The Timing is Wright for an Upset in Las Vegas: Cosmopolitan Showtime Card Preview

The Timing is Wright for an Upset in Las Vegas: Cosmopolitan Showtime Card Preview

By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent

Las Vegas, NV (May 21st, 2016)–Junior Anthony Wright is a former Chicago Golden Gloves champion who will head into his second cruiserweight world title fight tonight, Saturday May 21, 2016, in Chelsea  Ballroom at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The stake will be the vacant World Boxing Association World Cruiserweight champion. His opponent is Beibut Shumenov, a former WBA and IBA World Light Heavyweight champion and interim WBA cruiserweight world champion. Cuban American Yornier Dorticos won the interim WBA World Cruiserweight title in Paris, France last night by stopping Youri Kayembre Kalenga in the tenth round.

The timing is Wright for an upset.

The winner of Shumenov versus Wright will either defend against Dorticos in the United States, or fight the winner of the International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Association Super World Cruiserweight title unification bout between Denis Lebedev of Russia and Victor Emilio Ramirez of Argentina, which also takes place tonight.

Wright, 15-1-1 with 12 knockouts, Chicago, Illinois, has been in the gym of the past eight weeks, and weighed in easily at 199 pounds, as compared to Shumenov weighing in 199 pounds. Both men will probably enter the ring as ‘super cruiserweights’, a mythical division which covers the 190 to 215 spectrum with a title which exists in such minor organizations such as the International Boxing Association Shumenov once fought for.

Wright should win easily by decision because Shumenov is a very flawed fighter. Wright had Stivens Bujaj with his teeth hanging out, a ten round WBC International vacant cruiserweight title bout somehow scored a draw. Wright decked Harvey Jolly in the fifth round en route to a decision win last year in Coney Island, just getting in a good workout. Wright was less kind to 30 bout veteran Jim Franklin, meticulously taking him apart and beating him up in 110 seconds at WinnaVegas Casino & Resort in Sloan, Iowa this past February. Negotiations were well underway for Junior Anthony Wright to fight former USBA Cruiserweight champion Garrett Wilson at Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino in Niagara Falls, New York on May 27, 2016 when this opportunity bout arrived on the table.

Shumenov has no punching power, and is overweight, fighting ridiculously in the wrong division, and is just waiting to walk into big trouble. Shumenov struggled desperately with 49 year old Bernard Hopkins, losing his titles by 12 round split decision in February 2014, getting dropped by Hopkins in the eleventh round in the process. He had to go five rounds with journeyman heavyweight Bobby Thomas in his next bout. Thomas was unable to go one round with Dmytro Kucher or Trey Lippe in his next two bouts, and could not last two rounds with light hitters Al Sands and Justin Howes.

It looked worse for Shumenov, now 16-2 with 10 knockouts, a Kazakh now fighting out of Las Vegas, when he struggled 12 rounds against light hitting B.J. Flores, the fighter who doesn’t want to fight anybody. The so-called plan for Shumenov and B.J. Flores to fight each other again, but not fight any boxers of consequences, theoretically continues as Flores will fight Roberto Santos, a loser of his last three bouts, on the Cosmopolitan undercard.

Wright has one loss, to Russian Rakhim Chakhkiev in Moscow, Russia in an International Boxing Organization world title bout in May 2015. How vigilant were the Americans in checking for steroids? Not at all a year ago. With Alexander Povetkin’s heavyweight title challenge lost due to a positive doping test, and the cheating scandal involving the Russian Olympians at Sochi, and being sent to Moscow at the last minute, Wright’s titular trip to Russia still questionable implications. Chakhkiev, who was knocked out in less than two rounds by Ola Afolabi in his next bout, will face Hungarian Tomas Lodi on the Denis Victor Emilio Lebedev versus Ramirez main event Moscow undercard tonight.

Shumenov versus Wright will not be televised. The seven bout Cosmopolitan card will televise the three other title bouts on the card, for WBA, WBC, IBF and IBO world titles.

This reporter’s prediction is the Shumenov versus Wright cruiserweight title bout will reach the tenth, eleventh and twelve championships. Anywhere in those three rounds, with Shumenov trailing on the cards and getting desperate, the bout will turn considerably ugly and dirty, and someone-Shumenov-will get knocked out or stopped before the final bell.

Beibut Shumenov’s flaw will be in trying to defeat Wright on a technical style bout fought on his terms. Wright is a power hitter who is not coming in looking to win a decision. The critical key point is Shumenov is fighting in the wrong division at a much higher weight.

Shumenov should enter the ring 172 to 182 pounds, not 212 pounds heavyweight where against a legitimate power hitter he is going to cut to pieces and broken down considerably.

Shumenov cannot deal with the pressure and power of legitimate cruiserweights on this level. Better Shumenov versus Wright is not televised, because it will lopsided enough nobody would want to see it. Shumenov should go back to light heavyweight where he belongs. Given, with a power hitter like Sergey Kovalev, Shumenov would not last long.

The only edge Shumenov might have is the Wright camp did not have a closed camp or advanced notice, affecting the odds. If Wright had had a closed camp for six to eight weeks and proper sponsorship with training expenses from promoter Dmitriy Salita, it would have been a better situation for him, trainer Rick Wilson, and manager Steve Clemente.

Salita has not moved Wright by fighting him as often as promised, inactivity being a factor which could affect any fighter. Instead, Salita has wasted his time moving lesser tier cruiserweights like Alexey Zubov and Emilio Salas, both recent losers. If Wright’s performance turns out to be a cash out fight in which the fighter was sent by Salita into a title fight without sufficient notice or proper preparation time for the opponent, Salita should sit down and evaluate how he is handling his cruiserweights and how to achieve a better result working with serious fighters in the 200 pound class cruiserweight division.

A lawyer and expert Greco-Roman wrestler with speaks five languages, Shumenov is now trained by Cuban Ishmael Salas, who has training a number of world champions including Guillermo Rigondeaux. Salas had the task of teaching Shumenov to create numerous fight angles so as to have more punch target openings. To avoid this trap, trainer Rick Wilson will have to keep Wright moving and countering, and not leave Shumenov with any kind of a stationary target. If the game plan has to change in midstream, Rick Wilson better find it,

or Shumenov will slowly but surely break Wright down. The bout could boil down to which corner utilizes the better game plan and executes it successfully, and which corner does not.

Shumenov has an edge in the IQ scientific sense. Shumenov has the highest IQ of any fighter in the history of the cruiserweight division. While Shumenov cannot outbox Wright in the boxing sense, Shumenov can cleverly outsmart Wright in the thinking sense. Shumenov will be looking to find flaws in Wright’s attack strategy to exploit them. If Shumenov finds them, Wright could be forced into a dragged to defensive survival fight with a lot of holding. If Wright breaks down Shumenov’s style first, he could stop him.

My Other Predictions on the Cosmopolitan Card

Untelevised Bouts

Trakwon Pettis Win TKO 4 Carlos Rodriguez, Super Lightweights

Lanell Bellows Win 8 Scott Sigmon, Light Heavyweights

B.J. Flores Win 8 Carlos Santos, Cruiserweights

Televised Bouts

Jermell Charlo KO 6 John Jackson, Super Welterweights

Vacant World Boxing Council Super Welterweight world title bout

Vanes Martirosyan Win Majority Decision 12 Erislandy Lara, Super Welterweights

World Boxing Association and International Boxing Organization Super Welterweight world title bout

Austin Trout Win 12 Jermall Charlo, Super Welterweights

International Boxing Federation World Super Welterweight title bout