By Jake Donovan

The upcoming heavyweight title clash between Deontay Wilder and Alexander Povetkin officially has a home. Promoter Andrey Ryabinskiy announced on Monday - locally in Russia and internationally via social media - that a specific venue has been secured, as the two will collide May 21 at Megasport Arena (nee Khodynka Ice Palace) in Moscow, Russia.

Ryabinskiy - who promotes Povetkin - secured the rights to the fight in winning a purse bid held in late February, putting up $7.15 million. The amount was more than $2 million above that submitted by Wilder's promoter Lou DiBella, the lone other present who had hoped to keep the fight in the United States, specifically at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Even after the purse bid result, there was consideration among Povetkin's team to bring the fight to Barclays, having sat ringside for Wilder's crushing 9th round knockout of Artur Szpilka this past January. Such talks preceded the purse bid hearing and remained a possibility until Ryabinskiy announced earlier in March that he would bring the fight to Moscow. 

Monday's announcement completes the process, as the fight will be staged at the state-of-the-art multi-purpose arena that boasts a maximum capacity of 13,926 patrons for boxing events.

The last boxing card to be staged at the venue came in Nov. '11. Headlining that show was Denis Lebedev in a 12-round shutout of badly faded former three-division champ James Toney to claim an interim cruiserweight title.

Lebedev has since claimed "regular" title status, putting such belt at risk in his own appearance on the May 21 show. The 36-year old southpaw will take on Argentina's Victor Ramirez in a cruiserweight title unification bout in the evening's chief support. 

Wilder (36-0, 35KOs) will make the fourth defense of the World Boxing Council (WBC) belt he earned in a 12-round landslide win over Bermane Stiverne last January in Las Vegas. The unbeaten 30-year old from Tuscaloosa, Alabama has fought outside of The Americas just once before in his pro career - a 1st round knockout of Audley Harrison in April '13 in Sheffield, England. 

The aforementioned title-winning effort over Stiverne is the lone time in his career that Wilder has been extended the full distance. He has scored knockout wins in all three title defenses, stopping Eric Molina in nine rounds and France's Johann Duhauapas in 11 in back-to-back home state showcases in Birmingham, Ala., less than an hour from his Tuscaloosa hometown. 

Wilder's knockout win over Szpilka marked the first career appearance in New York for the 6'7" heavyweight. The hope was that he would become a fixture at Barclays, which has rapidly become a boxing hotspot. 

Due to the purse bid turnout, such expectations have now shifted towards his coming home with the belt intact and perhaps re-establishing his brand in the New York City region following a widely successful debut in the marketing capital. 

Povetkin (30-1, 22KOs) makes his second attempt at a full version of a heavyweight title. He held a secondary version for more than two years leading into his Oct. '13 bid versus then-World heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko. The night serves as the lone loss for the 36-year old Povetkin, a 2004 Olympic Gold medalist for his native Russia who comes in riding a four-fight win streak.

The loss to Klitschko was preceded by Ryabinskiy and Russian business mogul Vlad Hryunov joining forces to produce the massive event. Hryunov Promotions posted a whopping $23.3 million at a purse bid held for the fight, which was co-promotd by Ryabinskiy's World of Boxing, with whom Povetkin has been with for his past five fights.

Ryabinskiy and Hryunov teased the possibility of putting up a massive eight-figure purse to bring this particular fight to Russia. Ultimately, it took $7.15 million - a big number for any fight but by no means a record-breaker.

As per a new rule attached the WBC purse bid rules, 10% of the overall purse bid will be placed in escrow for the winner. The remaining amount is divided in a 70/30 split between champion and challenger. Wilder is guaranteed a career-high purse of just over $4.5 million, while Povetkin will bank roughly $1.93 million. The winner of the May 21 clash will collect an extra $715,000.

International television coverage is expected to be confirmed in the coming weeks. American cable giant Showtime - which has regularly showcased Wilder over the years - has yet to formally announce its plans, although has previously teased its intention to secure U.S. rights to air via its Showtime Boxing International series. 

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox