By Jim Dower: WBA World light heavyweight champion Beibut Shumenov (12-1, 8 KO’s) is hopeful that he can some unification bouts in 2012 against some of the other light heavyweight champions like World Boxing Organization (WBO) champ Nathan Cleverly. However, it’s unknown whether Shumenov will get what he’s looking for in that area.

Cleverly has been slow in taking Shumenov up on his offer for a fight even though it would greatly enhance Cleverly’s stature in the division if he were to come out on top. Shumenov might have to defend his title against former WBC champion Jean Pascal if he wants to get a big fight in 2012.

Pascal already made it quite clear that he badly wants to fight Shumenov and that could be an easy fight to put together. The other guys Zsolt Erdei, Chad Dawson and Bernard Hopkins may require some waiting around by Shumenov before he gets a fight against one of them, as they have other things planned right now.

Shumenov didn’t look all that spectacular in his last fight against 38-year-old Danny Santiago, beating him by a 9th round TKO last July, but getting a badly swollen up face in the process. Shumenov looked slow and mechanical in that fight. That was Shumenov’s third title defense of his WBA belt that he won against Gabriel Campillo in January 2010 last year.

Shumenov has successfully defended his title against Vyacheslav Uzelkov, 41-year-old William Joppy and 38-year-old Santiago, As you can tell, Shumenov isn’t exactly setting the world on fire with the types of fighters he’s been defending his title against. This in turn makes it difficult for him to get bigger fights because he’s not making a name for himself by beating fodder.

Shumenov doesn’t have much to work with other than Pascal as far as his top 15 opposition go in the WBA. His #1 challenger is Gayrat Amedov, #2 Dawid Kostecky, #3 Pascal, #4 Ryan Cone, #5 Uzelkov, #6 Joe Spina, #7 Dmitry Sukhotsky, #8 Eduard Gutknecht, #9 Sullivan Barrera, #10 Joel Casey #11 Tommy Karpency, #12 Braimah Kamoko, #13 Ismayl Sillakh, #14 Roberto Bolonti, and #15Isaac Chilemba.

Sillakh and Pascal stand out among the pack, but it’s doubtful Shumenov will want to face either, because he would likely lose to both of those fighters, especially Sillakh. Shumenov barely beat Campillo in their rematch in January 2010 after losing to him in August 2009 by a 12 round decision. I frankly thought Shumenov should have lost the rematch as well, because he was outworked by Campillo.