Quick Jabs: Povetkin posturing, Vitali's passion, Martinez's future and more

Alexander Povetkin is the logical opponent for Wladimir Klitschko to fight next. (Dagmar Kiehlo/Getty Images)

Some short jabs …

• In the aftermath of another one-sided destruction, where does Wladimir Klitschko look next? A strong possibility is Alexander Povetkin, the unbeaten former gold medalist who owns a minor piece of the WBA heavyweight title. On Monday, I asked Povetkin's promoter, Sauerland Event's Chris Meyer, if he intended to pursue a Klitschko fight.

"The WBA has informed K2 Promotions that they have to fight Povetkin now," Meyer said in an email. "[Klitschko manager] Bernd Boente seems to continue to ignore this fact, at least in his public statements."

Indeed, Boente told me on Saturday that he does not believe Klitschko is required to defend his title against Povetkin. Regardless, Boente said Klitschko would not be bullied into making a bad deal, intimating that Klitschko would surrender his WBA belt before being forced into a fight.

Now, Boente and Sauerland are Europe's version of Top Rank and Golden Boy. They don't like each other much and don't make many deals. However, Klitschko-Povetkin is a natural fight. It's arguably the best one out there and would do big business in Germany. Besides, no matter what Boente says, Klitschko isn't giving up one of his belts. Once the posturing is finished, look for Klitschko and Povetkin to broker a deal.

• WBC titleholder Vitali Klitschko told me he would make a decision on his boxing future in December. Last month Klitschko's political party, Udar, picked up 14 percent of the vote, giving Udar 40 seats in the Ukrainian parliament, the third-most seats of any party in the country.

"For a young party, we had a good result," Klitschko said. "Our party has a chance to unite Ukraine. I'm very happy. We can have a much better result but for a young party to be No. 3 in the country is great.

Despite the successful showing, Klitschko said his heart is still in boxing.

"I still like boxing very much," Klitschko said. "I enjoy every minute in training camp. It's like a vacation."

• Gary Russell Jr: The undisputed champion of beating up nobodies.

• Sergio Martinez -- who recently underwent right ankle and knee surgery --will return to the ring in April in Argentina. The plan, promoter Lou DiBella said, is to match Martinez with Martin Murray, provided Murray (24-0) gets through Jorge Navarro on Nov. 24. DiBella said the venue would likely be a soccer stadium and the card would be televised in the U.S. on HBO.

• By the way: The WBA's interim middleweight title will be on the line in Murray-Navarro. The WBA's 160-pound champion, Gennady Golovkin, fought twice in 2012 and is scheduled to fight again in January. So why is there an interim champion? These sanctioning bodies make me want to throw up.

• Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer says Abner Mares should fight Nonito Donaire next. Good. Now set your differences with Top Rank aside and make the fight.

• Al Haymon being Al Haymon: It's looking like Peter Quillin will defend his new WBO middleweight title against Jermain Taylor at the Barclays Center in February. Good. Because a guy three years removed from a serious brain injury who has beaten three nobodies in the last year deserves a title shot.

• I'm told Edwin Rodriguez wanted $750,000 to fight Gennady Golovkin in January. That was a non-starter. Meanwhile, Golovkin is still searching for an opponent for his Jan. 19 date on HBO. I'm told former world title challenger Marco Antonio Rubio has emerged as a legitimate candidate.

• Former middleweight title challenger Matthew Macklin will undergo surgery on a broken nose and will be sidelined until late February, DiBella told me on Tuesday. When he returns, DiBella said a possible opponent is popular middleweight Andy Lee.

• Speaking of Lee, DiBella told me the longtime protégé of Emanuel Steward will now be trained by Adam Booth, best known for his work with former heavyweight titleholder David Haye. DiBella said Lee will likely relocate his training camp to England.

-- Chris Mannix