WBA orders Usyk vs Lebedev

[dagilechia]

They have to make agreement until 04.10. But i hope theyll let Usyk fight Bellew first without stripping a belt. Also, i hope that after Bellew fight Usyk moves quickly to HW, he has nothing to prove at CW, Bellew or Lebedev are no danger fights.

[jamamb]

is leb still with big bucks rybansky?

if so could still be good money for little risk, and could add a last bit of name depth to usyks cruiser resume before moving up. at least thats about as positive as i can see it from usyks perspective

bellew and leb were prob the 2 best cws at the time to not enter the tournament

[dagilechia]

Yeah he's with Riabinski.

But he fights rarely these days and when he does it's against bums like Flanagan or Altunkaya

Lebedev lost to Gassiev, no need for Usyk to fight him. Same as if someone said "Usyk have beaten almost all top cruisers except of Dorticos" okay but Dorticos already lost to Gassiev so there is nothing to prove for Usyk. Bellew and then he should fight someone like Chisora at HW

[Ruthless-RKO]

Yeah he's with Riabinski.

But he fights rarely these days and when he does it's against bums like Flanagan or Altunkaya

Lebedev lost to Gassiev, no need for Usyk to fight him. Same as if someone said "Usyk have beaten almost all top cruisers except of Dorticos" okay but Dorticos already lost to Gassiev so there is nothing to prove for Usyk. Bellew and then he should fight someone like Chisora at HW

Doesn’t matter if Gassiev beat Lebedev or Dorts. Those names look good on Gassiev’s record. Fact is, they’re not on Usyk’s record..

Even at this stage, they’d look good on his resume.

[ewenhay]

Bit harsh. He's just fought three times in fairly quick succession, unifying in the process.

Surely he's entitled to a voluntary?

[Ron C]

I think Usyk handles Lebedev pretty easily. Probably the only challenge for Usyk at Cruiser would be a Mairis Briedis rematch but he probably wins that too. Hoping for a move to Heavyweight soon. We could have the next Evander Holyfield here!

[dagilechia]

Yeah he's with Riabinski.

But he fights rarely these days and when he does it's against bums like Flanagan or Altunkaya

Lebedev lost to Gassiev, no need for Usyk to fight him. Same as if someone said "Usyk have beaten almost all top cruisers except of Dorticos" okay but Dorticos already lost to Gassiev so there is nothing to prove for Usyk. Bellew and then he should fight someone like Chisora at HW

Doesn’t matter if Gassiev beat Lebedev or Dorts. Those names look good on Gassiev’s record. Fact is, they’re not on Usyk’s record..

Even at this stage, they’d look good on his resume.

The point is - dont you think that at this moment both Lebedev and Dorticos (or even Bellew) are no hopers vs Usyk?

[bmilligan]

Lebedv's better days are past him. Still might be a decent matchup but as I think we all agree. The Bellew fight is the one fans want.

If Usyk is gunning for HW, might as well wait and just let him give up the belts when he moves up. Though I do not see Uysk really caring about the WBA either way lol...

I could be wrong though

[Ruthless-RKO]

Yeah he's with Riabinski.

But he fights rarely these days and when he does it's against bums like Flanagan or Altunkaya

Lebedev lost to Gassiev, no need for Usyk to fight him. Same as if someone said "Usyk have beaten almost all top cruisers except of Dorticos" okay but Dorticos already lost to Gassiev so there is nothing to prove for Usyk. Bellew and then he should fight someone like Chisora at HW

Doesn’t matter if Gassiev beat Lebedev or Dorts. Those names look good on Gassiev’s record. Fact is, they’re not on Usyk’s record..

Even at this stage, they’d look good on his resume.

The point is - dont you think that at this moment both Lebedev and Dorticos (or even Bellew) are no hopers vs Usyk?

Lebedev is experience veteran. He arguably beat Gassiev. Usyk may be a big favourite against them, but it makes good business.

Leb’s promoters will pay good money for Usyk to fight in Russia.

Truth is. After Usyk vs. Briedis, many on this forum too belived Gassiev would beat Usyk. Usyk fought a much different style though and no because of his performance against Gassiev, now everyone else at CW has no hope vs. Usyk.

I personally think, adding Bellew, Lebedev and Dorticos will solidify and cement Usyk’s place as the best CW ever. Can you imagine hos performances. Dorts and Bellew also carry power so who knows.

I also understand what you saying. But he’s peaking atbthe moment. No need to rush into HW. A few good Undisputed title defences won’t hurt.

[greg]

...
I personally think, adding Bellew, Lebedev and Dorticos will solidify and cement Usyk’s place as the best CW ever. Can you imagine hos performances. Dorts and Bellew also carry power so who knows.
...

...I certainly agree with this..

[Blodhemn]

Thought Gassiev clearly beat Lebedev. Also thought Gassiev would get his ears boxed off by Usyk. Don't think Lebedev will do much for Usyk's record as he's already beaten the current higher tier. Not very interesting, Lebedev would drown from Usyk's activity. Personally much less interested in Usyk hanging around CW, fighting lesser foes than he's already beaten, than preparing for a HW run.

[DrDuke]

How Lebedev is so important now? He can get only a ticket to the retirement from Usyk, not his belts.

