Henderson’s Bermane Stiverne puts mishaps behind for Alexander Povetkin bout

Bermane Stiverne has had bad luck with beverages.

The Henderson resident has a conspiracy theory that someone spiked one of his drinks hours before he lost to Deontay Wilder at the MGM Grand in January 2015.

“I won’t let my imagination get too far, but maybe someone slipped something into my drink,” the former heavyweight champion said. “I wasn’t feeling my normal self. Something wasn’t right.”

Stiverne doesn’t have any evidence to back up his suspicions and has moved on from the defeat. He’s focused on getting a rematch with Wilder to regain the WBC title.

The Haitian will get that opportunity if he defeats Alexander Povetkin (30-1, 22 knockouts) for the interim belt Saturday in Ekaterinburg, Russia. The WBC ordered the top contenders to meet while Wilder recovers from hand and bicep surgery. The fight will be televised live at vsenabox.ru with a scheduled start of 11:30 a.m.

Stiverne (25-2-1, 21 KOs) put the No. 1 contender bout in jeopardy last month when he failed a random Voluntary Anti-Doping Association drug test. He said he has a valid explanation.

“It was a 5-Hour Energy,” a laughing Stiverne said of the energy drink. “VADA just shows up at any time to your house. I had a 10-round sparring session in the morning and was going for my second workout when they came.”

Stiverne said VADA officials knocked at his Henderson home before a planned four-mile run, and he consumed the energy drink in front of them. Stiverne tested positive for the banned substance methylhexanamine, a stimulant also known as dimethylamylamine, or DMAA, which is found in many energy drinks.

“When I was drinking the 5-Hour, they didn’t say anything,” Stiverne said. “I was shocked when I found out. I later found out it wasn’t actually banned. It’s the amount you take. It was fresh in my body.”

The WBC allowed Stiverne, who had a prior clean record, to fight Povetkin, but he was fined $75,000.

Povetkin, 37, also failed a drug test this year, but his wasn’t from an energy drink. The Russian was popped for the substance Meldonium in April and lost his May bout with Wilder.

Meldonium is the same drug tennis star Maria Sharapova was suspended for. It helps athletes recover faster during competition with increased blood blow and more oxygen to muscles.

“Povetkin was caught with some crazy stuff,” said Stiverne, who trains at Mayweather Boxing Club. “I trust the VADA system, and I know they’ll be testing during fight week. I’m OK with that.”

Stiverne said he hopes Wilder grants him an immediate rematch if he’s victorious Saturday.

The 38-year-old felt woozy after the loss to Wilder and was rushed to a hospital because of severe dehydration. He spent two nights at University Medical Center Trauma Center.

“Nothing felt right that night,” Stiverne said. “People know that I would go out swinging during a loss and usually I’m still upbeat after a fight win or lose.”

Maybe Stiverne’s conspiracy theory is not so far-fetched, but he’s going to play it safe when he’s in Russia.

“I’ll be keeping an eye on all my drinks,” Stiverne said. “I’m going into enemy territory. Hopefully I can crash the party.”

KNOCKOUT NIGHT AT THE D

The monthly boxing series returns to the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center on Saturday.

Las Vegans Randy Moreno (7-0, two KOs), Jeremy Nichols (7-0, two KOs) and Max Ornelas (6-0, three KOs) will fight on the card. Oscar Cantu versus Aston Palicte is the main event.

The first bout is scheduled for 5 p.m. and will be televised on CBS Sports Network at 7. Tickets start at $15.

KING’S TURKEY GIVEAWAY

A 50-year-plus tradition of donating turkeys to needy families around Christmas time will continue this week when legendary boxing promoter Don King will visit nine cities in seven states in five days as part of his annual Christmas Turkey Giveaway.

The event will be in Las Vegas at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Church of the Lord Jesus. Contact Daphne Sanders at 702-504-4466 for more information.

Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0492. Follow @gmanzano24 on Twitter.