Beibut Shumenov. Photo a courtesy of his vk.com page
A story of a renaissance man Beibut Shumenov, 30, is one of willpower and the pursuit of greatness despite the spokes life put in his wheels, The USA Today wrote about the Kazakhstani professional boxer’s life in the story called Shumenov overcomes setbacks to reach boxing pinnacle. It seemed Shumenov’s life was decided when, as a baby, his aunt fed him with spoiled milk and he turned all blue when his father came to pick him up. At the hospital the doctors gave him an IV and said he will grow frail and weak. The spoiled milk did not kill him, but made him stronger and defiant, Shumenov became an amateur boxer. At 6' 2" Shumenov certainly did not seem frail. But life sent the young boxer another set back. He broke his arm at the preliminaries during the Olympics in Athens. His chance for a gold medal, and as he says himself, something above and beyond was shattered along with his hand. "The government spends a lot of money on amateur boxing. It's like if you win a gold medal in the Olympics, you get $250,000 cash, you get a house, cars, you get over $1 million," Shumenov told The USA Today in an interview. After the failure at the Olympics, Shumenov decided to move on and lay aside his passion for sports. He graduated with a law degree and immersed himself into the family business. But the desire to try on the leather one more time brought the then 265 pounds Shumenov to sparing matches with the Kazakhstan National Team that came to his hometown Shymkent. He may have become bloated and immersed in the daily routines, but the passion for boxing and talent that were hidden for a long time sprang up and he beat several members of the National team in the ring. The coaches urged him to come back into boxing. Listening to the advise of his former Olympics coach, Shumenov decided to turn professional in the heavyweight or super heavyweight category. He moved to the United States with no knowledge of the language and no acquaintances. In North Carolina, Shumenov won his first professional fight and moved to Las Vegas. This is where the renaissance man was born in Shumenov as he became his own trainer, promoter, manager and legal adviser. With a firm belief in his own abilities and a wish “to make up for the time he lost”, Shumenov took the fast track to success. "When I fought for a major world title, I only won eight fights and I didn't have experience and enough knowledge at that time. After that fight I realized I made a huge mistake by choosing the fast track. I wasn't ready for that level,” admitted Shumenov. He is currently the super WBA, IBA Light Heavyweight, WBO Asia Pacific, WBC Asian Boxing Council and PABA Champion. On December 14, Shumenov TKOed Tomas Kovacs and retained his WBA and IBA titles. One thing is certain, Beibut Shumenov is a great fighter and struggling against the challenges that life has been throwing at him has made him stronger and kept him moving forward.
A story of a renaissance man Beibut Shumenov, 30, is one of willpower and the pursuit of greatness despite the spokes life put in his wheels, The USA Today wrote about the Kazakhstani professional boxer’s life in the story called Shumenov overcomes setbacks to reach boxing pinnacle.
It seemed Shumenov’s life was decided when, as a baby, his aunt fed him with spoiled milk and he turned all blue when his father came to pick him up. At the hospital the doctors gave him an IV and said he will grow frail and weak. The spoiled milk did not kill him, but made him stronger and defiant, Shumenov became an amateur boxer.
At 6' 2" Shumenov certainly did not seem frail. But life sent the young boxer another set back. He broke his arm at the preliminaries during the Olympics in Athens. His chance for a gold medal, and as he says himself, something above and beyond was shattered along with his hand. "The government spends a lot of money on amateur boxing. It's like if you win a gold medal in the Olympics, you get $250,000 cash, you get a house, cars, you get over $1 million," Shumenov told The USA Today in an interview.
After the failure at the Olympics, Shumenov decided to move on and lay aside his passion for sports. He graduated with a law degree and immersed himself into the family business. But the desire to try on the leather one more time brought the then 265 pounds Shumenov to sparing matches with the Kazakhstan National Team that came to his hometown Shymkent. He may have become bloated and immersed in the daily routines, but the passion for boxing and talent that were hidden for a long time sprang up and he beat several members of the National team in the ring. The coaches urged him to come back into boxing. Listening to the advise of his former Olympics coach, Shumenov decided to turn professional in the heavyweight or super heavyweight category.
He moved to the United States with no knowledge of the language and no acquaintances. In North Carolina, Shumenov won his first professional fight and moved to Las Vegas. This is where the renaissance man was born in Shumenov as he became his own trainer, promoter, manager and legal adviser.
With a firm belief in his own abilities and a wish “to make up for the time he lost”, Shumenov took the fast track to success.
"When I fought for a major world title, I only won eight fights and I didn't have experience and enough knowledge at that time. After that fight I realized I made a huge mistake by choosing the fast track. I wasn't ready for that level,” admitted Shumenov.
He is currently the super WBA, IBA Light Heavyweight, WBO Asia Pacific, WBC Asian Boxing Council and PABA Champion.
On December 14, Shumenov TKOed Tomas Kovacs and retained his WBA and IBA titles.
One thing is certain, Beibut Shumenov is a great fighter and struggling against the challenges that life has been throwing at him has made him stronger and kept him moving forward.