Lebedev-Jones - ALL OUT WAR!

By Stevie Adams @MrStevieAdams

The new champion, Guillermo Jones.

In an epic battle that wouldn't have been out of place in a Rocky movie, Guillermo Jones knocked out Russian warrior, Denis Lebedev to regain the WBA world cruiserweight title. 

Considering that Jones is 41 years old and has only fought three times since 2008, the win was even more incredible than the fight itself.

Lebedev once again proved how tough he is by fighting for 8 rounds with his right eye gruesomely swollen shut. 

We so often read about a fighters "heart" and we often see men continue fighting with horrific injuries, but the eye injury sustained by the Russian was the worst I've ever seen.

It was a pulsating fight from the opening bell, as both fighters threw heat seeking missiles towards each others heads and bodies. Lebedev threw a lot more punches than Jones, he landed more too. However, his fast and heavy punches weren't enough to deter his opponent. Jones' shots had the opposite effect though, as jabs and uppercuts opened up a cut around the right eye of Lebedev and the damage worsened at a furious pace. 

Lebedev is a hard man though, and he fought strongly throughout the contest (all three judges had him winning at the time of the KO). But Jones' footwork was the better of the two and he was able to find the perfect angles to fire at the injured eye of Lebedev. Lebedev landed some devastating punches that would easily have incapacitated a lesser man, but they didn't make a dent on the Panamanian veteran. He also took a lot of heavy blows that would have knocked out any normal man.

In the 11th round, Jones landed a solid flurry of shots and Lebedev drooped to the canvas. Referee Stanley Christodoulou began to count, but quickly waved off the fight upon realizing that the Russian hero was in no condition to continue.

It was a truly magnificent fight and a huge contender for "Fight Of The Year"!

Earlier in the evening, Alexander Povetkin destroyed Polish challenger, Andrzej Wawrzyk in the third round to successfully defend his WBA world heavyweight title. He will now face heavyweight king, Wladimir Klitschko in November in a bid to unify the titles.