By Alexey Potapov

WBA junior welterweight champion Andriy Kotelnik (30-2, 13KOs) has informed BoxingScene.com that it's still too early to write-off a possible fight against Dmitriy Salita  (28-0, 16KOs). The fight was the scheduled co-feature to the Joe Calzaghe-Roy Jones Jr. HBO pay-per-view on November 8 at New York's Madison Square Garden. Kotelnik's camp advised Square Ring that Kotelnik suffered a rib injury during his recent title defense against Norio Kimura, which took place on September 13 in Ukraine.

Kotelnik tells BoxingScene that he never made a final decision as to whether or not he will withdraw from the fight, and plans to evaluate the situation after a mid-week medical exam.

"Yes, I've had problems with an injury, but it's too early to say that a fight against Salita will not take place. On Wednesday I will have a full medical examination which is going to show the condition of the injury," Kotelnik said.

Salita has spoken out in various circles, claiming the Eastern Euro fighter was ducking the fight and looking for a reason to withdraw. Kotlenik doesn't believe that Salita will present a real problem when they step in the ring.

"He has a good record of fights on paper, but it doesn't tell you the whole story. There were fights where the judges helped him out. I consider myself the best boxer in this weight category and for me he doesn't represent a danger. I assure that I will beat him," Kotelnik said.

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