Boxers Wilder, Povetkin face-off in court after cancelled fight

FILE PHOTO - Deontay Wilder celebrates after knocking out Artur Szpilka in the ninth round of their heavyweight title boxing fight at Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., January 16, 2017. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Heavyweight boxing champion Deontay Wilder and Russian boxer Alexander Povetkin battled in court on Tuesday, at a trial over a title bout that was called off after the Russian tested positive for a banned substance.

The boxers sat on opposing sides of a Manhattan federal courtroom as jurors heard their attorneys give opening statements in a trial focused on whether Povetkin ingested meldonium after a World Anti-Doping Agency ban of the drug went into effect in January 2016.