IN biographies of Denis Lebedev, a professional Russian boxer performing in the first heavy weight category, there was no “amateur” period of performances in the ring. He began boxing during his school years, but did not compete in the ring of important competitions. The turning point was serving in the army. Denis Lebedev ended up serving in CSKA, where he began to actively train. I trained with a promising athlete Artem Lavrov, who continued to train the athlete for some time even after he was transferred to the reserve, when Denis signed his first contract.
Denis Lebedev - where he served in the army
Denis Lebedev never served in the Airborne Forces . Nevertheless, the image of a paratrooper was created for him. Many accuse Denis of choosing this image. However, the boxer himself has repeatedly stated that he has many friends who are paratroopers and that both his friends and most people from the paratroopers are not against this image of a boxer and, moreover, are glad that he enters the ring in a blue beret, the uniform of the Airborne Forces, and defends the honor of Russia in ring.
Where is boxer Denis Lebedev now?
At the moment, he continues to train and enter the ring. For 2020, his statistics are amazing: 30 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses. Lebedev now lives with his family in the city of Chekhov (Moscow region). Trains under the guidance of experienced ex-boxer Kostya Ju. The further fate and professional career of the player depends on himself. The boxer still has many fights ahead, as well as potential titles and awards. Fortunately, in this regard, he was lucky with his promoter, Vladimir Khryunov.
Professional boxing career
Description of the fight Denis Lebedev vs Murat Gassiev below
The biography of Denis Lebedev in the professional boxing ring began on February 27, 2001 with a fight against Teimuraz Kekelidze, a Georgian boxer who also began his career in professional boxing.
In his third fight against Nurdin Melikh, Denis Lebedev won his first boxing title - he became the champion of Russia among professionals in the light heavyweight division. But in 2004, having won this title again, he left the ring.
The return of Denis Lebedev took place in 2008. During this time, Denis Lebedev has grown significantly as a boxer. Having had several successful fights, in July 2009 he won the vacant WBO intercontinental champion title, defended it several times and won the right to fight for the WBO world title.
The first championship fight in the biography of Denis Lebedev against the German Bosnian Marco Huck for the WBO cruiserweight belt on December 18, 2010 took place in Germany. The Russian was active throughout the fight, but after twelve rounds, by a majority vote of the judges, Hook defended the title; the opinion of German fans reflected open dissatisfaction with this decision.
Brief information
Denis Lebedev is a boxer who, in a short period of time, thanks to his diligence and will to win, won the WBO champion title and became the holder of the WBA and IBF world champion titles. Fans of the professional boxer began to call him the White Swan.
Lebedev began to be interested in sports at an early age. Seeing that his son had good speed and high endurance, his father suggested that Denis go in for sports. During his sports career, the boxer won 33 out of 35 fights. Denis’s current height and weight are 180 cm and 90 kg.
Fight Denis Lebedev vs Roy Jones
The fight against the world boxing legend 42-year-old Roy Jones was significant. Throughout the fight, Denis attacked, and in the last seconds of the tenth round he carried out a series of accurate blows, as a result of which Jones hung on the ropes and covered his face with his hands.
Almost a year after the first championship fight, in November 2011, having won the fight against James Toney, Lebedev became the interim WBA champion. He defended his title, became a "full" champion and made two title defenses.
Personal life of Denis Lebedev
Despite his heavy workload and lack of free time, Denis Lebedev is an excellent family man.
He met his wife Anna during his school years, when there was no question of prestigious titles and huge fees. Denis is grateful to his wife that even in difficult years, when there was not enough money to support his family, she remained his reliable support and provided support in every possible way. It seems that Denis and Anna complement each other perfectly. An athlete husband and a beautiful wife who is passionate about music. Despite the fact that Anna has nothing to do with sports, she understands boxing quite well and can give her husband good advice.
Denis Lebedev is also the father of three daughters. Unlike Lebedev Sr., he does not insist that girls engage in professional sports. Moreover, they didn’t have to see dad in the ring either. Return of boxer Denis Lebedev to the ring
Denis Lebedev. Before the Battle. After four years of inactivity, Denis Lebedev decided to return to the ring. His debut in the cruiserweight division took place in 2008. 2009 turned out to be a particularly successful year for the athlete. The victory over former world champion Enzo Maccarinelli earned Lebedev the Intercontinental Championship.
This was followed by 8 more successful fights, including a fight with former army comrade Alexander Alekseev.
Probably, many boxing fans remember the fight between Lebedev and Marco Huck, which took place in 2010. Then Hook managed to defend his world title, but the judge's decision in favor of his victory was not unanimous, and spectators and outside experts considered it unfair. Roy Jones, a world boxing legend, met Denis Lebedev in 2011.
Throughout the entire fight, the advantage was on Denis’s side. In the tenth round, Jones was knocked out, but did not lose his balance, then Lebedev dealt him a crushing blow to the head. Probably, if the referee had intervened earlier, the blow could have been prevented, but this did not happen. Roy Jones himself said in an interview with reporters that he forgives the Russian boxer for this blow.
2011 was generous with significant fights in Lebedev’s career. The meeting with James Toney brought the young boxer the title of interim WBA champion. Here Denis won an unconditional victory.
