Fedor Emelianenko Spars with Denis Lebedev

Even coming off two straight losses, the great Russian heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko remains a fascinating enigma. So when video emerged on YouTube earlier this week of Fedor sparring with Russian cruiserweight boxing contender Denis Lebedev, it was guaranteed to go viral.

I first found the videos posted to the Mixedmartialarts.com website. They are labeled as videos of Fedor in training for his upcoming bout with Dan Henderson.

While I cannot personally vouch for how recently these videos were actually filmed, to my eye, the Fedor who appears in these videos certainly looks leaner than the version pictured in this slide, which is the same basic physique he had both at the height of his Pride run and more recently in his past two defeats.

Who Is Denis Lebedev?

Fedor Emelianenko obviously needs no introduction. Denis Lebedev probably will not need any for even the more casual boxing fans, but for the young, inked-up, Tap Out set who I hope are reading this, I will provide some background. Lebedev, for starters, is the dude who most recently knocked Roy Jones Jr. out colder than a Siberian winter.

Now I know that people who only pay the most cursory of attention to boxing may have developed the impression that knocking out Roy Jones Jr, is something that everybody and their grandmother is doing these days, but as somebody who writes about boxing a lot, as an unpaid hobby, let me assure you: knocking out Roy Jones Jr. still puts you in some elite company.

Nobody is saying Denis Lebedev is Antonio Tarver or Glen Johnson. But he is a legitimate world class professional boxer.

He has average hand speed and head movement, but very good footwork, and a southpaw with very good footwork and an active jab is going to present problems for almost anybody. He has a rugged inside game, though he leaves himself open to punishment at times. Jones was able to hurt him with the overhand right, and in this video, you can see that the right is at times effective for Emelianenko.

Still, Lebedev is among the very best in the world as a professional boxer. Ring Magazine has him ranked number four at 200 pounds. His lone loss, to Marco Huck for the WBO championship, is viewed as one of the more controversial split decisions of recent years.

The fact that Fedor can hang with Lebedev, even in a friendly training session where both men are clearly letting each other work, speaks volumes for the skill level he has as a boxer.

How Significant Is This Footage?

Fedor's boxing looks pretty good in these videos, although in this second one, the pace is picked up and Lebedev tunes Fedor up a little bit more thoroughly than he did in the first round.

So it's tempting to assume from this that Fedor must be planning to let his hands go with Henderson, hoping to turn it into a stand up boxing brawl.

This could be a valid strategy for Fedor's camp to follow: Henderson, despite his elite wrestling credentials, has in the past displayed an eagerness to exchange. He trusts his heavy right hand. If Fedor has spent a lot of time training his boxing and working with word class guys like Lebedev, we might have a shoot out to look forward to.

On the other hand, this might have just been a one day thing, a tune up for Fedor's boxing game and a chance for Lebedev to get in a workout against a rugged, busy puncher.

If you notice the difference between Emelianenko and Lebedev's footwork, you can see how they are working at slightly different things. Emelianenko is overall "bouncier," for lack of a better word.

One of Emelianenko's most effective punches in MMA is his "casting" punch, a big, looping overhand right that he throws as he is exploding towards his opponent. If the punch misses, he is looking to tie up and take a dominant position in the clinch.

In a boxing match this punch is more or less useless. At best it makes you John Ruiz. But you can still see Emelianenko in this video, looking to explode inside behind his jabs and aggressive overhands.

Lebedev, on the other hand, is working on what you would expect a southpaw boxer to work on. He is using a smooth, jab, step and slide footwork to keep his lead right foot outside of Fedor's lead left foot. He's not pursuing this strategy with the relentless intensity he showed against Jones; he's letting Emelianenko work. But he's giving the MMA star tough rounds.

It's hard to guess how significant these rounds were in Emelianenko's training for Henderson. Either way, they are a fascinating behind the scenes look at a legendary fighter preparing for what might be his last fight.