Warren never offered ShumenovFeb. 25 Unification fight vs. CleverlyLAS VEGAS (January 3, 2012) – Hall of Fame promoter Don Chargin, advisor for World Boxing Association (“WBA”) and International Boxing Association (“IBA”) light heavyweight World champion Beibut Shumenov, has responded to a press release issued by Frank Warren Promotions that claimed Shumenov turned down a unification offer to fight World Boxing Organization (“WBO”) titlist Nathan Cleverly. The press release announced that Cleverly will be defending his WBO title February 25 against Tommy Karpency in Wales.
It also claimed: An offer went to WBA title-holder Beibut Shumenov to face Cleverly, but he said he would not be ready in time – although it could happen later this year. Back in November, Chargin reached out to Warren, after reading stories that Cleverly was interested in a unification fight against Beibut. Chargin spoke twice to Warren’s matchmaker, Dean Powell, but Don didn’t hear back until he received an email yesterday. “I thought that it was strange to get an email just yesterday asking what it would take to get Beibut to come to the UK, especially where we had been talking by phone, and they never responded to our offer weeks ago for Cleverly to fight Beibut in Las Vegas,” Chargin said. “The next day they announce a fight between Cleverly and Karpency? The truth of the matter is Beibut never turned down any fight against Cleverly because they didn’t make an offer to us. We offered them a fight against Shumenov in Las Vegas and they never even responded to that offer, which, to me, means they turned it down. To say Beibut wouldn’t be ready in time to fight Cleverly in two months is quite amusing. Beibut’s been ready to unify since he first won the WBA title. I am terribly disappointed that they would make false statements like that.”
Shumenov (12-1, 8 KOs), a 2004 Kazakhstan Olympian, 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 last July by ninth-round TKO versus three-time world title challenger Danny Santiago.
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
As in September, I once again ran out of gas in the 10th & 11th championship rounds of October & November with this column, but I recovered to complete them and will unleash a few more flurries to close out the 12th and final round.
In the first week of October, Hassan N’Dam won a UD over Curtis Stevens in an eliminator for the right to challenge Jermaine Taylor who defeated aging Sam Soliman to regain the IBF Middleweight title. How Taylor even earned this title shot is another story altogether, but it is all irrelevant as he is now the champion. However he will not have too much time to savor his victory as he has assault and battery charges pending against him and an upcoming court fight that may turn out to be the toughest fight of his life, just when things started to look up for him in boxing, we wish him luck.
