Never in his wildest imagination did super middleweight Steven “The Savage” Sumpter (11-1-1, 9 KOs) dream he’d be fighting in Las Vegas as part of the festivities for the 2025 boxing event of the year, “Canelo vs. Crawford.
Sumpter will be, though, this coming Wednesday night in the first of back-to-back shows at Fontainebleau Las Vegas leading up to the boxing event of 2025 – “Canelo vs. Crawford” on Netflix – at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
The Pittsfield (MA) boxer will embrace the underdog role on “The Underdog,” presented by Zuffa Boxing, in a 10-round fight against Bek Nurmaganbet (14-0, 12 KOs).
“I never dreamed I’d be fighting on a platform like this,” Sumpter admitted. “I knew it would take steps to move up, but I never thought I’d be fighting on a show in Las Vegas leading into ‘Canelo’ versus Crawford’.
“An impressive win will open a lot of doors for me. The whole world will know who I am, and I’ll be able to challenge the guys at the top of the light heavyweight division. It will literally change my whole life, but I never really think about that.”
Nurmaganbet, ranked No. 11 by the World Boxing Association, was a celebrated amateur boxer in Kazakhstan. He was the 2018 Kazakhstan National Champion as well as the gold medal winner at the ASBC Elite Boxing Championships.
“I’ve been in the ring with better caliber guys than him,” Sumpter noted. “I sparred with (2-time light heavyweight world champion) Jean Pascal (37-8-1, 21 KOs, for this fight. At my (Springfield) gym, I’ve sparred Rohan Polanco and he’s a welterweight but hits like a light heavyweight. Carlos Gongora (23-3, 17 KOs) and I was Steven Butler’s (36-5-1, 30 KOs) main sparring partner for his last fight (WKO4). I know what to do.”
There’s always an increased risk of getting headbutted, of course, when a pair of southpaws like Nurmaganbet and Sumpter fight. Sumpter isn’t concerned at all, though.
“I know he’s a 6’ 1” southpaw and a good boxer,” Sumpter added, “I’m not concerned with headbutting because we’re both southpaws. I can expose his European style. He doesn’t like mixing it up inside. He wants to stay on the outside, so I need to apply pressure and dictate the pace, not him, from the start. “
Sumpter is the reigning World Boxing Council (WBC) USA Silver super middleweight champion and former New England light heavyweight title holder.
“I’m going in confident of doing what I do,” Sumpter concluded, “and coming out with the win.”
