Gelsenkirchen, Germany - Heavyweight world champion Wladmir Klitschko may get the chance to add the World Boxing Association (WBA) belt to his collection when he steps into the ring against Ruslan Chagaev in Gelsenkirchen on Saturday.

Uzkek heavyweight Chagaev is WBA's "champion in recess", with Russia's Nikolay Valuev the official champion.

They had been due to meet in Helsinki on May 30 but the bout was cancelled by the Finnish boxing federation after traces of a hepatitis-B antigen were found in a test on Chagaev.

Chagaev's manager Klaus-Peter Kohl said the WBA would decide on Wednesday whether the WBA belt was also up for grabs on Saturday alongside Klitschko's WBO and IBF titles.

Chagaev stepped in for injured Briton David Haye to face Ukrainian Klitschko, whose elder brother Vitali holds the WBC heavyweight crown.

"This will be my biggest fight, for I'll have the best man in the ring after my brother Vitali," Klitschko said at a news conference.

Chagaev's doctor, Michael Ehnert, said Chagaev carried a hepatitis B antigen - a substance that prompts the generation of antibodies - but there was no risk of infection and no reason for the fight not to go ahead. (dpa)