On 16 October 2011, a fight between Povetkin and 42 year old American heavyweight contender Cedric Boswell (35-1, 26 KOs) was close to being confirmed for 3 December at the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki. Boswell was on a 14-fight win streak since his sole defeat to former four-time world title challenger Jameel McCline. The fight was originally offered to former WBC champion Hasim Rahman, who asked for more money than Sauerland Event's could offer. Povetkin's team then spoke to the WBA about possible opponents. Most of the ranked fighters were not willing to travel to fight Povetkin, where as some contenders were not available. French heavyweight Jean Marc Mormeck turned down the opportunity to fight Povetkin because he was being lined up to challenge then-unified world champion Wladimir Klitschko. On 21 October, Boswell confirmed that he had signed the deal and a day later, a heavyweight double-header was announced for 3 December, with the other fight being Robert Helenius vs. Derek Chisora. Povetkin already started his training with Kostya Tszyu and cruiserweight contender Denis Lebedev and in mid-October, Teddy Atlas joined the training camp. Povetkin won the fight by 8th-round KO. At the time of the stoppage, Povetkin was ahead 70–63, 69–64, and 70–63 on the scorecards. Povetkin came alive in the fight at the midway point, rocking Boswell a few times with some hard punches. In the 8th round, Povetkin connected with a combination that dropped Boswell and eventually counted out. Boswell managed to get to his feet after the count had finished, only to fall back down.