Denis Lebedev vs. Guillermo Jones Rematch Cancelled After Jones Tests Positive

The much-anticipated rematch between WBA cruiserweight champion Denis Lebedev and Guillermo "El Jefe" Jones was cancelled after the challenger tested positive for a banned substance.

WBA Vice President Gilberto Mendoza tweeted this at 3:09 p.m. ET:

Pavel Golovkin

There was initially talk that the fight would continue on as a non-title bout. 

But after further discussion, it was cancelled.

This is the second time a Jones-Lebedev bout has been tainted by a positive drug test.

Per Gabriel F. Cordero of Fight News, Jones tested positive for Furosemide. This is the same substance that was found in the 41-year-old Jones' system before their first bout in May 2013.

Jones defeated Lebedev by KO in their brutal first encounter. Lebedev's right eye was left a grotesque mess from the damage Jones did with jabs and hard straight hands.

Because of Jones' positive drug test before the first fight, it was ruled that Lebedev would remain the champion. A rematch was ordered, but now that apparently won't happen.

It is unclear what these new developments mean for a future meeting, or for Jones' career moving forward.

This may mark an unfortunate end to a cruiserweight rivalry that fans never got an opportunity to see take its natural course.

At such an advanced age, this is a potentially career-ending setback for Jones. Furosemide is often used to allow fighters to shed weight, per Steroid.com, to fit into a weight region they can't make naturally.

It can also be used as a masking agent for steroids, per Doping Prevention.

In either case, it doesn't paint a positive picture for Jones today or in the future.

Where he goes from here is anyone's guess. 

Lebedev can likely move on to the next chapter in his career. But he may have to live with never being able to avenge a very tough loss.

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@BMazique