Denis Lebedev vs. Guillermo Jones (best moments) Next was supposed to be a fight with the current WBA champion Guillermo Jones, but at first Lebedev’s manager was unable to organize this meeting. Later, the contract was nevertheless signed, but shortly before the scheduled fight, Guillermo Jones refused to enter the ring against Lebedev, citing an injury. The World Boxing Association considered such a refusal sufficient grounds to deprive Guillermo of the title of world champion and assign it to Denis Lebedev.
Santander Silgado is another bright ring partner of the Russian boxer. The intrigue of the fight was that before the fight with Lebedev, Silgado had not suffered a single defeat. Throughout the entire fight, it was clear that he was a worthy competitor to Lebedev, but in the fourth round the Colombian was still defeated.
May 17, 2013 is a date that all boxing fans have been looking forward to. It was on this day that the long-awaited meeting between Russian boxer Denis Lebedev and Panamanian boxer Guillermo Jones was supposed to take place. According to all forecasts, the victory should have gone to an athlete from Russia.
Denis Lebedev spent a long time preparing for the meeting with Guillermo Jones
However, Guillermo showed unprecedented resilience in the ring. In the 11th round, Denis was completely exhausted, and the fight was stopped. Something that no one expected happened. Lebedev's series of brilliant victories was interrupted, and Guillermo Jones managed to regain the title of world champion.
However, less than six months later, the World Boxing Association decided to strip Jones of his title due to doping. Thus, Denis Lebedev regained the championship title.
Fight Denis Lebedev vs Guillermo Jones and scandal after the fight
In May 2013, Lebedev entered the ring against Guillermo Jones and lost the fight by technical knockout in the 11th round.
After the defeat to Guillermo Jones, the result of the fight was annulled, because. Prohibited substances were found in Guillermo Jones' blood. A rematch was scheduled. But 10 minutes before the fight, the doping detection laboratory sent the results and it turned out that Guillermo Jones was again found to have doping and the fight had to be canceled literally a few minutes before it started. As a result, a large lawsuit was launched. Andrey Ryabinsky, the promoter of Denis Lebedev, sued promoter Guillermo Jones for $1.6 million and won the case.
Denis “White Swan” Lebedev: biography, photo, athlete’s achievements
- Full name: Denis Aleksandrovich Lebedev
- Date and place of birth: August 14, 1979 (Stary Oskol, RSFSR, USSR)
- Resides: Chekhov (Russia)
- Height: 180 cm
- Weight: 90 kg
- Performs: First heavy weight category (up to 90.892 kg)
- Stand: Left-handed
Who doesn't know the White Swan? This is what boxing fans called Russian professional boxer Denis Lebedev, who competes in the first heavy weight category. In a relatively short period of performances, the pro from Russia won the title of intercontinental champion according to the WBO in 2012, and became the holder of the world champion title according to the WBA (2012 - present) and IBF (2016 - present).
It was easier for an ordinary boy from Stary Oskol (a city in the Belgorod region of Russia) to choose a sport to his liking than for his peers, because his father was also directly related to boxing, although he did not achieve much success. True, in the beginning there was a gymnastics section, where the boy directed his steps, not without his father’s blessing. I achieved the first successes and even showed hope, but something had to happen: the section was closed. That's when boxing appeared on the horizon.
Perhaps because the two types are very different from each other and require completely different qualities, at first Deniska’s fist fight didn’t work out. Yielding to his peers in the ring, he was upset and, as it turned out, not in vain. I just wanted to be first and couldn’t give in to anyone. But thanks to his father’s instructions and his perseverance, the boy did not leave boxing. It is unlikely that then he dreamed of loud victories and champion laurels; first of all, Denis dreamed of defeating his peers - his direct rivals.
Boxing lessons continued at CSKA, where Denis ended up after his army conscription. As a matter of fact, it was then that White Swan was ranked among the promising ones, having won his first victory at the international level. It happened in 1997 at the European Junior Championships. In Birmingham, Lebedev quickly dealt with all his competitors. The first to fall under the hot hand was the Italian Michele Aramini (knockout in the first round), in the quarterfinals the Russian beat the Azerbaijani Gabrid Orujiev, and in the semifinals he dealt with Hasan Kilic from Turkey. In the final, he faced a worthy opponent - the Hungarian Gyorgy Hidvegi, but he too gave up: on points, Lebedev became the European champion. But at the Goodwill Games in 1998 (New York), Denis received only a bronze award.
year 2001. Denis Lebedev began performing among professionals. The signed contract required victories, and they were not easy to come by: injuries and cuts literally haunted the young boxer, but he gave results, no matter what. Confirmation - 13 victories in a row during 2001-2004 with the won and defended title of Russian champion. The decision of the White Swan, who was at the height of his career, was literally shocking: he decided to end his performances in the professional ring...
Sometimes they leave in order to return. After a four-year break, Lebedev first resumed training, and then returned to the professional arena to the general rejoicing of his fans. The first performances after the downtime were successful, and 2009 was quite successful for the Russian athlete. Denis became more experienced and technical, which helped him on July 18, 2009, in a fight with Briton Enzo Maccarinelli, to win the vacant WBO intercontinental champion title. However, both technique and experience were powerless in the fight on December 18, 2010 against German Marco Huck for the WBO cruiserweight title. The transition from Intercontinental Champion to WBO Champion did not happen. On points in 12 rounds, Hook defended his belt.
