Beibut Shumenov's severe eye injury not only forced him to relinquish his WBA Cruiserweight title. It forced him to retire from the sport.
Speaking from his Las Vegas home, Shumenov said the eye injury sustained the week before his scheduled fight against Yunier Dorticos back in April was too great to continue fighting. Shumenov also said he has accepted the fact that injuries are a part of the sport, however disappointing it is that his career ended this way.
?I have regrettably relinquished my WBA cruiserweight title and retired from boxing because of a traumatic eye injury suffered the week before my last scheduled fight,? Shumenov said. ?I?m extremely disappointed my boxing career has ended like this but, unfortunately, injuries are part of this sport and there?s nothing I can do about it. I still have blurred vision and I need to have an additional surgery next month to try to further repair so I don?t risk blindness in my (right) eye. I?d like to thank my family, my team throughout the years, friends and fans for their continued support all these years. I was proud to wear the WBA championship belt for many years as a two-division champion. I?m grateful to WBA President Gilberto Jesus Mendoza, his father, and all those in my WBA family. It was quite a ride and I look forward with great anticipation to the next chapter of my life with my son and future endeavors.?
Shumenov retires without ever having defended the WBA ?regular? cruiserweight title. Shumenov won that title last year when he stopped Junior Anthony Wright in the 10th round of their fight back in May 2016. Shumenov did win the governing body?s interim title two years ago with a unanimous decision win over BJ Flores.
The 33-year-old also was a unified world light heavyweight champion, holding the WBA and IBA light heavyweight titles from 2010-14. His last loss was also the end of Shumenov?s reign as the light heavyweight champion when barely lost to Bernard Hopkins via split decision where the WBA, IBF and IBA titles were on the line.
Shumenov qualified for the 2002 Summer Olympic Games by winning the gold medal at the 2004 Asian Amateur Boxing Championships. Shumenov represented Kazakhstan in the Olympics where he went 1-1 in the tournament. Shumenov has been boxing professionally since November 2007.