REAL LIFE ROCKY MOVIE EMERGES & DON KING TOO!
Los Angeles, CA-In what has to be a candidate for fight of the year, WBA champion in recess Guillermo Jones (39-3-2, 31 KOs) scored a brutal and bloody 11th round knockout over WBA cruiserweight (200 lb.) champion, Russia’s Denis Lebedev (25-2, 19 KOs) in Lebedev’s hometown of Moscow.
Jones scores the major upset
The bout was fought at a brisk pace, with the Russian landing the cleaner punches, the Panamanian scoring the harder ones. The Russian was cut in round one, and the war of attrition went on from there.
FIGHT SHOULD HAVE BEEN HALTED IN ROUND SIX!
With one of boxing’s best referee’s in Stanley Christodoulou officiating one would have expected the veteran to stop the bout after round six. Lebedev’s right eye was grotesque; completely shut and swollen to the level of a hematoma. The Russian landed hard blows throughout the contest, surprisingly Jones showed an amazing chin and resilience you wouldn’t expect from a 41 year-old who had been out of the ring for almost 20 months.
PATTERN CHANGED AFTER THE EIGHTH!
Although the Russian had solid middle rounds, it appeared that Jones was conserving energy and knew how to roll with the punches being thrown his way. He dug every shot in the book on his foe; uppercuts, hooks, and body blows. In round 9 he switched to southpaw against his southpaw opponent looking to do more damage to the right eye. Midway through round 11, a winded Lebedev, who had facial damage to both eyes at this point, just wilted under the pressure and took a knee. The referee seeing he had had enough put an end to the fight. An excellent skirmish that improves the stock of both fighters. It’s a mystery why a prizefighter with the skills and ability of Jones has had such large gaps of inactivity. Hopefully this victory leads to some major fights with the other top champions at cruiserweight.
DON KING HAS A CHAMPION!
The wirehaired wonder himself, Don King went to Russia with Jones, which to me was a clear indication that the Panamanian would not be embarrased. A far cry from being the, “king of boxing,” but it will keep the Donald off of Public Access TV for a while.
-Kevin Perry