By Ruslan Chikov
It was announced in Shymkent, Kazakhstan, that WBA light heavyweight champion Beibut Shumenov (10-1, 6KOs) will defend his title this Saturday against 40-year-old former middleweight champion William Joppy (39-6-2, 30 KOs) who accepted the fight on late notice. Shumenov was going to unify his crown against WBO champion Juergen Braehmer. The German champion withdrew on Tuesday after feeling very ill.
Joppy returned in 2010 after a two year retirement following a 2008 knockout loss to IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute. Joppy lost a close decision to Sebastien Demers last March and then went to a ten round majority draw with Cory Cummings in November.
