World Boxing Association (“WBA”) and International Boxing Association (“IBA”) light heavyweight World champion Beibut Shumenov and Goossen Tutor Promotions have settled their lawsuit and the disputes between them. They have agreed that their Promotional Contract is terminated and have amicably parted ways.
Shumenov (12-1, 8 KOs), a 2004 Kazakhstan Olympian, is promoted by Las Vegas-based KZ Event Productions, which is owned and operated by the Shumenov brothers, Beibut and Chingis.
“I want to fight the best to be considered the best 175 pounder in the world,” Shumenov said. “I’ve heard that (Nathan) Cleverly, who won the WBO title after (Juergen) Braehmer was stripped, and (IBF champion Tavoris) Cloud have mentioned my name, but, truth be told, we have never been contacted by either one of their promoters to unify.
“All of these guys talking about unifying, well, if they really want to make it happen, all they have to do is contact us. I told Pascal that I’m from Kazakhstan, he lives in Canada; so, we should fight in the capital of boxing, Las Vegas. Same goes for Cleverly, who is from the United Kingdom.
“I’m getting ready and looking forward to a fresh New Year. Hopefully, one of the other light heavyweight world champions will put his title belt on the line against mine in a unification fight in 2012. ”
Shumenov set a light heavyweight record for capturing a world title in the fewest career fights, 10, when (Jan. 29, 2010) he won a 12-round decision against Gabriel Campillo in Las Vegas. In three successful world title defenses, Shumenov won a unanimous 12-round decision versus No. 1 mandatory challenger and previously undefeated Viacheslav Uzelkov (UDEC12), followed by a six-round knockout of three-time world champion William Joppy (KO6), and then his victory in July by ninth-round TKO versus three-time world title challenger Danny Santiago.
“We keep hearing and reading about all these offers made to Beibut,” noted Hall of Fame promoter Don Chargin, who serves as Shumenov’s advisor. “We’ve only talked with Pascal, who was told that Beibut would fight him at a neutral site. I intend to reach out to Cleverly’s promoter, Frank Warren, to see if they’re serious about fighting a unification with Beibut. He is ready, willing and able to fight Cleverly. We won’t turn down a fair deal with any of the other world champions.
“Over the years, I’ve worked with many different people in this business, and Beibut is an absolute joy to be with and always a pleasure. Nobody trains harder than Beibut and he’s improving every day. Our goal in 2012 is to go after all of the world champions who’ve said they made offers to fight Beibut. We hope something happens in that respect. After Beibut makes a title defense in Las Vegas, I’d love to see him defend his title before 50,000-60,000 in Kazakhstan. Beibut will never stop trying to unify the world light heavyweight title.”
In only 13 pro fights, Beibut has defeated four world champions (Campillo, Joppy, Byron Mitchell and Montell Griffin), as well as three world title challengers (Uzelkov, Santiago and Epifanio Mendoza
