Boxer Denis Alexandrovich Lebedev: biography, achievements and interesting facts

Russian boxing in our time is experiencing a heyday, which is confirmed by a whole pleiad of champions in different weight classes according to the leading world versions. Today, even boys know such names as Sergei Kovalev, Eduard Troyanovsky, Denis Lebedev, Grigory Drozd, Alexander Povetkin and others. In this article we will get acquainted with a man named Denis Lebedev (biography of the boxer, the family will be considered in detail).

Birth and childhood

The future leader of the kruzervey was born on August 14, 1979 in the city of Stary Oskol, Belgorod region, in Russia. The guy started boxing on the convincing advice of his father. Also, the young athlete went to training in gymnastics. By the way, initially he was considered a promising gymnast, and not a boxer. But the section was closed, after which Denis began to intensively engage in boxing. It was not easy for the boy to take solo lessons, and he was not among the best, but eventually he was able to rise, but this way was long and thorny.

After graduation, Denis Alexandrovich Lebedev was drafted into the Armed Forces, where he continued to train actively in CSKA. It was during the service that he became acquainted with his future opponent, Alexander Alexeyev.

Career in amateurs

The first major success at the amateur ring for Lebedev came in 1997, when he won the European Championship. At that time Denis appeared in the category of up to 75 kilograms. At the beginning of the tournament, he was able to convincingly deal with the representative of Italy Michele Aramini, sending him to a deep knockout in the first three minutes.

In the quarterfinals, the Russian stopped ahead of schedule Azerbaijani Gabrid Orujiev, and in the semi-final, the Turkish Hassan Kilic was knocked out. In the final fight, Lebedev won by Hungarian Hungarian Gyorgy Hiveggi and thus became the best on the European continent.

In 1998, Denis Alexandrovich Lebedev performed at the Goodwill Games, held then in New York. The Russian boxer fought in the category up to 81 kg. Having reached the semifinals, Denis eventually lost to American Anderson and eventually won the bronze of the tournament.

Performances in the professional ring

In 2001, Denis became a professional and began to actively perform in the ring. Already in the third fight he won the title of the champion of Russia, after which he had 13 more successful battles. However, due to some life circumstances, he still decided to withdraw from the sport.

Outside the ring the sportsman stayed four years. And in 2008 he returned to the fights again and on July 19 he was knocked out by the Georgian Archil Mezvrishvili. After that, two more victories followed: Nikon Okot and Dmitry Adamovich.

This success led to the opportunity to meet in the ring with ex-world champion Enzo Maccarinelli. The duel ended with the victory of the Russian and brought him the title of intercontinental champion.

The battle with the German

In 2010 Denis Alexandrovich Lebedev had a duel with the then champion Marco Huck. In Berlin, the Russian acted actively and passed the entire distance. The battle was very competitive, spectacular. As a result, Marco won a separate judge's decision, although many experts and viewers unanimously agreed that the Russian soldier was deprived of a well-deserved victory.

Duel with the American legend

In May 2011, boxer Denis Alexandrovich Lebedev had a fight with the world famous, legendary Roy Jones. The whole battle was led by a Russian. In the fourth three-minute session, Lebedev was able to "swing" Jones, but he survived. In the ninth round, Lebedev was able to show the fortress of spirit and body after a missed strong blow to the head.

Finally, everything was decided at the end of the 10th round, when Denis, after a series of heavy blows, knocked out an American. In this episode, the referee hesitated somewhat, because Roy received a few extra blows, because he was already in a standing knockout.

Scramble with Tony

In November 2011 in Moscow, a battle took place between Lebedev and boxing veteran James Toney. The fight was completely under the dictation of the Russian athlete, therefore it is quite natural for the judges to give victory to him. It is noteworthy that for this fight the American was forced to drop 26 kilograms in order to invest in the limit of the weight category. This victory allowed Lebedev to become a temporary WBA world champion.

Drama

May 17, 2013 Lebedev Denis Alexandrovich, after long negotiations, still met with the Panamanian Guillermo Jones. The battle was very spectacular and, you might even say, bloody. Already in the first round, Lebedev had a very severe hematoma over his right eye, which made him want to knock out his opponent, but Guillermo sustained blows, but the Russian did not. In the 11th three minutes Denis was knocked down, which the referee eventually interpreted as a technical knockout. Thus, the Panaman was able to take the belt from Denis.

But this confrontation between the two boxers has not ended. On October 18, 2013, Jones was stripped of his title because of the doping he had found, and on April 24, 2014, the Panaman completely failed the doping test directly on the day of the fight, leaving Lebedev to keep his belt untouchable for the opponent's hands.

In June 2015, by decision of the WBA, the result of the 2013 match between the Russian and the Panamanian was canceled.

Holder of two belts

In May 2016, Denis Lebedev, whose brief biography is considered in this article, conducted a unification battle against the Argentinean Victor Ramirez, who at the time was the IBF world champion.

The first round was held with a minimal advantage of the Russian fighter. But already in the second three minutes, Lebedev literally destroyed the Argentine, who at a certain moment completely stopped responding to all Denis attacks. The referee stopped the fight and awarded the Russian champion.

Family status

Denis Alexandrovich Lebedev - a vivid example of an excellent family man. Despite the colossal workload, the boxer has his wife Anna and three daughters. With his wife, the athlete became acquainted in school years. In his numerous interviews Denis always thanks his wife for her patience, love and devotion to the family hearth. Also, the champion does not insist that his children later become professional athletes.