Denis Lebedev: "I want to have four fights in a year"

A decade ago, cruiserweight wrecking ball Denis Lebedev was fighting as a light heavyweight. Whilst not seemingly destined for great things, he decided to retire from the sport after going 13-0 with eight wins inside the distance. That was until a chance meeting with his friend, current WBA heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin, who passed his manager, Vlad Hrunov’s number to Lebedev. In turn, Lebedev made the call, which turned out to be one many cruiserweights wish had never taken place. Lebedev beefed up and returned to boxing after a near-four-year hiatus, getting active and losing the ring rust before opening eyes when he travelled to Britain and faced former WBO champion Enzo Maccarinelli. Lebedev brutally beat up Maccarinelli, forcing a stoppage late in the third round. Afterwards, he continued to maraud his way through all his opposition with vicious consequences including a spiteful knockout of highly regarded Alexander Alekseev (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxjlHR8nDK8). Lebedev parlayed the win into a title fight with Marco Huck, which remains the only blot on his ledger, currently 24-1 with 18 kayos. Despite losing via split decision, Lebedev proved himself to be one of the top cruiserweights in the world. Since then, he’s gained notoriety beating aged former stars like Roy Jones Jnr. and James Toney, against whom he claimed the WBA interim cruiserweight championship. Originally, the plan called for the 33-year-old southpaw to fight the WBA “regular” champion Guillermo Jones this month but after his manager/promoter, the aforementioned Hrunov, brokered a deal with Jones’ promoter, Don King, the show moved to 17 December.