Vadim Kornilov, manager of the WBA cruiserweight champion ‘in recess’ Denis Lebedev (30-2, 22 KOs) spoke about the desire of his fighter to go out in the ring against one of the finalists of the World boxing super series (WBSS) Alexander Usyk (15-0, 11 KOs) or Murut Gassiev (26-1, 19 KOs):
"Denis did not speak for more than a year, he even thought about quitting his career, but still decided to return. According to the last WBA resolution, Denis gave the way to all those who fought in the WBSS and was declared the WBA champion ‘in recess’.
“But now the new champion must meet Lebedev as a mandatory challenger for the belt. Denis is very interested in the battle with the winner. Now, according to WBA rules, Denis should meet with someone from the top 15. We offered this fight to many people, but only Altunkaya agreed.
“Next, Denis would like to meet Alexander Usyk, but if he goes into another weight category, and this possibility is now being discussed, Denis will be interested in a rematch with Gassiev. The previous meeting left a lot of questions. In my opinion, and the opinion of many experts, Gassiev's victory was not obvious, so only a rematch can remove all questions."
