Moscow Showdown! Lebedev versus Jones Cruiserweight WBA Rematch Ultimate Confrontation
By Robert Brizel, Head RCM Boxing Correspondent
Moscow, Russia (April 16th, 2014)– When Guillermo Jones knocked out Denis Lebedev in Myakinino, Russia, in May 2013, the eleventh round kayo victory appeared so damaging to Lebedev his career appeared over. Lebedev’s right eye was swollen to the size of a grapefruit. In a bad turn, it appeared the ringside physician wanted to stop the bout a number of rounds earlier but was not allowed to do so. The theory was Lebedev would still steal the decision on points despite his damage sustained. Jones had to knock out Lebedev to retain his WBA title and did. Jones got away with rumors of steroid and human growth hormone use and left Mother Russia with his world title belt. Despite being in his forties, and fighting only rarely, Jones and his promoter Don King have proven tough to beat.
Lebedev, a 25-2 with 19 knockouts southpaw from Chekhov, Russia, has failed to beat Jones and WBO Cruiserweight champion Marco Huck. At 34 years old, Lebedev is in a must situation to revive his boxing career, a situation now similarly faced by fellow Russian compatriot Alexander Povetkin, a WBA heavyweight world champion who lost his version of the WBA title to Wladimir Klitschko.
To return to world class form in his rematch with Guillermo Jones on April 25, 2014, at the Dynamo Palace of Sports in Moscow, Russia, Lebedev must bring style improvements to the table. While Lebedev is a technically sound fighter in the 200 pound division, he lacks the power punch abilities of Jones at the championship level. Jones, 39-3-2 with 31 knocks, Colon, Panama, is not an old fighter at 41 years of age. Jones is always gym active and gym ready. Jones will attempt to raise the bar of his abilities against Lebedev the second time around, with dangerous and vicious punching power.
The key to victory in Jones versus Lebedev II will be the fighter with superior movement and defensive skills. If Lebedev can move better, and better defend his weak right side flank, Lebedev will win the World Boxing Association World Cruiserweight title by 12 round unanimous, majority or split decision. However, if Jones can demonstrate superior punching power yet again, it will be extremely difficult for Lebedev to make it through the 12 rounder unscathed. If Jones can dominate the 12 rounder with superior punching power, he will stop Lebedev anytime from the ninth round on, with a faster work rate in the rematch which will win Jones rounds in the bank early and do Lebedev serious damage.
The big win in Moscow will go to the fighter who wants it more. Russians are fighters. This bout is taking place right after the Sochi Winter Olympics, at a time when Russia is in military turmoil in he Crimea and Eastern Ukraine where pro-Russian separatists are fighting for survival. It is unknown how the factor of potential civil war could influence foreign judges in Moscow, but if it does, Jones will have the edge to win with the officials, if not with the bookies. The late chess champ Bobby Fischer o of the United States defended his world chess title in 1992 in Europe under against former world champion Boris Spassky during wartime under similar circumstances in Sveti Stefan and Belgrade, Yugoslavia, in what was then billed as the revenge match of the century. If President Barack Obama were to forbid American athletes from competing in Russia in event Russia invades the Eastern Ukraine, similar to the American ban on Fischer in 1992 (who publicly spit on it), Jones versus Lebedev rematch could be in jeopardy depending on what Russian President Vladimir Putin does in the days to come.
The Para Olympics in Sochi, as the world saw, was subject to boycott and sanctions which are still unfolding and may still affect international athletes intending to compete in Russia, until the Ukraine civil war crisis and the element of potential Russian military involvement, and to what extent, is resolved in the United Nations in the days to come before Jones meets Lebedev again. Cuban-American Rich Abril is also scheduled to defend his WBA World Lightweight title on the card, and like Guillermo Jones, his status is also in jeopardy due to ongoing political and military world events. It should be noted the right of the Russian government to defend ethnic Russians of the former Soviet Union is not in question by this reporter, as it must be the right of modern nations to protect the lives of innocent civilians from the threat of war and genocide. In Crimea, that possibility was prevalent. In Eastern Ukraine, lives are already being lost. Sanctions imposed by the internationals community in event of such iterations can vary, and it appears both America and Russia are imposing different types of sanctions and travel bans as civil war unfolds.
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