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By Jake Donovan - It happens to the very best of them. What you know really well often serves as what you do, but eventually reach a point where the passion is gone and it’s simply just a job.
Veteran trainer and 1984 Olympic silver medalist Kevin Barry had been around the game for what felt like forever, but a long and expensive lawsuit and several operations kept the New Zealand-bred boxing coach away from the spotlight since 2003.
The game never quite left him, but Barry reached a point in his life where he believed he had maxed out in what he would achieve from the game. It meant bringing several fighters – most notably heavyweight contender David Tua - to the top level, but having never manned a corner in which his guy left the ring with a world title around his waist.
A messy divorce with Tua – whom Barry had managed for 12 years and trained for three before splitting in 2003 – absorbed a tremendous amount of time, energy and money, to where he thought he was done with training world-class talent.
Then came “that” phone call.
On the other end wasn’t just any other fighter, but one who has aspired for greatness from the moment he first laced ‘em up. Self-managed light heavyweight Beibut Shumenov (8-1, 6KO) has quickly proven in just two years as a pro that he’s willing to put action behind the words he speaks.
Already among a resume merely nine fights deep are wins over two former titlists, another over a former title challenger and the near miss at the title level himself when he fell short against Gabriel Campillo in a bid for an alphabet light heavyweight title last summer. [Click Here To Read More]
Veteran trainer and 1984 Olympic silver medalist Kevin Barry had been around the game for what felt like forever, but a long and expensive lawsuit and several operations kept the New Zealand-bred boxing coach away from the spotlight since 2003.
The game never quite left him, but Barry reached a point in his life where he believed he had maxed out in what he would achieve from the game. It meant bringing several fighters – most notably heavyweight contender David Tua - to the top level, but having never manned a corner in which his guy left the ring with a world title around his waist.
A messy divorce with Tua – whom Barry had managed for 12 years and trained for three before splitting in 2003 – absorbed a tremendous amount of time, energy and money, to where he thought he was done with training world-class talent.
Then came “that” phone call.
On the other end wasn’t just any other fighter, but one who has aspired for greatness from the moment he first laced ‘em up. Self-managed light heavyweight Beibut Shumenov (8-1, 6KO) has quickly proven in just two years as a pro that he’s willing to put action behind the words he speaks.
Already among a resume merely nine fights deep are wins over two former titlists, another over a former title challenger and the near miss at the title level himself when he fell short against Gabriel Campillo in a bid for an alphabet light heavyweight title last summer. [Click Here To Read More]
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