By Andrey Krikunov
Spanish boxer Gabriel Campillo successfully defended his WBA World light heavyweight title. The Spaniard managed to win the title at his opponent’s backyard when he beat Hugo Hernan Garay in Argentina and now retained his belt also away from home in Sport Complex “Daulet”, Astana, Kazakhstan. Campillo, nicknamed “Chico Guapo”, overpowered local prospect Beibut Shumenov in a close bout.
The Kazakh boxer has spent less than two years on a professional stage and some experts noted that it was too early for him to step in a title bout. Shumenov, 25 took the risk but couldn’t beat his more experienced opponent.
Shumenov started the fight aggressively, but couldn’t retain the same tempo till the end. He managed to floor his opponent in the ninth round but Campillo found the strength to fight back and answered him with a knockdown in the twelfth. The Spaniard also looked more sharp in the championship rounds and eventually all three judges gave him the victory – 114:112, 114:112, 113:112. It’s the first defeat for Shumenov and the 19th victory for Campillo, 30 (and the third in a row in 2009, the year which drastically changed his career).
The undercard saw undefeated Gayrat Ahmedov win interim PABA light heavyweight title and vacant WBC Asian Boxing Council light heavyweight title by knocking out Kenyan Douglas Otieno. Another Kenyan boxer was stopped in the round eight by experienced DeMarcus Corley.