(Photo credit: Suzanne Teresa/Premier Boxing Champions) BJ Flores (30-2-1, 20 KOs) came up empty tonight in losing a 12 round unanimous decision to former WBA light heavyweight champion Beibut Shumenov (16-1, 10 KOs) in a failed bid to win the vacant WBA interim cruiserweight title at the Palms Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Flores tried hard, but he wasn’t able to cut off the ring against the fleet-footed, pot-shotting Shumenov.
The judges scored the fight 116-112, 116-112 and 116-112. The decision was a highly unpopular one with the ringside crowd, as they booed the decision loudly and shouted profanities.
The fight was up for grabs after six rounds, as both fighters had failed to distinguish themselves as the better fighter. However, Shumenov took over the fight in the last six rounds, and was able to land more shots than Flores and make him look timid and uncertain.
Flores landed the best punch of the fight in the 12th round when he knocked Shumenov off balance with a right to the midsection.
While Shumenov avoided getting caught in a lot of two-way action, he waas still able to land the better shots in the second of the fight, and had Flores looking timid.
“The PBC is about guys coming to fight. All he did was run. If he had stood there and fought, I don’t think the fight would have gone six rounds,”Flores said “He wouldn’t try to engage. He was just running around the ring. Tonight, he ran while I fought. Come on, with the punch I landed in the final round, I should have won the fight.”
Flores may have thought he deserved the decision, but from what I saw of the fight, Flores clearly lost and did not look good at all.