Roy Jones Jr. Needs A WBA Rematch With Denis Lebedev
By Robert Brizel, Real Combat Media Correspondent
New York, NY (December 19th, 2012)– Now that WBA interim champion Denis Lebedev of Russia has finally won the full World Boxing Association World Cruiserweight championship by knocking Santander Silgado of Columbia, one wonders, from Antonio Tarver to Latif Kayode, from B.J. Flores to Danny Green, who should be the first title defense next move for the 25-1 champion Lebedev?
Now 25-1 with 19 knockouts, Lebedev’s first opponent should be Guillermo Jones of Panama, the champion just stripped of his world title belt by the WBA. However, Guillermo has been avoiding fights and real fighters for years, so the possibility of a Lebedev-Guillermo Jones world title match still seems evasive and distant.
In the most recently posted November 2012 ratings schematic of the World Boxing Association in Panama, the number one ranking slot is vacant. The vacant slot is followed by the following world rankings for slots 12 through 15: Pawel Kolodziej of Poland, B.J. Flores of the United States, Laudelino Barrios of Brazil, Ioago Kiladze of Georgia, Alexander Alekseev of Uzbekistan, and Mateusz Masternak of Poland rounding out the top seven. Silgado, who just lost to Lebedev, is still ranked eighth.
Gregory Drosz of Russian, Rakhim Chakhkiev of Russia, Eric Fields of the United States, South American champion William Bezerra of Brazil, Lateef Kayode of Nigeria now the United States, and Isiah Thomas of the United States round out the top 15. More than likely if Guillermo Jones does fight again (and he has been talking a tune up bout against Willie Herring of Florida) someone among the names listed above would be removed to make a place for Guillermo to return to the top 15, in order to facilitate a match with Lebedev if the rarely actively Jones had the guts and courage to fight Lebedev, which he proved not to have as full champion.
This raises an unusual possibility. Why not have television commentator Roy Jones Jr. fight a rematch with Lebedev? Jones made it to the end of the tenth round, when a good punch by Lebedev left Jones out on his feet with only second left in the bout, prompting the stoppage by referee Steve Smoger in their May 2011 bout in Moscow.
Since that time, the 43 year old Jones has: won the Univesal Boxing Organization Intercontinental cruiserweight title by decisioning Max Alexander over ten rounds in December 2011 in Atlanta, and a also a ten round decision; and won a ten round decision in Poland over 17-0 Pawel Glazewski, a solid enough win to put Jones back in the mix and qualify him for a return bout with Lebedev to settle the score.
One considered the best pound for pound fighter in the world, with the passing of Emmanuel Steward and the retirement of Larry Merchant, Jones could go on to become one of the best commentators of professional boxing, given the void of microphone talent today. Having already won the IBF Middleweight title, the IBF Super Middleweight title, the WBC and WBA and IBF and IBO and WBF and IBA and NBA Light Heavyweight titles, and the WBA Heavyweight title, a piece of the cruiserweight title is the only belt left which still offers a challenge to Jones. Jones continues to flirt in the cruiserweight division. Weight wise, Jones is not going back down to 175 pounds, and he cannot go over 200 pounds as he is not a natural in the heavyweight division, despite the solid March 2012 win he scored over John Ruiz.
The best Lebedev fights for Jones to study would be Lebedev’s 2011 12 round interim WBA title defense over James Toney, Lebedev’s split decision 2010 WBO title 12 round loss to Marco Huck, Lebedev’s ten round decision win over 4-13 Artem Vychkin for the Russian Heavyweight title in 2004, and Lebedev’s eight round decision win over undefeated Yevhen Bubylych in 2003. The idea would be for Jones to look for defensive holes and offensive keys to surprise Lebedev. Jones has a good defense when he is at his best, [proven by his performance in the Bernard Hopkins rematch afterhe lost to Danny Green. Jone has to supplement his defensive skills with good foot movement, moving side to side out of Lebedev’s range, while using his superior hand speed to throw punches in punches, four punch combinations with lightning speed and accuracy to outwork Lebedev.
Jones has superior hand sped, probably the best of everyone out there, and he has relied on it to defeat opponents when he defensive skills were not as good. Antonio Tarver and Glen ‘Road Warrior’ Johnson punches holes in his left arm down stance, and Jones would have to make style adjustments to prevent this from occurring in the Lebedev rematch. Lebedev in turn, would have to use superior jabbing styles and come forward pressure skills to eventually give Jones nowhere to run and nowhere to hide, and would win again if Jones does not make style adjustments and engage in superior movement to outwit Lebedev. Now ranked fourth in the world by BoxRec, Lebedev proved his power punching and technical skills in his split decision loss to Marco Huck, but he is not as clever a boxer as Jones and would sitll have trouble with Jones if Jones could executive a modified game plan and make Huck fight his fight.
One of Jones great style keys-the ability to hit and not get hit-and use superior hand speed to score on and take out opponents-has converted into technical boxing skill to win points decisions. Now, Jones must make style modifications if he is survive Lebedev in a second encounter. Jones cannot fight Lebedev the second time the same way he did the first time. Jones lack the ability to knock out Lebedev at this point in the game. However, Jones might confuse and expose Lebedev in a second encounter if he is able to fight the right fight. If he does not, Lebedev will knock out Jones again, probably a few rounds earlier than his tenth round kayo in Lebedev-Jones I. Roy also has to be motivated and want to the WBA world tile opportunity badly. If he takes it, the bout will probably be his final world title shot, one way or the other, unless he fights for the IBO title if Danny Green vacates it, which seems highly likely. The public always like an exciting, entertaining matchup. The WBA cruiserweight belt at present, lake activity and excitement. Jones-Lebedev II would offer a forgotten belt and an unknown champion both acknowledged recognition. If Roy Jones Jr. has one high level fight left in his gas tank, this would be the best one.
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