[dagilechia]

Btw Usyk-Briedis fight was not that close as some people say or as scorecards say. Briedis won 2-4 rounds, some rounds were close but clearly for Usyk. I personally had it 117-111 Usyk. If he beats Bellew, Lebedev and lets say Dorticos (if he wins WBSS, or for example Tabiti if he wins) it would cement his CW legacy but if he beats Bellew, Chisora, then someone like Whyte/Pulev/Miller and attacks HW throne it wouldnt be any worse. My point is, i dont want him to waste time fighting no hopers at CW, i want him at HW as soon as possible. I think there is some kind of consensus that Usyk is currently unbeatable at CW and fighting those guys is just proving something obvious that we already know anyway. Bellew's best win at CW is imo Masternak and it was a close fight. Lebedev fights bums only since he lost to Gassiev.

BTW My dream fantasy fight some time ago was Usyk vs Povetkin, if he moves to HW after Bellew and wants to come strong into division, it could be a great HW test and introducing fight to the division (if Povetkin loses to AJ of course)

[dagilechia]

How Lebedev is so important now? He can get only a ticket to the retirement from Usyk, not his belts.

He is a champion in recess or champion emeritus, something like this im not sure how its called, the same case as with Vitali Klitschko WBC belt in past.

[dagilechia]

WBA is a joke (i guess we all know it):
WBA CW Super Champion - Oleksandr Usyk
WBA CW Regular Champion - Beibut Shumenov
WBA CW Interim Champion - Arsen Goulamirian
WBA CW Champion in recess - Denis Lebedev

[ElJefe]

The WBSS probably would have contacted Lebedev to see if he was interested in both seasons 1 and 2. The fact that he wasn't in either, as well as his opponents in between (Flanagan and Altunkaya) would suggest that he's not especially keen on fighting top opposition anymore. If he didn't back himself to win either WBSS then would he really back himself to beat the man that's just looked excellent in winning it? If he fights Usyk it's because he's looking for a final pay cheque before retirement imo.

Lebedev would be a name on Usyk's record and having 2 of the old guard in him and Huck on his record as well as the likes of Briedis and Gassiev within about 3 years is impressive. But in reality it'd likely be very one sided. If Ryabinsky offers him big bucks to stay and defend at Cruiser then fair enough. I think that's what he's looking for with the Bellew fight. Fighting both of them would feel like treading water. Fight one or the other and then move to HW.

[dagilechia]

It would be better if boxing had only one World Championship belt, and rankings should be based on some mathematical algorythm (just like BoxRec) to prevent guys like this Lovejoy enter the ranking. It would make the top 5-10 guys fight each other more frequently i think. Mandatories when #2 fighter achieved enough ranking points. If there is no one with enough ranking points, voluntary defences but champion can select only from top 5 ranked fighters (if all 5 refuse to fight, then make #6 mandatory and so on).

In current situation, champion like Wilder should be called "champion of WBC federation", champion like Usyk should be called "Champion of the World"

[ata66]

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[dagilechia]

Les say that Usyk beats Bellew. Then Usyk's CW resume is:
Krzysztof Glowacki in Poland 26(16 KO)-0
Thabiso Mchunu in USA 17(11 KO)-2(2 KO)
Michael Hunter in USA 12(8 KO)-0
Marco Huck in Germany 40(27 KO)-4(2 KO)-1
Mairis Briedis in Latvia 23(18 KO)-0
Murat Gassiev in Russia 26(19 KO)-0
Tony Bellew in UK 30(20 KO)-2(1 KO)-1

Total record of his World Title fights opponents: 174(119 KO)-8(5 KO)-2

IMO nothing left to prove, collected all the belts and now is going to defend them against arguably the best available guy (i really like Lebedev i was always his big fan but at this point i doubt that he even can beat Bellew).

Lebedev is promoted by Riabinski but recently they made an offer to Adamek to fight in a catchweight and his promoter says that their offer was not impressive at all (less money than for fighting Miller).

Riabinski still offers fair money but it's not like some years ago when he was overpaying just to make a fight happen in Russia (like Klitschko-Povetkin).

The real big money, especially in the heaviest weightclasses, is now in UK/Matchroom. For Usyk it seems that money is not the most important. He's always making agreement with no problem and travels around the world just to boost his legacy, collect the belts, to beat the best guys. So i think he will move to HW after Bellew but not for money, but for his legacy as one of the greatest in boxing history. If he can achieve this and become HW undisputed champ is another thing, but im sure that hes confident and believes in his skills. He is the kind of fighter that knows how to adapt to different opposition.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Prïcks!!!



Not like Hearn to give up. If a deal is in place then i’m sure Hearn would just apply for an exemption.

If this fight is not for the Undisputed championship, then it’s not happening.

[jamamb]

really? no bellew fight now just cuz of this? do they really need the wba belt on the line? and couldnt a deal be arranged with den to allow this to happen first?

usyks side already said he will be fighting bellew this year.

leb has had a very good career and even in losing to gassiev he gave a very good fight (i had it 6-6 but with the kd 1 point win for gas), but at this point i like the bellew fight more and think bellew is more dangerous. also it would be nice to see usyk take his tour to yet another place. the uk atmosphere would be great.

[Ruthless-RKO]

[klitoris]

Wouldn't be surprised if Eddie is in on this as well, so that he can get another cash out out of Tony before sacrificing him to Usyk

[klitoris]

Also, since Usyk unified the WBC belt first, a defence of that belt would be next, and Tony can get that mandatory if he really wants since I believe the WBC made him Emeritus champ or some sh*t like that. So if the WBC enforced that, WBA would have to get in line.

[gilgamesh]

WBA Belt or not. Usyk is THE MAN at Cruiserweight. Everyone knows it. If Bellew doesn't want the fight it's because he's pulling a bitch move. Plain and simple.