Beibut Shumenov - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Beibut Shumenov, is a Kazakh

Kazakhs

The Kazakhs are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia ....

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

who fights in the light heavyweight

Light heavyweight

In boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...

division. He is the current WBA

World Boxing Association

The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...

Light Heavyweight Champion.

Amateur career

Shumenov represented Kazakhstan in the 2004 Summer Olympics

Boxing at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Boxing at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place in the Peristeri Olympic Boxing Hall. The event was only open to men and bouts were contested over four rounds of two minutes each...

. His results were:

Defeated Aleksy Kuziemski
Aleksy Kuziemski
Aleksy Kuziemski is a boxer from Poland.-Amateur:Kuziemski won the bronze medal at light heavy at the 2003 World Amateur Boxing Championships, and another bronze at the 2004 European Amateur Boxing Championships.He participated in the 2004 Summer Olympics...

(Poland) 34-22
Lost to Ihsan Yildirim Tarhan (Turkey) 19-27

He qualified for the Athens Games by winning the gold medal at the 2004 Asian Amateur Boxing Championships

2004 Asian Amateur Boxing Championships

The 22nd edition of the Men's Asian Amateur Boxing Championships were held from January 11 to January 18, 2004 in Puerto Princesa Coliseum, Puerto Princesa, Philippines...

in Puerto Princesa, Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. In the final he defeated PR China's Lei Yuping.

Professional career

Shumenov moved to the United States and based himself in Las Vegas where he turned professional in March 2007. In his debut in North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

, Shumenov defeated Walter Edwards with a knockout

Knockout

A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...

in the first round. He followed this up with another two knockout wins within 4 months.

In March 2008, Shumenov returned to Kazakhstan to fight American Donnell Wiggins for the vacant WBC Asian and interim PABA light heavyweight titles. Shumenov quickly dispatched the experienced Wiggins with a second round knockout and the next month beat former US national Golden Gloves champion Lavell Finger in the first round to add the vacant WBO Asia Pacific title to his WBC Asian and interim PABA titles.

Shumenov's most high profile fight came in August 2008 when he faced from world champion Montell Griffin

Montell Griffin

Montell Julian Griffin is an American boxer. He is best known for his two bouts at Light Heavyweight with Roy Jones Jr.- Professional career :...

in Chimkent, Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...

to defend his regional WBC and WBO titles. Shumenov was taken to the scorecards for the first time in his career but won the fight clearly winning every round on all three judges cards.

Shumenov was targeting a fight with then WBO

World Boxing Organization

The World Boxing Organization is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional boxing world champions. The organization is recognized as one of the four major world championship groups by the IBHOF alongside the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Council and the...

World Champion Zsolt Erdei

Zsolt Erdei

Zsolt Erdei is a Hungarian boxer in the light heavyweight division. He is the former undefeated Lineal & WBO light heavyweight champion, and WBC cruiserweight champion. Erdei is also the first Hungarian to win a world title in two weight divisions.Erdei boxed at the 2000 Summer Olympics...

World Title

On 15 August 2009 and only 8 professional bouts on his record Shumenov received a shot at the WBA

World Boxing Association

belt when he took on the Spaniard Gabriel Campillo

Gabriel Campillo

Gabriel Campillo is a professional boxer from Spain. He resides in Madrid, Spain. His nickname is "Chico Guapo". His professional record includes 21 fights: 18 wins , 2 loss and 1 no-contest. He won the WBA light heavyweight title from Argentinian Hugo Hernán Garay on June 20, 2009...

. The fight took place in Shumenov's home country of Kazakhstan and resulted in the first loss of his career when Campillo was declared the winner by majority decision. A rematch took place on 9 January 2010, with the result being reversed this time and Shumenov declared the winner by what was considered an extremely controversial split decision. With this victory Shumenov became the quickest man ever to win a world title in the light heavyweight division, beating the record of 15 fights set by Jeff Harding

Jeff Harding (boxer)

Jeff Harding was a world champion boxer from Australia, known as "Hit Man". Jeff lived in South Grafton N.S.W. Australia and was a student at South Grafton High School...

in 1989.

Shumenov made the first defence of his title on July 23, 2010 when he won a unanimous decision against the previously undefeated Viacheslav Uzelkov. Shumenov then arranged to have a unification fight with the then WBO champion Jürgen Brähmer, the fight was scheduled to take place in Kazakhstan 8 January 2011. However just days before the fight was due to take place Brähmer left Kazakhstan and returned to Germany, citing illness as his reason for dropping out of the fight. In his place former middleweight world champion William Joppy

William Joppy

William Torelle Joppy is an American middleweight boxer. Joppy held the WBA middleweight title on two occasions. He first became the WBA champion in June 1996 by stopping defender Shinji Takehara in Japan with a flurry of punches in the ninth round. He then would make a couple defenses of his crown...

stepped in at short notice, and was knocked out by Shumenov in the 6th round.

He successfully defended his title in Las Vegas on July 29 against former Contender

The Contender (TV series)

The Contender is a reality television series that follows a group of boxers as they compete with one another in an elimination-style competition, while their lives and relationships with each other and their families are depicted. Produced by Mark Burnett, the show is hosted by Sugar Ray Leonard,...

star Danny Santiago

Danny Santiago

Danny Santiago is a boxer in the light heavyweight division. He resides in Ocala, Florida.-Amateur career:Santiago had a strong amateur career, including the following highlights:...

Future plans

Following on from his earlier efforts to unify the titles, in June 2011 Shumenov expressed an interest in a possible 4 man tournament between himself and the other current beltholders (newly crowned WBO champion Nathan Cleverly

Nathan Cleverly

Nathan Cleverly is a British professional boxer from Wales and current WBO light heavyweight world champion. He is also the former European, British and Commonwealth light heavyweight champion...

, IBF

IBF

IBF may refer to:*International Boxing Federation is one of several boxing organisations* International Bandy Federation former name of Federation of International Bandy , an international governing body for bandy...

champion Tavoris Cloud

Tavoris Cloud

Tavoris Karod Cloud is an American professional boxer born in Tallahassee, Florida, USA, and the current IBF light heavyweight champion.-Early life:...

and the WBC

World Boxing Council

The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...

/IBO

International Boxing Organization

The International Boxing Organization is a for-profit organization that sanctions professional boxing matches and awards world and subordinate championships.- Origins :...

/Ring Magazine champion Bernard Hopkins

Bernard Hopkins

Bernard Hopkins Jr, known as The Executioner is an American boxer and the current Ring Magazine and WBC light heavyweight champion...

Professional boxing record

|align="center" colspan=8|11 Wins (8 knockouts, 4 decisions), 1 Losses (0 by knockout, 1 by decision), 0 Draws
|-
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Res.
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Opponent
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Type
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Rd
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Date
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Location
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Notes
|-align=center
| || align=left|

Danny Santiago

Danny Santiago is a boxer in the light heavyweight division. He resides in Ocala, Florida.-Amateur career:Santiago had a strong amateur career, including the following highlights:...

| || 9 ||
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