Beibut Shumenov vs. Yunier Dorticos set for April 29th in Las Vegas

The WBA cruiserweight title bout between current titleholder Beibut Shumenov and interim champion Yunier Dorticos, which has been brewing for some time, finally has a time and place: April 29th in Las Vegas’ Palms Casino Resort. BoxRec also lists an interim WBA featherweight title bout between Carlos Zambrano (no, not that one) and Claudio Marrero.

Shumenov (17-2, 11 KO) jumped from light heavyweight to cruiserweight in 2014 after a decision loss to Bernard Hopkins, beating BJ Flores for the interim WBA belt after a warmup. He then stopped Junior Anthony Wright for the then-vacant regular title formerly held by Denis Lebedev.

Shumenov’s promotion opened the door for Dorticos (21-0, 20 KO), who managed to stop powerhouse Youri Kayembre Kalenga in one of 2016’s best fights. He’s stopped eighteen opponents in under four rounds apiece and figures to be the favorite on fight night.

Despite his loss to Murat Gassiev, Lebedev still holds the WBA “Super” title and will presumably face the winner of this fight at some point. Here’s hoping.