World Boxing Association (“WBA”) Light Heavyweight World Champion Beibut Shumenov returns on June 2 to make his fourth title defense against former super middleweight world title challenger Enrique Ornelas at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nev. in a fight that will be televised live on FOX Sports Net and FOX Deportes.
The fight will mark Shumenov’s return to same venue in which he first captured the WBA title in his 10th professional bout on January 29, 2010 with a 12-round unanimous decision over Gabriel Campillo, establishing the record for a fighter winning a major world light heavyweight championship in the fewest professional fights. The 2004 Kazakhstan Olympian has successfully defended against Vyacheslav Uzelkov (DEC 12), William Joppy (KO 6) and most recently against Danny Santiago (TKO 9) this past July. In only 13 professional fights, the 28-year-old Shumenov has defeated four world champions – Campillo, Byron Mitchell, Joppy and Montell Griffin – as well as former world title challengers Epifanio Mendoza, Uzelkov and Santiago.
An all-action warrior who always gives fans their money’s worth in the ring, La Habra, California’s Enrique Ornelas (33-7, 21 KO’s) has been showing off the best form of his career since a permanent move to the light heavyweight division in 2011. He is riding a three-fight winning streak which includes a first round body shot knockout over Heriberto Gutierrez last December. Just hitting his prime at 31, Ornelas came to the 175-pound weight class after an impressive run at 168 pounds, where he owned the NABF title and gave a stellar effort in a challenge for Robert Stieglitz’ WBO title in 2010.
Shumenov vs. Ornelas is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and KZ Event Productions and sponsored by Corona. The FOX Sports Net and FOX Deportes bilingual simulcast will air live at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT.
Tickets, priced at $100, $60, $30, $25, along with a limited number of VIP suite seats priced at $125, may be purchased at the Hard Rock Hotel Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations, online at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at (800) 745-3000.
