By Alexey Sukachev
According to several Russian sources, a fight between reigning WBA cruiserweight champion Guillermo Jones (38-3-2, 30 KOs), and hard-hitting Russian sensation Denis Lebedev (23-1, 17 KOs), is all but signed for March 31, in Moscow, Russia. However, those rumours were denied by the leading Russian promoter Vladimir Hryunov in his personal statement within his blog on Allboxing.ru.
“The fight between Denis Lebedev and Guillermo Jones has not been signed yet. The possibility of such a fight, which was reported by the press to be held on March 31 in Moscow, is too early. [The fight] is still a subject of thorough negotiations between us and Team Jones. We are currently trying to resolve all the issues with Jones’ promoter Don King but I hope deeply inside my heart that negotiations will be successful, and the fight will be staged after all. In any case, it’s too early to say that it’s a done deal. Let’s wait a few days," wrote Hryunov.
Lebedev, 31, is the WBA interim champion and has recently been demoted (as all WBA interim-champions were) to the #1 position in the World Boxing Association’s most recent rankings. If signed, it will be the third defense of the title for Jones, 39, in his three-and-a-half year long title reign.