By Jake Donovan

Beibut Shumenov’s game plan for Friday’s rematch with Gabriel Campillo was simple; right the wrongs he committed in the first fight and be smarter with his punches. Do that, and his second attempt at making the record books is a successful one.

When all was said and done, the only move that needed to be made was to bring the fight to Vegas.

In what boiled down to a debate of activity versus clean punching, the former proved to be enough for Shumenov to take a disputed 12-round split decision to avenge the lone loss of his professional career and capture a light heavyweight title quicker than any fighter in the history of the division.

The bout served as the main event of a televised doubleheader, which aired live from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on Fox Sports Network.

In an opening that eerily mirrored their first fight, Shumenov was doing all of the heavy lifting, throwing mostly power punches in the first round. Campillo didn’t do much more than plod forward in search of an opening that never presented itself in the early going.

Campillo let his hands go a bit more in the second, but only left himself open for counters in doing so. Shumenov continued to throw punches with knockout intentions, but Campillo refused to wilt.

The Spaniard’s toughness was further exhibited in the third, walking down Shumenov and bringing his power game. A heavy jab and long straight left hand snapped back Shumenov’s head and drove him backwards, prompting the Kazakhstan-born boxer to spend most of the round in reverse.

Shumenov mixed boxing and trading in the fourth, occasionally sticking and moving but also found time to plant his feed and trade with the southpaw titlist. The round was going well for Shumenov until the final thirty seconds, when Campillo landed a series of punishing lefts, drawing oohs and ahhs from the intimate yet rabid crowd on hand.

Drama surfaced for the first time in the bout in the fifth. A right cross from Shumenov opened up a bad cut over the left eye of Campillo, highlighting one of the better rounds of the fight to that point for the precocious light heavyweight.

Momentum didn’t last very long. Campillo turned things around in the tail end of the sixth, a point in the fight in which rematch threatened to repeat its predecessor. Shumenov began to show considerable signs of fatigue, as was the case at a similar point in their first fight, while Campillo was still going strong.

The round proved to be the proverbial crossroads point in the fight. Campillo ramped up the heat in the second half, while Shumenov was struggling to put a dent in the surging Spaniard’s attack.

Round nine would serve as the worst of Shumenov’s young career. Campillo, known for his toughness but not his punching power, unloaded on the former amateur star and 2004 Olympian, busting up his face with power shots while receiving very little in return.

It proved to be his last great moment in the fight.

Badly in need of a rally, Shumenov found his second wind as the rounds hit double digits. Campillo all but took off the tenth round, while Shumenov continued to throw whatever he had in his arsenal. A lot of the zip was removed from his fastball, but his activity level was enough to carry the round.

Both fighters were visibly spent heading into the championship rounds, but danced as hard as they could to put on a show for the crowd. Shumenov continued to enjoy a late round surge, but suffered a momentary setback when Campillo landed a flush right hook midway through the eleventh round.

Chants of “Bei-but” echoed through the casino ballroom in the final round, trying to will their guy to victory in a fight that appeared to be on the table. Shumenov kept coming forward, staying busy but unable to put a dent in Campillo, who wasn’t quite as active but appeared to land the cleaner blows in the round, if not throughout the fight.

The judges apparently felt otherwise – two of the three, anyway. Judges Levi Martinez and Patricia Morse-Jarman were amazingly six rounds apart on their pair of scorecards, scoring the bout 117-111 in opposite directions – Martinez in favor of Campillo, Morse-Jarman's atrocious submission in favor of the house fighter.

Breaking the tie was veteran judge Jerry Roth, who surprisingly saw the bout 115-113 in favor of Shumenov, who improves to 9-1 (6KO).

The win allows Shumenov to sneak into the record books, capturing an alphabet light heavyweight title in just his 10th pro fight. The feat eclipses the previous mark held by Jeff Harding, who won his first belt 15 fights into his pro career.

However, the slice of history comes under bittersweet circumstances. Despite having the crowd on his side all through fight week and throughout the fight, a fair share of boos echoed throughout the room the moment the scorecards were read. Just as his team argued that he was screwed in their first fight (despite it taking place in Shumenov’s native Kazakhstan), a similar case can be plead that Campillo deserved to leave the ring with his title still in tow.

Instead, it’s the end of a Cinderella run for the rangy southpaw, who falls to 19-3 (6KO).

The bout was Campillo’s first trip to the United States as he attempted to make the second defense of a light heavyweight strap he picked up in an upset of Hugo Garay last June. 

Ringside scoring such as what was offered on Friday may prompt Campillo to take a trip home. All but one of his first 18 bouts took place in his native Spain, but each of his last five bouts have taken place on the road. He won the title from Garay in Argentina, after having previously fought in Denmark and Germany. His lone successful defense of the title came last August in Kazakhstan, before falling short on a Golden Boy show in Las Vegas.

With both fighters taking debatable decisions in their two fight series, a rubber match is imminent, though the immediate career path of either fighter is presently unknown.

The televised co-feature saw Erislandy Lara continue the recent Cuban trend of sprinting from newcomer to prospect to contender all in one fell swoop. The undefeated super welterweight southpaw took a huge leap in competition and passed the toughest test of his career with flying colors in scoring a 10th round stoppage of divisional gatekeeper Grady Brewer.

Lara, a three-time Cuban national champion and former World Amateur champ, used blinding hand speed to get him through the early going against Brewer, who needed a few rounds to get untracked.

By round three, Brewer settled into a groove and was able to go punch-for-punch with an opponent more than 12 years his junior. The 39-year old veteran showed his spoiler tendencies in the fourth, momentarily rocking Lara just before the bell and leaving the Cuban shook as he slowly and unsteadily walked back to his corner.

It proved to be an isolated incident; Lara regained momentum in the fifth and never really looked back. The southpaw was effective with an assortment of weapons, most notably his left uppercut.

Brewer offered brief moments of success in the second half of the fight, but slowed down considerably as the fight wore on and was also forced to contend with a cut over his left eye.

Just when it appeared that Lara would cruise to a wide decision win, the Cuban turned up the heat late in the fight. A left to the body sent Brewer to all fours midway through the 10th and final round. The former Contender winner beat the count, but had nothing left to offer. Lara went on the attack, throwing a flurry of punches while Brewer covered up and offered nothing in return, prompting referee Tony Weeks to step in and stop the contest.

The official time was 2:44 of the 10th round.

Lara improves to 10-0 (6KO) with the win. Preliminary plans call for the southpaw to be in position to contend for a major title by year’s end. At the rate in which he continues to impress as he steps up in competition, such a suggestion doesn’t appear all that farfetched.

While he may not be completely done, it’s apparent that Brewer’s remaining days in the sport will be spent as an opponent. The Oklahoma native dips to 26-12(15KO), snapping a four-plus year, eight-fight win streak in the process.
 
The show was presented by Golden Boy Promotions and KZ Event Productions.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com .