Kornilov: Usyk vs Bellew winner must face Lebedev

The Russian cruiserweight Denis Lebedev will have to meet with the winner of the battle between the Ukrainian Alexander Usyk and the British Tony Bellew, said Vadim Kornilov the manager of Lebedev.

On Friday, the battle between the undisputed cruiserweight champion Alexander Usyk and former champion Tony Bellew was officially confirmed. They will meet on November 10 in Manchester. The World Boxing Association (WBA) in February reported that Lebedev, who did not participate in the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS), was declared "the champion in recess", but will be obliged to meet with the winner of the tournament.

"We asked WBA for a special permit from Hizni Altunkaya, and we got it. I understand that the team of Usyk did the same, but I do not have the information whether his meeting with Bellew was approved. In any case, the negotiations with the Usyk team are started. It turns out that Denis will need to wait and then meet the winner in this pair," Kornilov said.