Tag Archives: retirement

This Week’s FNU Combat Sports Show: UFC and Bellator UK Show Recaps, Bisping Retires, Cop Boxing Teen Goes Viral

This week on the FNU Combat Sports show, Tom, Tony and Rich discuss a slow week for boxing and recap two huge MMA cards in the United Kingdom last weekend. We also talk about Michael Bisping deciding to retire, weight cutting issues in the UFC, and a cop nicknamed “Blade” getting his 15 seconds of fame in a viral video where he boxes a teen in full uniform and comes out on top. Listen to the whole show below:

 

COTTO vs ALI and FREE undercard on FITE this Saturday. WATCH RIGHT HERE, TOO!

This Saturday FITE will be the place for boxing. Miguel COTTO (41-5, 33 KOs) vs. Sadam ALI (25-1, 14 KOs) will be available live on FITE in select countries around the globe.

FITE will also stream the press conferenceweigh-in and undercard on the FITE mobile apps(GPlay/iTunes) and www.fite.tv for FREE and available worldwide.

 

This is believed to be the last fight of Miguel Cotto before he retires and anyone familiar with his boxing career will know that his relentless style never fails to amaze.

 

Sadam Ali, the current WBA International Welterweight Champion, has a lot to win in Saturday’s bout. The WBO World Junior Middleweight Championship is on the line and Ali believes that it is his turn to get the belt and defeat a legend – all in his hometown of New York.

 

WATCH RIGHT HERE LIVE ON SATURDAY!!!

 

Cotto Vs. Ali:

UNDERCARD FIGHTS:

Robert The Ghost Guerrero Announces Retirement

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GILROY, CA (July 17, 2017) – After giving fans some of the most thrilling fights in boxing, which spanned over sixteen hard fought years, Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero is announcing his retirement.
“First, I want to thank God for allowing me to have a wonderful career.  I’m a kid from a small town in Gilroy, California, who made it to the mountain top of the boxing world. When I was a young kid growing up, I always believed in myself, but never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined a small-town kid like myself, would be fighting in front of millions of fans.”
“I was blessed to win multiple world titles in four-divisions.  A boxer’s career is a long and tough road. Many tears were shed, lots of blood, and tons of sweat.  Many miles were traveled, thousands of rounds sparred, none were easy and nothing was ever given to me. I earned everything I got the old fashion way.  I never ducked anyone and fought the best fighters in the world.  I fought my way through every obstacle to make sure my fans enjoyed every second, of every round, of my fights.”
“I competed at super-bantamweight (122 lbs.) and won world titles across multiple weight classes, closing my career at welterweight (147 lbs.), fighting the big guys 25 pounds heavier.  A good friend always told me I was God’s warrior, born to fight.  I enjoyed every minute of every war.  I represented my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ with the bible verse Acts 2:38 on my trunks. If I reached one person and brought that person closer to Christ, then it was all worth it.”
“I want to thank some very important people in my career starting with the most important person, my wife Casey, who has been with me every step of the way, my soul mate, my sweetheart, the one and only love of my life.  My father/trainer Ruben Guerrero Sr.  He’s the one who started it all and made me the man I am today, and the champion I was in the ring.  He’s one of the best trainers in the world and I hope to be working side by side with him in the future.  My mother Marcy Guerrero for being a great mother and supporter.  My co-manager Bob Santos for all the sacrifices he made to get me to the top…I will always remember the early days when we made the most with very liitle.  He always had my back and looked out for me like I was his brother.  His wife Diane Santos who did a lot of secretarial work for me during my whole career. Both my grandparents on Martinez and Guerrero sides for believing in me. My brother’s SammyRuben Jr., VictorRandy and especially Eric, who has been with me my whole career, my shadow every step of the way, my right-hand man.  My mother and father in-law, Shelly and Cary O’neal.  My cutman Ruben Gomez.  My good friends, Pastor Mark WilsonDave Castro, Pastor Chris AvilaJohn Mersho, and Albert Guarado.  My uncle Russel Sr.Russel Jr., Uncle RickyHector Catano and Greg Amundson.  I want to thank my co-manager Luis Decubas Jr. for taking my career to the next level.  Santos and Decubas Jr. are more than managers, they are family to me.  My publicist Mario Serrano, who has also been with me the whole ride, he is also family to me. All the fans and the community who stuck by my side when my wife was battling cancer…I will never forget the love you showed.  There are so many people who have helped me, if I leave anyone off, thank you for everything.”
“In closing, I want to thank the most special man I’ve ever met in my boxing career, and possibly lifetime, a man who always does what’s best for the fighter, a man who has changed the sport of boxing, a man who has helped bless me and my family with a great life, and that person is my advisor Al Haymon.   Not only is Al Haymon a spectacular advisor, he is a wonderful human being as well, a great man, and someone who cares.  In a sport where most managers, promoters, and trainers turn their back on a fighter, when they no longer can perform, or are no longer beneficial to their interest, Haymon stands tall. Love and loyalty is tough to find in the boxing game, but for any boxer looking for it, you don’t have to look far, reach out to Al Haymon.  I want to thank everyone, the fans included.  I hope you guys appreciated the guts and glory I left in the ring.  God bless you all.” ~ Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero

