By Jake Donovan

From inception to present day, Roy Jones' December 12 headliner in Russia has gone from a major title fight to be aired in several countries - including the U.S. - to a fight to be shown on BoxNation. 

The former four-division champ is confirmed for a showdown with former cruiserweight titlist Enzo Maccarinelli on that date, only its title status is up in the air. Event handlers have claimed that the WBA 'Super' Cruiserweight title will be at stake, while the sanctioning body has dismissed any talk of its involvement. 

"It's a false rumor," confirmed WBA Executive Vice President Gilberto Mendoza. 

The timing of the sanctioning body walking sideways from the fight is curious, to say the least. 

For the better part of the last month, Jones and promoter Vlad Hryunov have proclaimed its intentions of stating a major title fight in Russia to end the year. The news was confirmed while both were in Venezuela for an October 10 show loaded with WBA title fights, as well as WBC lightweight titlist and local hero Jorge Linares. 

Whether or not Hryunov has opted to run with bad information apparently comes down to who said what. The Russian promoter - although delicensed for the moment - also suggested in the buildup to the formal announcement on Wednesday that the Jones-Maccarinelli clash would air live on Boxnation in the United Kingdom and on Showtime in the United States.

The statement proved half-true, as Frank Warren's press office confirmed Boxnation's involvement through a press release Wednesday morning. Included in the announcement were quotes from Maccarinelli eager to bring another cruiserweight championship home to Wales. 

Showtime denied its involvement from the moment it was reported by a website in Russia. Network brass couldn't contain its laughter long enough to supply a quote to BoxingScene.com when broached with the subject.

The folks at the WBA, however, cannot stand on such moral high ground. While never openly confirming its involvement, the sanctioning body also allowed Hryunov to tout the event as if it were for the WBA Super cruiserweight title, frequently mentioned in press releases and tagged in social media updates. 

Questions were raised upon said announcement as to how Jones and Maccarinelli can leapfrog Denis Lebedev (WBA "regular" cruiserweight champ, who owns a knockout win over Jones) and Beibut Shumenov (WBA "interim" cruiserweight champ) to a super title, especially when neither fighter is ranked in the Top 15. 

For the first time in nearly a month, the Venezuela-based sanctioning body has finally decided to provide an answer. 

The tricky part now is how it affects the December 12 fight, or at least the promotion. 

Jones now claims dual citizenship in the United States and Russia, receiving his passport for the latter during a formal ceremony held on Tuesday. The move was made in part for this event, where with a title win Jones would become the first boxer in history to have claimed belts at middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, cruiserweight and heavyweight. 

Of the five divisons, Jones has never managed a championship win at cruiserweight. Unless the WBA has a change of heart - or another sanctioning body decides to get involved - that statement will now ring true through December 12, regardless of his performance versus Maccarinelli. 

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox