Beibut Shumenov to defend his
IBA and WBA Title
June 25, 2010
(JUNE 25) Los Angeles, CA – When
capturing the WBA Light Heavyweight Championship in just his 10th
professional bout back in January, Beibut Shumenov (9-1, 6 KOs) entered
the boxing record books for winning a major world title in the light
heavyweight division with the fewest number of fights in his
professional career, beating Jeff Harding’s record established in 1988
after winning the championship in his 15th professional bout.
On July 23rd, the Chimkent, Kazakhstan-born, Las Vegas, NV-based
warrior, who recently signed with Goossen Tutor Promotions, will get his
next chance at making history when he defends his WBA and IBA titles in
only his 11th professional bout against mandatory challenger Vyacheslav
Uzelkov (22-0, 14 KOs) of Vinitza, Ukraine, in the scheduled 12-round
main event of the ESPN2 “Friday Night Fights” (10pm ET/7pm PT).
Presented by Goossen Tutor in association with KZ Event Productions, the
Shumenov-Uzelkov headlined boxing card will emanate from a specially
constructed outdoor arena at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore,
CA.
The Kevin Barry-trained, self- managed Shumenov, 26, avenged his only
loss as a pro – by majority decision -- in winning the WBA Light
Heavyweight Championship from Gabriel Campillo in another 12-round
hotly-contested bout -- in just his 10th fight.
On May 8th in Carson, CA, Shumenov was introduced at a press conference
announcing the signing with Goossen Tutor, which will allow him to be
more focused for his own boxing career, starting with the defense
against Uzelkov. As co-owner -- with brother Chingis -- of KZ Event
Productions, Beibut Shumenov will continue to be heavily involved in
signing and guiding the careers of boxers under the KZ umbrella.
The mental toll on a fighter who is actually fighting and promoting
simultaneously can be, and usually is, horrific. Now with the burden of
the day-in, day-out promotional responsibilities now resting on Goossen
Tutor’s shoulders, Shumenov, for the first time in his career will truly
be able to concentrate on the formable task immediately in front of him;
WBA mandatory challenger Uzelkov.
“I’ve been able to concentrate 100-percent on training for the first
time in my career with the alignment with Goossen Tutor,” Shumenov said.
“I’ve been training hard with Kevin just focusing on improving all
aspects of my arsenal, and everyone will see that against Uzelkov. He is
a good fighter who deserves his championship opportunity and I know it’s
going to be a great fight. I can’t wait for July 23rd. It’s going to be
a night of firsts for me – first WBA title defense; first time fighting
on ESPN; and first fight without having to worry about promoting.”
The undefeated, heavy-handed Uzelkov, 31, has been taken the distance
just once in his last 10 bouts. In his most recent outing back in
October, he stopped the Czech Republic’s Tomas Adamek in the fifth round
to win the WBA Inter-Continental Championship in Kiev, Ukraine. Uzelkov
owns a knockout win over Gabriel Campillo – the only common opponent he
has with Shumenov. Uzelkov is promoted by brothers Vitali and Wladimir
Klitschko, who head up K2 Promotions Ukraine.
“It is necessary to knock him (Shumenov) out so there are no questions,
and as a matter of fact, that is exactly what I plan to do,” Uzelkov
said. Shumenov had the title for a little while and now it will transfer
over to me.”
Promoter Dan Goossen said he couldn’t have picked a tougher fight for
his new champion then Uzelkov. “These are the type of challenges that
definitely take you to the next level with a victory. It won’t be easy
on July 23, but we believe Beibut is destined to do special things in
boxing.”
A victory for Shumenov puts him into position to unify the light
heavyweight belts against the other champions: Tavoris Cloud (IBF), Jean
Pascal (WBC) and Juergen Braehmer (WBO). But the one real challenge
Shumenov would like is against undefeated Chad Dawson.
First things first though as Shumenov can only think about taking care
of the very dangerous and hungry challenger on July 23.
In addition to the main event bout, Rico Ramos (16-0, 9 KOs), the #3 WBO
world rated Super Bantamweight will defend his WBO/NABO championship
against Mexico’s hard-punching Cuauhtemoc Vargas (15-3-1, 10 KOs) in an
eight-round fight. With a win, Ramos will be one step closer to his goal
of fighting for the world championship.
Tickets for this exciting event are priced at: $20, $50, $60 and $250
and can be purchased by calling the Tachi Palace box office at:
559-924-7751 or by visiting tickets.com.