The first defeat in his career did not break Denis, but on the contrary made him stronger. It took the Russian boxer less than a year to become the WBA interim world champion title on November 4, 2011, having broken the resistance of American James Toney.
Lebedev was able to successfully defend what he had won: on April 4, 2012, he “dealt with” Sean Cox from Barbados, and on December 17, 2012, he punished the Colombian Santander Silgado.
And the next duel on May 17, 2013 against Panamanian Guillermo Jones was probably the most scandalous in the White Swan’s career. Yes, he lost the fight, but won the title. The fact is that the results of Jones's doping test turned out to be positive, and he was stripped of the title, which, in turn, allowed Denis Lebedev to restore his lost champion status.
In 2014-2015 the Russian successfully defended the world champion belt from the WBA, successively defeating Pawel Kolodziej from Poland, the Frenchman Youri Kalenga and Latif Kayode (Nigeria). The apogee in Denis Lebedev’s career (at the moment) was the “fresh” fight that took place on May 21, 2016, in which each opponent could unify the WBA and IBF world champion belts in the first weight category in his favor. Argentinean Victor Ramirez only lasted 2 rounds. After the knockdown, he was no longer able to box. Denis Lebedev is currently the current champion. Keep it up!
Rating: 5 / 5 (1)
Training under Freddie Roach
in 2014, Denis Lebedev takes a responsible step and decides to change the coaching staff. With the support of Russian manager Vadim Kornilov, Denis Lebedev moves to California and begins training under the guidance of the most famous and honored coach Freddie Roach. Freddie Roach is a trainer who trained Manny Pacquiao, Miguel, Cotto, Mike Tyson and many other world champions.
Denis Lebedev’s first fight under Roach’s leadership was against Polish boxer Pawel Kolodziej. The fight lasted only 2 rounds. After the first reconnaissance round, in the second round Denis carried out a counterpunch and knocked out Kolodziej with a left hook.
Kolodziej, Kalenga, Kayode and Ramirez
After the rematch with Jones was cancelled, Lebedev did not fight for a year. Later, negotiations began to defend the title against the then undefeated Pole Pawel Kolodziej (33−0, 18 knockouts). In July 2014, Lebedev signed a three-year agreement with the powerful advertising promotion company World of Boxing. By the end of July, the fight between Lebedev and Kolodze for the WBA title was confirmed, it took place on September 27 at the Dynamo Sports Palace in Krylatskoye, Moscow. In the second round, Lebedev dropped Kolodziej with a well-timed left hook, retaining his WBA cruiserweight title.
Following this, Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (49−3−1.35 KOs) and Roy Jones Jr. (59−8, 41 KOs) both announced their interest in fighting Lebedev. By October Lebedev will return for 2020. The WBA ordered Lebedev to defend his title against interim champion from France Yuri Kalenga (21−1, 14 knockouts). Kalenga became interim champion after defeating former European champion Mateus Masternak in June 2014.
On March 16, the day before the scheduled auction, an agreement was reached for a meeting between Lebedev and Kalenga on April 10 at the Luzhniki Sports Palace. The boxers fought all 12 rounds. Lebedev won by unanimous decision with scores of 116-111, 115-112 and 116-110.
On August 18, 2020, journalists announced that on November 4, the Stary Oskol resident will defend the WBA champion title from the undefeated Nigerian boxer Latif Kayode at the Tatneft Arena in Kazan. Lebedev retained his championship after taking Kayode down three times in the bout before the referee eventually stopped the fight. Kayode started the fight aggressively, but Lebedev controlled the course of the confrontation. When the fight was stopped, Denis won on points with judges' scores of 69-63, 69-63 and 70-63.
On May 1, 2020, Lebedev took part in a tough fight with IBF world champion Victor Emilio Ramirez. The fight took place in Moscow. After a close, tactical first round, Ramirez was knocked down early in the second. Emilio stood up and, continuing the fight, Lebedev began throwing punches with both hands. Ramirez stopped retreating and turned away. Lebedev waited until Ramirez turned back and continued the fight until Ramirez dropped his hands.
The power shots continued from Lebedev until referee Steve Smooger stopped the fight, although he gave Ramirez every chance to return to the fight. The official stoppage time was 1:57 of the second round. With this victory, Lebedev became the unified WBA Super and IBF world champion.
Fight against title contender Yori Kalenga
The fight took place on April 10, 2020 in Luzhniki. The boxing evening was held by the promotion company of Andrei Ryabinsky, where the main fight was the fight of Denis Lebedev.
Denis started the fight well. moved well. Some of Denis' movements were reminiscent of Manny Pacquiao's movements. Both Manny and Denis are left-handed and it is not surprising that under the same trainer they use some similar techniques.
Denis worked well in movement and threw good left straight and side punches both as the first number and in response. There was a severe lack of a right side kick, which his opponent was open to. Yori Kalenga held Denis's blows well and threw punches in response, missing more often than not. But he had many successful moments. In the 5th round, on the way out of the attack, Lebedev missed a right hook and was knocked down. In the 7th round, Lebedev returned the favor and knocked down Kalenga with a left hook.
