banned substance, ostarine.