Roy Jones Jr. could be facing Denis Lebedev next

By Boxing News - 03/19/2011 - Comments

Image: Roy Jones Jr. could be facing Denis Lebedev nextBy Dan Ambrose: 42-year-old Roy Jones Jr. (54-7, 40 KO’s) could be facing Russian cruiserweight contender Denis Lebedev (21-1, 16 KO’s) next in May in what could be yet another knockout loss for Jones. Things haven’t been going very good for Jones as of late with Jones having lost three out of his last five bouts, including his last two. If Jones does end up taking on Lebedev, Jones would be facing arguably the best fighter in the cruiserweight division bar none.

Lebedev recently was beaten by WBO cruiserweight division by 12 round split decision in December. However, few boxing fans felt that Huck deserved to win that fight and Lebedev is still largely considered unbeaten despite losing the fight to Huck, who was fighting in his adopted country of Germany.

Jones is reportedly working on putting together the fight with the hard hitting 31-year-old southpaw Lebedev in a fight that will be, if it can be successfully put together, taking place in Lebedev’s home country of Russia. The money potential for this fight must be good for Jones to be willing to risk what would appear to be an almost certain brutal knockout loss. It’s hard to see Jones making it through four rounds under Lebedev’s powerful onslaught. Jones is a light heavyweight and would be moving up in weight to take one one of the hardest punchers in the entire cruiserweight division. Given Jones’ history of suffering knockout losses when facing hard punches, this fight probably won’t take long for Lebedev to win unless Jones runs or suddenly gets younger.



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