Starting from the 8th round, the fight leveled off, where both boxers had success. Denis Lebedev was a little more accurate, which was reflected in the judges' notes, where Denis Lebedev won with a slight advantage.
Denis Lebedev: “Ramirez is a tough fighter. But I like them like that"
On the last Friday of January 2020, a contract was signed for the first unification fight in the career of Russian World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight champion Denis Lebedev. In April, he is scheduled to enter the ring against the holder of the International Boxing Federation (IBF) belt, Argentinean Victor Ramirez. The fight is planned to take place in Russia - presumably in Moscow or Sochi. The athlete told the portal about where Lebedev received the news and how he plans to prepare for the match during a Saturday master class at the Boxing Academy.
Denis Lebedev
— Denis, how and when did you find out that Ramirez’s team agreed to the fight?
— At eleven on Friday evening Andrei Mikhailovich Ryabinsky (head of the promotion company - ed.) called me and said in a joyful voice that the contract had been signed. This is a big victory for our team. But this is only the first step. Now we need to do everything possible and impossible to win the battle itself.
— When will you start preparing for the match?
- And I’m already getting ready. Immediately after the New Year holidays, while negotiations were going on, I started running cross-country and working out in the gym. I will start sparring two months before the official date of the fight. It depends on the broadcasters. But in any case, it should be the second half of April, as Andrei Mikhailovich told me.
Andrey Ryabinsky and Denis Lebedev
— Like last time, are you organizing a training camp in the USA?
— Yes, in Los Angeles, in the gym of my trainer today, Freddie Roach. I’m happy with the logistics there - all the facilities: the hall, the hotel, the medical center - are located almost within walking distance of each other. The selection of strong sparring partners is also excellent. The only inconvenience is that the land is foreign to me. By the end of the training camp, I usually begin to miss my family and country greatly. And when I finally fly to Moscow and set foot on my native land, the same thing happens to me. I exhale and, despite the long 12-hour flight, I begin to smile widely with delight that I have returned home. And this goes on for several days.
— Have you already started studying your opponent?
— I looked through the recordings of several of his fights, without a detailed analysis yet. Ramirez is an aggressive and strong fighter, focused on winning, just like me. In terms of his fighting style, he is somewhat similar to my previous opponents Jouri Kalenga or Krzysztof Wlodarczyk. I like tough guys like that. Therefore, in my opinion, the fans are in for a very interesting fight.
— Is it too early to talk about tactics?
— We will develop it during the preparatory training. There is only one task - to win the fight and concentrate two championship belts in your hands.
Denis Lebedev. Best moments
— Do you have time to follow how the careers of your comrades are developing? Will Alexander Povetkin get a chance to fight American Deontay Wilder?
“Everything is leading to the fact that the fight must take place.” The capabilities of Andrei Mikhailovich Ryabinsky are very large. Suffice it to remember that his lawyers recently won not only the trial, but also the appeal against the once all-powerful promoter Don King. The company was created for this purpose, so that Russian boxers would be protected, and our fans would have the opportunity to see fights at the highest level.
— What can you say about mixed martial arts? Doesn't it bother you that it is allowed to hit someone who is lying down?
— I don’t closely follow mixed martial arts tournaments and I’m not a fan of them. The fights there really resemble street fights. But all the same, when Russian fighters compete in mixed martial arts, I always wish them success.
Boris Titov, RBC - especially for
Denis Lebedev vs Latif Kayode
On November 4, 2020, at a boxing evening in Kazan, Denis made his sixth defense of the WBA belt, meeting with his opponent, Nigerian Latif Kayode. Both boxers were well prepared for the fight; there were no defeats in the opponent’s career.
Denis began to lead from the first rounds; in the 7th round he knocked Kayode down; in the 8th round he knocked Latif down twice with powerful attacks on the floor of the ring, and the fight was stopped. The excellent level of the athlete’s training was gratefully appreciated by the Tatneft Arena audience.
