By Ruslan Chikov
Former WBA world heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev, who sat ringside at Moscow's Dynamo Arena on Saturday night to watch countryman Denis Lebedev knock out former four division champion Roy Jones Jr., believes a new star was born in Russian boxing. Valuev agrees with Lebedev's analysis of the fight. He thought Jones did well in the early rounds, but faded in the second half of the fight. Valuev had a feeling that Lebedev was going for the knockout in the tenth and final round.
"[Jones] did well in the initial rounds, but after the sixth it was noticeable that he was tired. In the second half of the fight, Jones was breathing heavily and exploded only in short spurts. I believe that Jones won round two or three. In this fight, there is no doubt that Lebedev had the physical advantage. He also displayed a heavier punch. Early in the 10th round, I had a feeling that he wanted to finish the fight by knockout. It just happened. Congratulations to Lebedev on the victory. A new star has risen on the horizon of Russian boxing," Valuev said is his blog on sportbox.ru.
