Beibut Shumenov retained his light heavyweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Vyacheslav Uzelkov on Friday Night in Lemoore, California. The fight was the main event of ESPN’s Friday Night Fights.
Shumenov started out strong, landing hard shots to the body of Uzelkov on a night that featured in-ring temperatures in excess of 100 degrees. Seeming to conserve his energy, Uzelkov opted to throw one big shot at a time. Uzelkov exploded with a left hook in the first round that sent the champion to the canvas. Shumenov responded with a knockdown of his own in the third round, sending Uzelkov to the mat with a straight right.
Scores of the fight were 117-109, 118-108, and 118-108.