Watch online all the fights of Denis Lebedev in professional boxing
| Result | Rival | Event | View |
| UD12 (12) | Thabiso Mchunu | DS im. Ivan Yarygina, Krasnoyarsk, Russia December 21, 2019 | Watch online |
| UD12 (12) | Mike Wilson | Casino de Monte Carlo Salle Medecin, Monte Carlo, Monaco November 24, 2018 | Watch online |
| KO3 (10), 1:02 | Hizni Altunkaya | DS "Traktor", Chelyabinsk, Russia September 7, 2018 | Watch online |
| UD12 (12) | Mark Flanagan | DIVS, Ekaterinburg, Russia July 9, 2017 | Watch online |
| SD12 (12) | Murat Gassiev | Megasport, Moscow, Russia December 3, 2016 | Watch online |
| TKO2 (12) 1:57 | Victor Emilio Ramirez | Megasport, Moscow, Russia May 21, 2016 | Watch online |
| TKO8 (12) 1:22 | Lateef Kayode | Tatneft Arena, Kazan, Russia November 4, 2015 | Watch online |
| UD12 (12) | Youri Kalenga | Luzhniki, Moscow, Russia April 10, 2015 | Watch online |
| KO2 (12) 2:08 | Pavel Kolodziej | Sports Palace in Krylatskoye, Moscow, Russia September 27, 2014 | Watch online |
| NC11 (12) 1:54 | Guillermo Jones | Crocus City Hall, Myakinino, Russia May 17, 2013 | Watch online |
| KO4 (12) 2:14 | Santander Silgado | Crocus City Hall, Myakinino, Russia December 17, 2012 | Watch online |
| KO2 (12) 2:22 | Sean Cox | Crocus City Hall, Myakinino, Russia April 4, 2012 | Watch online |
| UD12 (12) | James Toney | Megasport, Moscow, Russia November 4, 2011 | Watch online |
| KO10 (10) 2:58 | Roy Jones | Sports Palace in Krylatskoye, Moscow, Russia May 21, 2011 | Watch online |
| SD12 (12) | Marco Huck | Max Schmeling Halle, Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin, Germany December 18, 2010 | Watch online |
| KO2 (12) 2:43 | Alexander Alekseev | Sport and Congress Center, Schwerin, Germany July 17, 2010 | Watch online |
| KO4 (12) 2:59 | Ignacio Esparza | Udmurt Circus, Izhevsk, Russia February 22, 2010 | Watch online |
| RTD6 (12) 3:00 | Ali Ismailov | Fight Club Gladiator, St. Petersburg, Russia December 17, 2009 | Watch online |
| TKO3 (12) 2:20 | Enzo Maccarinelli | MEN Arena, Manchester, Lancashire, UK 18 July 2009 | Watch online |
| TKO5 (8) 2:50 | Eliseo Castillo | Mashinostroitel, Balashikha, Russia March 22, 2009 | Watch online |
| TKO4 (10) 2:19 | Dmitry Adamovich | KRC Arbat, Moscow, Russia December 17, 2008 | Watch online |
| TKO2 (8) 2:47 | Nick Okoth | MEN Arena, Manchester, Lancashire, UK 6 September 2008 | Watch online |
| KO1 (8) 1:35 | Archil Mezvrishvili | Olympic Sports Palace, Chekhov, Russia July 19, 2008 | Watch online |
| UD10 (10) | Artyom Vychkin | Ice Palace, Novosibirsk, Russia September 24, 2004 | |
| TKO2 (8) | Bagrat Makkhamov | Wings of the Soviets, Moscow, Russia July 6, 2004 | |
| UD8 (8) | Evgeniy Bubulikh | Wings of the Soviets, Moscow, Russia June 26, 2003 | |
| UD6 (6) | Sergey Karanevich | Center on Tulskaya, Moscow, Russia May 29, 2003 | |
| KO4 (8) 2:48 | Barry Butler | Max Schmeling Halle, Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin, Germany May 15, 2003 | Watch online |
| TKO2 (4) | Dmitry Yavmenenko | Giant Hall, Konti Casino, St. Petersburg, Russia October 3, 2002 | |
| RTD4 (6) 3:00 | Roman Babaev | Wings of the Soviets, Moscow, Russia September 10, 2002 | |
| KO5 (8) | Dmitry Adamovich | Wings of the Soviets, Moscow, Russia April 23, 2002 | Watch online |
| TKO9 (12) | Risiboy Shamirzaev | KRC Arbat, Moscow, Russia December 26, 2001 | |
| TKO4 (6) | Mirzokhid Yanbaev | KRC Arbat, Moscow, Russia November 7, 2001 | |
| TKO3 (12) 1:50 | Nurdin Melih | Druzhba Sports Palace, Moscow, Russia June 9, 2001 | |
| UD6 (6) | Denis Deryabkin | CSKA, Moscow, Russia March 6, 2001 | |
| UD6 (6) | Teimuraz Kekalidze | Moscow, Russia February 27, 2001 |
Denis Lebedev vs Murat Gassiev
On December 3, 2020, two boxers competing under the same flag met in the ring; Russia was represented by Denis Lebedev from Stary Oskol and Murat Gassiev, originally from Vladikavkaz. One of the most difficult fights in the careers of both boxers can be called the confrontation between two schools of boxing under the leadership of Abel Sanchez and Freddie Roach, who represented a large number of big names in boxing.
The more powerful and younger contender worked as number one throughout the entire fight, occupying the center of the ring; his superiority in technique and agility was stopped only by Lebedev’s active actions, but they were not enough, as the age difference between the opponents, 14 years, had an impact.
In the fifth round, Gassiev carried out a successful attack in the opponent’s liver area, after which the referee opened the scoring, the fight continued, in this round Denis showed high strong-willed qualities. We can also confidently say that Murat can take a punch well; over the course of 12 rounds, Denis repeatedly carried out successful counterattacks.
The outcome of this fight designated a new world champion; Murat Gassiev won by a split decision; he became the owner of only one of Denis’ IBF heavyweight belts.
On July 9, 2020, Lebedev made a voluntary defense of the WBA world title, meeting with the little-known 27-year-old Australian Mark Flanagan, who had 22 wins and 4 losses on his record. This was Flanagan's first fight outside of his native Australia. The fight took place at a low pace with Lebedev having an advantage, who periodically accurately hit his opponent, but did not create a serious threat to him. Flanagan moved well, counterattacked, but remained fairly predictable. At the beginning of the 9th round, Lebedev knocked down his opponent with an accurate left straight to the body. Following the results of the 12-round fight, Ledebev won by unanimous decision with a score of 119:108, 120-107, 119-108
Brother brother. The main brothers in boxing and MMA
LastRound.ru remembers the brightest and most diverse fighting families.
