Steven “The Savage” Sumpter (11-1-1, 9 KOs) takes on undefeated super middleweight prospect Bek Nurmaganbet (14-0, 12 KOs) in the main event tomorrow at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas, Nevada, in a scheduled ten-round bout. Later in the week, on Saturday, at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, IBF/WBC/WBO super middleweight world champion Canelo Alvarez will fight four-division world titleholder Terence Crawford in one of the biggest boxing fights of the year on Netflix.
Nurmaganbet, a twenty-seven-year-old southpaw from Shymkent, Kazakhstan, is ranked eleventh by the WBA. The amateur standout who won a gold medal at the 2019 ASBC Asian Elite Boxing Championships has tremendous power, as demonstrated by his eighty-six percent knockout ratio. Nurmaganbet has obtained five first-round knockouts, eleven stoppages inside three rounds, and ten consecutive knockout victories over the last four years. During this knockout streak, he has not fought past the third, including scoring a first-round technical knockout over Encarnacion Diaz in his previous fight in April.
“I have seen him fight. He is a skilled fighter, but not overly skilled. I do not see anything great about him. He has a lot of power but lacks speed. He has a traditional European fighting style. I have a good chance at beating him, especially with my speed,” said a confident Sumpter, despite being a heavy underdog in this bout.
Sumpter’s dedication and commitment to his craft are demonstrated by his intense and rigorous six-week training camp for this bout. He trained three times a day at two boxing gyms, as he prepared for the biggest fight of his young career. Sumpter’s unique training routine involved working out in the afternoon at Universal Training Academy in Springfield, Massachusetts, with his head trainer Hector Bermudez (whom he has been with since he started his professional career in 2021). Then, he trained with Sean Jennings (whom he has worked with since he started boxing in 2018) at Southeast Kettlebell in his hometown at five in the morning and at night.
“Training camp has been great. I feel good, strong, and ready to go. I have gotten excellent sparring with [former two-division world champion] Jean Pascal [37-8-1, 21 KOs] and [undefeated junior middleweight prospect] Anthony Velazquez [18-0-1, 15 KOs],” said Sumpter, who is fighting outside of the East Coast for the first time in his career. “During all my training camps, I worked full-time at my company [Oak Hill Wood Floors] installing wood floors, however, due to the magnitude of this fight, I am only focused on boxing for this training camp.”
The thirty-one-year-old southpaw from Pittsfield, Massachusetts, consistently demonstrates heart by never hesitating to face the best fighters available in either the super middleweight or light heavyweight division. Sumpter beat two undefeated boxers in two divisions in dominating fashion during a three-bout stretch. He defeated light heavyweight Edet Mkpanam (8-0, 7 KOs) in November 2022. Sumpter dominated the entire fight en route to an eight-round unanimous decision, winning every round except one on two of the judges’ scorecards. He also obtained the vacant USA Massachusetts State light heavyweight belt. One fight later, Sumpter scored a one-sided eight-round majority decision over super middleweight James Perkins (12-0-1, 9 KOs) in August 2023. Sumpter won every round on two of the judges’ scorecards, and shockingly, the third judge had it a draw.
Sumpter put his unbeaten record on the line when he fought undefeated light heavyweight up-and-comer Najee Lopez (10-0, 8 KOs) in July 2024 despite only having two weeks to prepare for the bout. Lopez beat Sumpter via an eight-round unanimous decision in a hard-fought, competitive fight. Sumpter dropped Lopez (who had 200 amateur bouts and almost qualified for the 2020 United States Olympic Boxing Team) in the fourth round with his signature straight left jab. This was the first time that Lopez had been knocked down in his professional career.
“I can compete with the best, as seen with my victories over Mkpanam and Perkins, and a competitive fight with Lopez, despite not having a training camp. I have sparred against great fighters and held my own, which has made me a better fighter,” said Sumpter, who has also sparred with world-rated undefeated prospect Rohan Polanco (17-0, 10 KOs) and was the leading sparring partner for former middleweight world title challenger Steven Butler (36-5-1, 30 KOs) in his last bout (a fourth round knockout victory over Jose de Jesus Macias). “Fighting tomato cans does not get you anywhere. It gets you a win, but there are reasons why I am ranked higher than fighters who have better records than I do.”
Sumpter has won two in a row (both knockouts) since his loss to Lopez. He beat Victor Hugo Exner in February via a fourth-round knockout when Exner did not come out for the fourth. In May, Sumpter knocked Janer Gonzalez out in the fifth round with a straight left jab and won the vacant WBC USA Silver super middleweight title.
“It was great to win the belt. When I started boxing, it was always a dream of mine to be at the top of the sport, and that title means everything to me. It is the biggest title that I have won in my career. I hope to win more titles,” said Sumpter, who Gunter Fishgold manages. “It was also the highlight of my career to have my mom see my first boxing fight (she does not like boxing), which I won and got a title.”
For more information about Sumpter’s boxing career, follow his Instagram handle @thesavagesouthpaw47 and friend him on Facebook /StevenSumpter.
“Fighting better boxers and winning helps me climb the divisional rankings faster and get bigger fights. It also proves to the world that I can compete with the best, which is why I am fighting Nurmaganbet,” Sumpter said. “I have that dog in me, and I like to show it. I do not back down from anyone, and Nurmaganbet will learn that on Wednesday. I will beat him.”