Focal Point: Lebedev Rises To Top Of Red-Hot Cruiserweight Division
By Alexey Sukachev
Time is of the essence.
For the cruiserweight division, that time is now, as boxing fans will struggle to currently find a more exciting weight division – and not even limited to the incredible action produced in recent weeks.
American cable network Showtime recently attempted to create that magic with the super welterweight (154-pound) division, but its efforts were limited to three bouts in a single telecast. The good fortunes of boxing’s junior heavyweights (yes, fully aware of it not being the division’s correct name) have been spread throughout the month of May, producing Fight of the Year candidates, thrilling knockouts and even a unification bout while one solid entry still remains.
On May 14, Mairis Briedis (20-0, 17 KOs) – by far the biggest star to come out of Latvia today (if not all-time) engaged in an all-out war with Nigerian knockout artist Olanrewaju Durodola (22-3, 20 KOs), who’d previously blitzed Russia’s one-hitter quitter Dmitry Kudryashov in just two rounds.
Sometimes it seemed Briedis would follow the same route. The fact he refused to wilt under his opponent’s freakish power made up for a high-octane action, which ended in round nine after another powerful surge by Briedis, arguably the best kept secret – at least, in his weight class.
Elements of the title eliminator were Fight of the Year material, but at times a bit too one-sided in favor of the Latvian slugger.
That was not at all a problem in another cruiserweight thriller just six days later. Yunier Dorticos (21-0, 20KOs) – a Cuban export who now lives and trains in Miami, Florida – boldly stormed into France, where he engaged in 10 rounds of cruiserweight savagery with local contender Youri Kalenga (22-3, 15KOs).
The fight threatened to feature an early ending, when Dorticos flattened the France-based Congolese puncher with a monster uppercut in round two. However, Kalenga not only beat the count, but brawled his way back into the fight, giving fans in attendance and viewers at home endless thrills that will be well-represented by year’s end.
What wouldn’t come of the night for a Kalenga was a heroic come-from-behind win. Dorticos rebounded from a mid-rounds funk to batter his foe into submission, a final right hand shot to the chin freezing Kalenga in his tracks in the 10th round of the leading candidate for Fight of the Year.
Sandwiched in between was the current top choice for Knockout of the Year. Up-and-coming contender Murat Gassiev (23-0, 17 KOs) wasted little time in the annihilation of former amateur hopeful Jordan Schimmel (20-2, 16 KOs) on May 17 in the United States. Gassiev officially entered the cruiserweight mix with his frightening one-punch, 1st round knockout.
Two more bouts rose to surface last Saturday, featuring different levels for what accounts as a champion in this day and age.
Beibut Shumenov (17-2, 11 KOs), who hails from a powerful Kazakh family, was upgraded from “Interim” to “Regular” cruiserweight titlist, though having to climb off the canvas to score a 10th round knockout of Chicago’s Junior Antony Wright.
The centerpiece of the division’s hectic schedule was to come on May 21 in Moscow, Russia. Instead, Denis Lebedev turned his cruiserweight title unification clash with Victor Ramirez into a showcase appearance.
The bout was purposed to be a great warm-up just before a thunderstorm of action in a heavyweight showdown between WBC champion Deontay Wilder and Russia’s only super heavyweight Olympic gold medalist Alexander Povetkin. With the cancellation of the heavyweight bout came a stellar moment for the boys just one division south.
Lebedev, 36, was coming into this clash with lots to prove. Perception of his boxing identity and also of his person has been gradually changing throughout his career. He started as a virtual no-name in early 00’s, an era of morning twilights of Russian prizefighting. He was forced to spend four years off the ring and came back in 2008 under tutelage of flamboyant Russian promoter Vladimir Hryunov – once again lacking any true boxing identity beyond his local following.
It took him just two years to become a beloved hero of hardcore boxing fans – thanks to his obscure but still very emphatic victories against Eliseo Castillo, Enzo Maccarinelli and Alexander Alekseev. His career reached its peak in December 2010, when Lebedev had arguably beaten WBO champion Marko Huck in what was a robbery clause by a majority of opinions.
A 10th round knockout of faded ring legend Roy Jones Jr. should have raised his notoriety level, but instead had an adverse effect. Lebedev’s image was already controversial after extensive use of airborne troops military uniform (bearing in mind that Lebedev had never been an active soldier), was cursed by many for a coup de grace he issued on an already groggy Jones with Steve Smoger lazily looking at him. Roy Jones Jr. was 42 at the time of the fight, while James Toney was even older, when he was shut out by the Russian just half a year after that.
Labeled a “grandpa killer,” Lebedev didn’t gain much respect in subsequent knockout wins over little-known contender Shawn Cox and Santander Silgado.
The low point came in May 2013, when Lebedev - showing abnormal courage against juiced Panamanian Guillermo Jones - was stopped in the 11th round but retained his title despite a loss, due to Jones testing positive for a banned substance.
The drug test results notwithstanding, watching Lebedev fall was - for many fans (in Russia and abroad) - sweet revenge for all those victims of the “grandpa killer.”
To change his reputation, Lebedev was forced to undergo considerable changes – a true challenge for a very conservative boxer and person he is. Lebedev cut ties with Vladimir Hryunov to sign with all-mighty Russian boxing tyc00n Andrey Ryabinskiy. He began working with manager Vadim Kornilov, and relocated abroad to work with Freddie Roach in Hollywood, California.
