Thabiso Mchunu Wins WBC Silver Title and Retires Ex-Champ Denis Lebedev

By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent

South African and African Boxing Union Cruiserweight champion Thabiso Mchunu won the vacant World Boxing Council Silver Cruiserweight title with an upset unanimous decision on December 21, 2019, at the Ivan Yarygin Sports Palace in Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation, over 40-year-old former World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation World Cruiserweight champion Denis Lebedev, ruining his comeback attempt after 13 months of inactivity and sending Lebedev back into retirement.



Mchunu, 22-5 with 13 knockouts, Cato Ridge KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, a southpaw like Lebedev, but nine years younger, simply outworked Lebedev, who looked old and rusty after a year of inactivity. Lebedev lost a point in round three for a headbutt which caused a cut above the right eye of Mchunu as per WBC rules. The cut did not figure into the bout’s outcome, however, as Mchunu was 12 rounds on one scorecard, 10 on another scorecard, and seven on the third scorecard. Mchunu, currently the third-ranked cruiserweight in the world, and ranked eighth in the world by the World Boxing Association, lived up to his reputation, tagging Lebedev repeatedly with headshots.



32-3 with 23 knockouts, Chekhov, Russian Federation, lost his IBF World cruiserweight title by 12 round split decision to Murat Gassiev in 2016, but still held the WBA Super World Cruiserweight title when he defended it against Mark Flanagan in 2017, before being stripped of the WBA title for failure to defend. Oleksandr Usyk, the WBO World Cruiserweight champion, defended the WBO title against Mchunu in 2016 and subsequently added the vacant WBA Cruiserweight title held by Lebedev before moving up to heavyweight where he is ranked third in the world at heavyweight on BoxRec. Lebedev had two comeback wins in 2018, but father time eventually caught up with him.



Result: Thabiso Mchunu Win 12 Denis Lebedev, Cruiserweights
Mchunu wins vacant World Boxing Council Silver Cruiserweight title
Scoring: 120-107, 119-108, 115-112 Mchunu. Referee: Ian Charles Lewis.
Lebedev lost a point for a headbutt in round three which caused a cut above Mchunu’s right eye, point deduction as per WBC rules. Mchunu ranked #3 worldwide on BoxRec.

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Robert Brizel - Head Boxing Correspondent
Robert Brizel - Head Boxing Correspondent
Robert is the Head Boxing Correspondent for Real Combat Media Boxing since 2013. Robert is also a photographer and ringside reporter for the RCM Tri State region which includes NJ, NY and PA. Robert conducts exclusive interviews, provides historical boxing articles and provides editorial ringside coverage of major boxing events. You can contact or follow Robert on Facebook and by email at [email protected].