Jones heads to Moscow to fight Lebedev

Published May. 17, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Roy Jones Jr. (54-7, 40 KO) and Denis Lebedev (21-1, 16 KO) will meet in the ring on Saturday night at the Sport Complex Krylatskoe in Moscow, Russia. This non-title cruiserweight bout will not be available on American television.

Jones, once regarded as the best in the sport in the 1990s, will be making his return to the cruiserweight division, following last April’s lopsided loss to Bernard Hopkins in the light heavyweight division. Only five months prior, Jones traveled to Danny Green’s native Australia, only to be knocked out in the first round. Since back-to-back brutal KO losses to Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson in 2004, Jones has gone 5-4, with all four losses coming to prime, world-class competition.

The hard-hitting Lebedev began his career as a light heavyweight, and has settled in nicely as a cruiserweight. Fighting almost exclusively in his native Russia, Lebedev worked his way up to last December’s title shot against WBO cruiserweight champion Marco Huck, losing a close split decision in Germany. Lebedev is now trained by former undisputed junior welterweight champion and hall of famer Kostya Tszyu.