By Alexey Sukachev

According to still powerful Russian manager/promoter Vladimir Hryunov, his former protégé and reigning WBA cruiserweight champion, Denis Lebedev, has finally had his official record corrected.

On the 17th of May 2013, Lebedev (then 25-1, 19 KOs) fought then WBA champion “in recess” Guillermo Jones in minor unification and lost to his Panamanian opponent via knockout in 11 (while ahead on points) in one of the most savage battles in cruiserweight history.

Jones, already 41, took an enormous amount of punishment, walked through it and stopped Lebedev, his eye grotesquely swollen shut, in the closing rounds.

Later on Jones’ drug test came back positive with furosemide, a banned substance within the sport. Lebedev was re-installed as champion, while Jones was suspended for doping violations. However, the official result of that fight had never been changed - until now.

Lebedev was to fight the Panamanian in a rematch but Jones tested positive once againfor the same banned substance, with the fight being canceled just minutes before the boxers stepped in the ring on April 25 of 2014.

Hryunov, who is visiting the WBA convention in Sofia, Bulgaria, has reported to the Russian media that the original outcome of the fight has finally been reversed to a No-Contest. Lebedev’s record now reads 27-1, with 20 KOs, and 1 NC, while Jones is back to 38-3-2, 30 KOs.