Roy Jones to fight Lebedev in Russia

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, one-time pound for pound king and now faded legend Roy Jones Jr. will travel to Moscow, Russia to take on former world cruiserweight title challenger Denis Lebedev on May 22nd.

On Thursday evening, Jones signed on to face rugged cruiserweight contender Denis Lebedev on May 22 in Moscow, John Wirt, CEO of Jones’ Square Ring promotional company, told ESPN.com.

Wirt said the fight, scheduled for 10 rounds, will take place at cruiserweight limit of 200 pounds.

“I actually think he beat Huck and got ripped off in Germany,” Wirt said. “I think he’s the legitimate WBO cruiserweight champion and he is one of the toughest opponents in the division.”

“I do believe the weight is to Roy’s advantage,” Wirt said. “Roy has had a lot of trouble getting down to 175 pounds in the last few fights. He was so dried out for the Hopkins fight and I think that showed in his performance.”

“We didn’t budge and they came to our number and when they did, we signed,” he said.

“We had some different things on the table. We had an offer in Canada, something in the U.S., but this was a unique opportunity,” Wirt said. “How many big fights have been in Russia? That was kind of a neat aspect that was intriguing about this. Roy has no problem and no issue with going to Russia. He is not concerned about fighting over there. We’ll have fair judges and a fair referee. We’ve already been in contact with the Russian federation to make sure we know all the rules.”