Two-time world champion Beibut Shumenov Retires due to severe eye injury

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LAS VEGAS (June 26, 2017) – Two-division World Boxing Association (WBA) World Champion Beibut Shumenov has relinquished his WBA cruiserweight world title, due to his career-ending eye injury, and he has announced his retirement from the ring.
“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 from his Las Vegas home. “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 (17-2, 11 KOs), a 2004 Kazakhstan Olympian, was scheduled to face Interim WBA champion Yunier Dorticos (21-0, 20 KOs) in the April 29th main event of Premier Boxing Champions on FS1 and FOX Deportes, from Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas.

During his last slated sparring sessions, Shumenov suffered an eye injury that required immediate surgery, forcing him to withdraw from his April 29 fight against Dorticos.

Earlier this month, the WBA received a letter from Shumenov’s eye surgeon, Dr. Kent L. Wellish, who wrote the following: “Mr. Beibut Shumenov has a serious ocular issue, a recurrent corneal erosion of his right eye, that with continued fighting, puts him at risk for permanently losing his eyesight.

“It is my medical opinion that he should permanently refrain from sparring, training and boxing due to the severity of damage to his eye and the high risk of further damage of vision impairment, including the possibility of permanent vision loss.”
The WBA accepted Shumenov’s relinquishment of his championship, noting that it expressed its gratitude and pride for his professional career with the WBA.

The last three years of Shumenov’s career was marred by inactivity, in which he fought only three times due to lack of managerial support, despite him training daily, in top shape and always being ready to fight. In fact, he sparred almost 400 rounds since his last fight (May 21, 2016) in anticipation of, first, a unification fight with Denis Lebedevand then for his fight versus Dorticos. Neither happened, however, as boxing politics enabled Lebedev to avoid fighting Shumenov, who defeated BJ Flores and thenJunior Anthony Wright in back-to-back WBA elimination fights to be Lebedev’s mandatory challenger.

Even Shumenov’s mandatory fight against Dorticos was unnecessarily delayed because Dorticos’ promoter, Caribe Promotions, defaulted its right to promote the fight it had won by purse bid, followed by continuous and numerous date changes from February to March until finally landing on April 29.

The 33-year-old Shumenov retires as the first and only two-division world champion to date from Kazakhstan, as well as the record-holder for fewest fights needed to win the world light heavyweight championship, 10.

During his 9 1/2 -year pro career, Shumenov defeated four world champions – Gabriel Campillo, Byron Mitchell, William Joppy and Montell Griffin – as well as world title challengers Epifanio Mendoza, Vlacheslav Uzelkov, Danny Santiago, Enrique Ornelas, Tamas Kovacs, BJ Flores and Junior Wright.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA:Twitter @Beibut_Shumenov, Instagram – @BeightShumenov, Facebook – BeibutShumenov/fanpage.