Fedor, Alexander and Ivan Emelianenko
Fedor himself admitted in an early interview that Alexander should have become the best fighter. The dimensions and length of the limbs gave the middle brother some advantages over the older brother, who was not very tall for a heavy weight. Time has put everything in its place.
The third brother, Ivan, became a master of sports in combat sambo and hand-to-hand combat, and practiced boxing at the amateur level, but never began a professional career. Alexander Emelianenko complained about his younger brother’s laziness, and Fedor spoke about Ivan’s psychological unpreparedness. Next year, Emelianenko Jr. will enter his fourth decade.
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Nate and Nick Diaz
Until about age 30, Nate Diaz remained in his brother's shadow. The younger Diaz fought in the undercuts for 20 thousand dollars, showed everyone his middle fingers, but was not very interesting to the public. Nate unsuccessfully rose to welterweight, while Nick gave fire in Strikeforce, a little later defeated BJ Penn and actively criticized Georges St-Pierre. Everything changed in March 2020. Nate received the attention of the whole world and showed his best qualities - mild frostbite, tenacity and a nuclear mixture of boxing and jiu-jitsu. Conor McGregor gave up indecently quickly - the stardom of the younger Diaz brother increased at the same speed.
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Alexander Vladimir and Povetkins
Vladimir Povetkin did not know defeat in the professional ring. But here it is necessary to make a reservation that the younger brother’s career lasted a little more than a year. During this time, Povetkin faced one debutant, two people with 1-0 records and three boxers with negative records. All six fights ended in victory for the Russian heavyweight, but only the debutant was knocked out. In July 2008, Vladimir Povetkin announced his retirement and joined Alexander’s coaching staff. There is also information that the younger brother held the position of vice-president of the Boxing Association in the Central Federal District.
Vladimir himself said that he started his career by accident. Alexander had no one to box with, and his brother volunteered to help. The sparring was observed by promoters who invited Vladimir to try his hand at the pros. A little later, the younger brother was forced to quit due to health problems.
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Gennady and Maxim Golovkin
It is necessary to make a reservation that Gennady had two more brothers - Sergei and Vadim. It was they who insisted that their younger brother take up boxing, while little Gennady Gennadievich preferred to kick the ball. Both brothers, four years apart (1990 and 1994), died in military service. All sources call the circumstances of the death “unexplained”; Golovkin himself says that he knows what happened, but does not tell the press.
Maxim Golovkin is 15 minutes younger than Gennady. And it was time that determined the future of Kazakhstan boxing. The younger brother gave up the right to compete at the Olympics in Athens to the elder and ended his career. Gennady won silver, and a year and a half later he made his professional debut. Now Maxim accompanies his brother to every fight and worries about him from the front row.
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Denis and Egor Lebedev
Denis Lebedev started boxing before his brother. Egor achieved some success, Denis found everything more difficult, but the guy did not give up. Subsequently, the fate of the brothers was influenced by their father, who insisted that Denis under no circumstances give up boxing. Yegor ended his career and tragically died at the age of thirty. In an interview with sports.ru, Denis told some details.
“This happened at the age of 30. I went for a walk with my child, at one point I fell and didn’t get up. A blood clot broke off in the lung. The diagnosis is thrombosis. I was surprised, I didn’t understand how this blood clot could have formed; we are athletes. At first I thought: maybe they hit me on the head? Maybe they got stabbed? I didn’t fully believe that it was a blood clot. He insisted on an autopsy and asked doctors to check the spine. But the diagnosis was clear.”
Khabib and Abubakar Nurmagomedov
Abubakar, Omar, Habib
Unlike Khabib, Abubakar has one defeat on his record. A TKO loss due to a doctor's recommendation deprived his younger brother of a clean record. This September it will be exactly three years since the first and so far only defeat of the Russian. During this time, the fighter managed to fight six fights, winning six victories. Nurmagomedov competes in WSOF, trains in AKA and hardly has any claim to the fame of his older brother. It is noteworthy that the younger brother competes in the welterweight division. Perhaps Khabib will soon rise to this category.
You can start following Omar Nurmagomedov, Khabib’s cousin, Russian MMA champion.
READ WITH US: Example to Khabib. Lightweights who fought at welterweight
Kubrat and Tervel Pulev
Kubrat Pulev was supposed to defeat Vladimir Klitschko, but in November 2014, the Bulgarian hit the Ukrainian with strong blows, and eventually fell himself. In the fifth round the fight was stopped. Pulev was limited to the minor belts of the IBF international champion and the EBU European champion. Boxrec.com considers Kubrat the fourth heavyweight on the planet, but now his chances of winning the championship title are minimal. His younger brother Tervel is a bronze medalist at the London Olympics, but lost in the amateurs to Artur Beterbiev, Egor Mekhontsev, Alexander Usik and Evgeniy Tishchenko. Last December, 33-year-old Pulev made his debut in the professional ring.
Mauricio and Murilo Rua
From December 2012 to November 2014, the Brazilian suffered 4 defeats in 5 fights, but is now experiencing a second youth: a series of three victories and fifth place in the UFC light heavyweight rankings. We will soon know the answer: whether it is a return or an opportunity to retire at a good moment.