Each of those actions was a step over his previous self.
It had started to pay off in 2014. Polish contender Pawel Kolodziej – unbeaten at 33-0 at the time - was blitzed for good in just two rounds but he was no match from the beginning.
Wins over Kalenga and undefeated Latif Kayode were more telling but an aura of a “paper” champion has never been fully dispelled.
Enter Ramirez, a two-time cruiserweight champ who has also experienced a long gap in his career, and who was also defined – not once, but twice – as a paper champion.
Indeed, Ramirez has never won over a reigning titleholder but his victories over both Alexander Alekseev and Ola Afolabi were impressive enough to earn a solid reputation amongst fight fans.
After a road win over Alekseev (quite probably the best of his career), a shaky showing against Ali Ismailov and a close but convincing loss to Marko Huck, Ramirez was out for more than four years. He started his comeback with a string of very solid performances before winning big over Afolabi.
When Yoan Pablo Hernandez called it a day, Ramirez was elevated to a full champion status.
Against a fighter with such fearful reputation the Russian chose to use a measured approach in the opening round. Moreover, Ramirez, 32, pressed action and threw more than he was normally expected to do but nothing serious has ever landed on a chin.
Lebedev (29-2, 22KOs) got things under his control in round two, and the end of the main event, produced by Andrey Ryabinski, was just seconds away. The left uppercut was a key weapon for the local cruiserweight, first rocking Ramirez (22-3-1, 17 KOs) with the shot before scoring the bout’s first knockdown with a left hook.
The Argentinean got up but Lebedev gave him no chance to survive. He continued merciless pounding, finally forcing Ramirez to turn his back on Lebedev. For majority of the referees that would have been enough to intervene but veteran Hall-of-Fame Steve Smoger – once again the referee, and once again observing a beatdown rather than looking to protect a battered boxer - let the battle continue to the point when Ramirez was almost unconscious. That’s where he has entered at 1:57 of the second round.
Undeniably, his biggest win in a long time allowed Lebedev to become a key figure in his weight class and – for the moment the man to beat as well.
Thankfully, the cruiserweight division is shimmering with worthy contenders who are eager to test the White Swan (‘Lebed’ means Swan in Russian) as soon as possible. Moreover, Lebedev has no other way but to be tested mightily.
Normally, alphabet sanctioning bodies will rather open a window to let their champions escape unnecessary challenges or, at least, to select of several choices.
It ain’t working in cruiserweight nowadays.
The World Boxing Association (WBA) has already announced that Lebedev -its “Super” champion in addition to his newly acquired IBF title - has up to 120 days to fight “Regular” titlist Shumenov in the first part of internal WBA unification.
Shumenov isn’t definitely your first choice as a fan but also as a champion and one of the few in the division with the financial backing to force Lebedev to fight outside of Russia should it come to that.
The winner of the ordered Lebedev-Shumenov showdown will be due to next face Dorticos, whose win over Kalenga earned him the “Interim” title.
If Dorticos shows the same grit and punching power he offered versus Kalenga, we shall easily have another Fight of the Year candidate between two very heavy-handed punchers. Dorticos has stopped all but one of his 21 career opponents to date, while Lebedev has scored knockouts in 14 of his 16 victories since 2008.
The IBF hasn’t yet issued any opinion or announced any stance on its current situation. But Murat Gassiev was rated #3 before his fight against IBF #10 rated Schimmel. This means that the hard-hitting Ossetian is about to become either IBF’s mandatory challenger or at least its #2.
Lebedev vs. Gassiev will be a huge event in Russia – specifically given the fact, that Gassiev and his handlers at Ural Boxing Promotions have always stated their readiness to fight World of Boxing’s elite fighters.
There can be another unification bout as well in the near future.
The month of the cruiserweights closes this Sunday, when Ilunga “Junior” Makabu (19-1, 18KOs) and Tony Bellew (26-2-1, 17KOs) collide in Liverpool, England, with the vacant WBC title at stake.
Yet another divisional beltholder exists who will readily produce fireworks if matched correctly. WBO champion Krzysztof Glowacki has a challenge from very promising Olexander Usyk (9-0, 9KOs), an Olympic Gold medalist from Ukraine who currently serves as the mandatory challenger for the all-action Polish boxer.
Usyk was a superstar in amateur boxing but he has never been really tested as a pro. There are certain concerns regarding the outcome of his hypothetical battle versus Glowacki even in Kiev. If the Pole triumphs then a match-up with Lebedev will be natural.
Glowacki, Gassiev, Dorticos, and even Shumenov – each choice will escalate violence, each will lead to bigger opportunities and bigger risks. Champions and contenders here are different to those in other weight classes – they are ready to risk and to fight each other.
That is what makes cruiserweight division one of the hottest in boxing – alongside flyweights and, maybe, heavyweights – and its focal point.
Two years ago, Lebedev began his revival and his comeback by scoring a major victory over his toughest opponent - himself. The time has come to turn his aggression and internal fury on the external opponents. Lebedev has no choice; he is forced to fight the best.
That’s exactly what the cruiserweight division has long needed to emerge as the hottest weight class in the sport at present moment.
KO will be floating in the air that night.
