By Yuri Tarantin
According to Russian promoter Vladimir "красивый" Hryunov, WBA cruiserweight champion Denis Lebedev (25-2, 19KOs) could go in the direction of having a unification with WBC champion Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (49-2-1, 35KOs) - if a deal is not reached with Don King for a rematch with mandatory challenger Guillermo Jones.
The WBA gave them until December 16th to reach an agreement or the fight will head to a purse bid. Jones knocked out Lebedev in eleven rounds in May to win the belt, but then he tested positive for a banned substance and the title was returned to Lebedev.
"If Don King doesn't behave, then we'll look at other opportunities. One of them is a unification fight with WBC champion Wlodarczyk. We're going to discuss this possibility with the WBA and I've already been in contact with Wlodarczyk's team. I already spoke to (promoter Andrzej) Wasilewski. It is a good idea and we will consider the probability of doing that instead of the rematch with Jones," Hryunov said.
Hryunov said a contract for the rematch was issued by Russian businessman Andrei Ryabinsky, but King has not returned a signed copy.
"[The deal is] good from a financial point of view, a deal that is strictly valid until December 16. Our version of the contract he already has, and he (King) just needs to put a signature on it," added Hryunov.
"If I was in King's place and received such a proposal from Ryabinsky, I would have immediately accepted it. There's nothing that King should dispute. And King himself is well aware of the possibility that a fight might be held between Lebedev and Wlodarczyk. After all of King's efforts to return the world title to Jones, he's done nothing to succeed with that goal."
Yuri Tarantin covers boxing for Allboxing.ru