Murilo Rua is a year older than Mauricio and was good in the 2000s, but, in fact, during the Pride era he lost to all his main rivals - Dan Henderson, Sergei Kharitonov, Quinton Jackson, Ricardo Arona and some other fighters. The older brother could not repeat even half of the younger brother's achievements. The highest point in the Brazilian’s career can be considered one victorious fight in Strikeforce. Then the fighter tried his hand at various promotions, but ended his career in 2012 after a series of three defeats .
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Lyoto and Chinzo Machida
Chinzo Machida is two years older than Lyoto, but has had four times fewer fights. The older brother debuted two years later than the younger brother and performed rather strangely. Chinzo started with a victory, entered the fight a year later, lost by choke hold and disappeared for 4.5 years. Machida returned in December 2010 and lost again, picking up a 1-2 record.
Chinzo disappeared for almost three more years, won two victories and disappeared again. Such a career did not bother the Bellator management, who signed a contract with Machida. The Brazilian performed in August last year and in January 2017, knocking out two unknown guys.
Tyson and Hughie Fury
Tyson and Hughie are cousins, but one thing to consider here is Tyson's close connection to Hughie's father Peter Fury. Peter trains both boxers, and takes particular care of the former world champion.
Hughie Fury is 22 years old and has suffered from skin problems for a long time. At first, the characteristic rash on the boxer’s face was attributed to age and problem skin, but later it turned out that everything was much more serious. Huey was diagnosed with blood poisoning. Despite his young age, the younger Fury made his debut at the age of 18 and managed to fight with quite strong opponents like Andrei Rudenko. Huey himself recalls how after each sparring he threw a new T-shirt into the trash can - under heavy loads, the ulcers on his back began to bleed and by the end of the session there was no less blood on his clothes than sweat. At the moment, all the problems are behind us, and on May 6, Fury will try to bring home one of his brother’s belts. Taking away a family value would have to be done practically in Joseph Parker's backyard. At the same time, Parker himself is already looking towards a unification fight with Deontay Wilder.
Miguel and Jose Cotto
Far right
Jose Cotto twice claimed the world championship belt, but ended in a draw and defeat. He is known to the general public for his fight with Saul Alvarez, where in the initial rounds the Puerto Rican managed to shock Canelo, but ultimately lost by technical knockout in the ninth round, suffering the first and only early defeat in his career. After 5.5 years, Alvarez would beat the more famous and talented younger Cotto, who, unlike his brother, became the first world champion in four weight categories in the history of Puerto Rico.
Now the family’s work is continued by the cousin of the most titled Puerto Rican, Abner Cotto. True, not very successful.
Saul and Ramon Alvarez
Ramon Alvarez is almost four years older than Saul, but the most important thing to know about brother Canelo is that he is not a redhead. The elder Alvarez began his professional career with a loss. The second happened already in the fifth battle. The third defeat came in the eleventh fight and was early. The main achievements in Alvarez’s career are his victory over another person on our list, Omar Chavez, the son of the legendary Julio Cesar, and the defeat of Antonio Margarito.
On April 29, Alvarez Sr. and Chavez Jr. (Omar) will have a rematch, staging a small rehearsal for the fight between the younger Alvarez and the older Chavez (Julio Cesar). It is noteworthy that initially all four brothers could fight in one boxing evening.
Julio Cesar Jr. and Omar Chavez
If Julio Cesar, by the age of 30, managed to be a world champion and establish himself as at least an untalented lazy person, 27-year-old Omar has achieved practically nothing. Two interesting facts besides the loss to Alvarez's older brother - the younger Chavez began his professional career at the age of 16 and in 2009 beat a man to death. Immediately after the fight was stopped, Chavez's opponent Marco Nazareth sat down on a chair in his corner, but suddenly lost consciousness. The boxer was taken to the hospital, where doctors spent three hours dealing with a brain hemorrhage, but Nazareth died four days later.
To be honest, both brothers did not come close to at least a third of the great father’s achievements.
Jermell and Jermall Charlo
These are the coolest brothers in boxing right now. Firstly, they are twins, secondly, they are both world champions, thirdly, they are world champions in the same weight. The Americans will try to do the trick of the Klitschko brothers - at one time the Ukrainians held all four of the most prestigious belts. Jermall looks to be the bigger hitter with 19 knockouts in 25 fights, but both brothers are fine and undefeated. The main problems for Charlo are the not very popular weight class and the crazy similarity of names.
John, Chandler and Arthur Jones
If not for his football career, perhaps Arthur Jones could have changed the world of mixed martial arts more than his average brother John. Jones' younger and older brothers preferred American football to small gloves and a cage. At the same time, the brothers represent different teams - Arthur plays for the Indianapolis Colts, Chandler for the Arizona Cardinals. Even in the photo you can see that both brothers are not inferior to John in size - according to Wikipedia, Arthur’s height is 191 cm, weight is 153 kg. Chandler Jones is taller than both brothers - 196 cm, weight - 118 kg. Perhaps this is why both brothers claim that they can defeat Johnny without any problems.
