Boxing: Shumenov, Flores Eyeing Win in PBC on NBCSN Crossroads Bout

At one point in his career, Kazakhstani fighter Beibut Shumenov was regarded as the future of the sport. Looking back on how his career has unfolded, that sort of praise may have been a bit premature, but Shumenov did hold a portion of the light heavyweight crown for a time. In fact, nobody in the sport’s history captured the title in fewer fights.

Fast forward to today and Shumenov is on the outside looking in, trying to regain that lost luster that once enshrouded his being. On Saturday night inside the Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Shumenov will look to hand B.J. Flores his second career loss and kickstart his cruiserweight career in prime fashion. Moving up to cruiserweight was a wise decision, Shumenov and his team have stated throughout the week, and the methodical striker has huge plans for the move to 200 pounds.

“I feel much better as a cruiserweight without stress on my body like I did when I had to make 175 pounds,” Shumenov said at Thursday’s pre-fight press conference. “Now, I just focus on getting better instead of making weight. Every day we work hard on fundamentals to improve my skills and conditioning. My training camp was excellent, my best because I wasn't stressed about losing weight.”

Shumenov (15-2, 10 KOs) has made waves a few times throughout his career when he opted to train himself in preparation for his fights. He chose to stray down that path when he fought Bernard Hopkins but he was trounce. He said he’s finally found a terrific team and they are all on the same page moving forward.

“I'm blessed to have a great coach, Ismael Salas, and assistant coaches Jeff Grmoja and Rodney Crisler,” Shumenov stated. “I'm really happy for this opportunity. I feel reborn since I met my new trainer. I've changed and I feel like it's a new beginning. All the work has been done for Saturday night. I want to fight the best to prove that I'm the best cruiserweight in the world.”

Standing in his way toward cruiserweight greatness is Flores, a solid veteran with a plethora of experience. Flores (31-1-1, 20 KOs) has taken on a slew of credible opponents throughout his career but he hasn’t yet quite achieved the level of success many within the sport feel he should’ve gotten years ago. Flores knows a win over Shumenov will certainly improve his chances of obtaining his goal of being considered one of the best in boxing and, he said, he’s not willing to let this slip through his fingers.

“As I look back in my career there are a lot of things I would have changed and things I would have done differently,” Flores said at the presser. “I've had different promoters and switched things around a lot. I feel like this Saturday, I have the chance to erase all the wrongs from my career.”

Flores has lost just once in his career and never at cruiser. He said he is well aware of the skill set of his foe and knows what to expect when he and Shumenov lock horns on Saturday night.

“I know the dangers that this man possesses and I'll be ready for them on Saturday,” Flores stated. “I'm going to lay it all out on the line and cement my entire career on Saturday night. I'm looking forward to stepping into the ring with Beibut. He's a very good fighter. They don't give light heavyweight world titles for free or because they're easy. He earned it. Everything he's gotten in his career he's earned and I'm looking to get mine on Saturday night.”

Televised coverage begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on NBCSN. A 10-round skirmish between undefeated fighters Jordan Shimmell (19-0, 16 KOs) and Isiah Thomas (14-0, 6 KOs) will also be featured on the telecast. Kicking off the action is a 10-round featherweight battle between former world champion Rico Ramos (24-4, 12 KOs) and Claudio Marrero (18-1, 13 KOs) plus another cruiserweight fight between Andrew "The Beast" Tabiti (10-0, 10 KOs) and Roberto Santos (12-1, 5 KOs).