The Joneses still train together, and Arthur once seriously considered the possibility of making a professional debut in MMA, but his football career took off and the transition made no sense. Last year, the older brother was suspended for four games for failing a drug test. The younger brother became famous for wanting to have a professional fight with John, but did not risk his football career.
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Fedor and Dmitry Chudinov
Dmitry and Fedor were born on September 15, exactly one year apart. The older brother was the interim middleweight champion of the world until he faced Chris Eubank's son. After a painful defeat, Dmitry moved up to Fedor’s weight and is currently settling into the second middle class, beating up dubious opposition. The younger brother was a full-fledged and even WBA super-champion in his weight, until for some reason he got involved in a story with Felix Sturm. After the remarkable victorious first part, which happened on May 9 in Germany, the Russian boxer suddenly learned all the delights of German boxing - the paint began to peel off from his gloves, the judges noticed the active actions of the local fighter, and later doping was discovered in Sturm’s blood. On February 20, exactly a year has passed since Fedor’s last fight. The defeat is still in the cards, but we still have to fight for the lost belt.
Anthony and Sergio Pettis
Sergio Pettis began his professional career in September 2011. By this time, Anthony had managed to become the WEC champion, go down in history forever with a beautiful blow in a duel with Benson Henderson, and become a UFC fighter. The younger brother will have his first fight in the UFC only in 2013. A few months before this, the elder Pettis would already become the UFC champion.
In March 2014, Anthony would see Sergio fall to a technical knockout and lose the belt to Rafael dos Anjos. This would be followed by three losses in four subsequent fights and rumors that fighting was no longer a priority for Anthony. Sergio's career, on the contrary, went uphill. The American has a streak of three victories and on May 13 he will meet the most difficult opponent of his career - Olympic champion Henry Cejudo. If he wins, the younger Pettis will have a very good shot at a title shot. The elder brother's prospects remain very vague.
READ WITH US: Russia VS USA fights in an ideal world
Mikey and Robert Garcia
Mikey Garcia's destiny was determined from the moment he was born. Mikey was born into a boxing family. His father, Eduardo Garcia was an amateur, but became famous as the trainer of Fernando Vargas. Mikey was not yet 11 years old when his brother Robert Garcia won the IBF belt. As a result, the older brother managed to defend the belt twice, after which he was knocked out by Diego Corrales. Two years later, at the age of 26, Robert retired, depriving himself of the opportunity to box with Barrera, Morales and Pacquiao. Garcia was not upset and became a coach. The former champion later admits that by the age of 26 he was literally sick of boxing.
After all these years, it can be said that the younger brother is Robert's best student. Perhaps Mikey simply turned out to be more talented than his brother, but the fact is that the younger Garcia made the dreams of the older one come true - he became a world champion in three weight classes and one of the best boxers in the world. Now Mikey is 29 and the coolest fights with his participation are ahead. A possible option is a fight with Vasily Lomachenko.
READ WITH US: Contender for Knockout of the Year in Boxing
Text: Bogdan Domansky
Denis Lebedev - Mike Wilson - November 24, 2020
The fight started at a fairly slow pace, but Lebedev periodically tried to get involved, working serially at close range. Wilson preferred to be active with a jab and was in no hurry to use power blows. Separately, it is worth noting Denis’s excellent work on the body of an American athlete with the connection of a left kick.
In the second half of the fight, it was Mike who became more active and began to work more and more often as number one, including his right hand and the same jab. Lebedev slowed down the pace a little and stopped being active on his feet. Maybe if the Russian had continued to move around the ring at the same speed, he would have been able to finish the fight ahead of schedule, because even with single shots he intercepted his opponent’s attacks quite well. However, the slowdown did not prevent Denis from recording his 32nd victory, since at the end of 12 rounds the judges were unanimous in their decision: (117:111, 119-109 x2).
Gassiev and Flanagan
In August 2020, a fight was announced between Lebedev and IBF No. 1 contender Murat Gassiev (23−0, 17 KOs). True, Lebedev risked only the IBA title in this fight, retaining the WBA championship regardless of the outcome of the match. After 12 rounds, Gassiev won by split decision. Two judges awarded it 116-112 and 116-111 to Gassiev, and the third - 114-113 to Lebedev. The fight was broadcast live by Channel One.
On June 5, 2020, it was announced that Lebedev had reached a deal to defend his WBA cruiserweight title against Australian boxer and Oceania title holder Mark Flanagan (22−4, 15 KOs). This athlete was ranked 8th by the WBA. The fight took place in Yekaterinburg on July 10, 2020. It was Flanagan's first time fighting outside of Australia.
Childhood and family of Denis Lebedev
Denis spent his childhood in the city of Stary Oskol.
Under the influence of his father, a former athlete, the boy went to the gymnastics section and showed great promise. However, the gymnast’s future had to be forgotten when the section was closed. Then, not without his father’s advice, Denis chose boxing. And here not everything went smoothly. The first in gymnastics, in the ring Lebedev was inferior to his peers. Be that as it may, Denis did not leave the sport and, as we now see, for good reason. However, the guy from Oskol still had a long way to go before big victories and big titles. After school, Denis Lebedev was drafted into the army, where he did not leave training. Here he trained in boxing at CSKA and here he met Alexander Alekseev, who later became his rival in the ring.
