Gabriel Campillo (right) lifts his hand in victory after a hard-fought 12-round battle with Beibut Shumenov (left) in Las Vegas, Nev., on Friday. However, it was Shumenov who won what many observers thought was a gift split decision. Photo / Naoki Fukuda

Light heavyweight prospect Beibut Shumenov fought hard in his rematch with Gabriel Campillo, but the titleholder from Spain fought smarter and busier throughout the entertaining 12 rounder that headlined a Fox Sports Net-televised show from Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nev., on Friday.

However, Campillo’s skill, accuracy and activity was not recognized by two of the official judges and Shumenov (9-1, 6 knockouts) received a gift split-decision victory.

The self-promoted Las Vegas resident from Kazakhstan was awarded scores of 115-113 and an absolutely ludicrous 117-111, avenging the close majority decision he lost to the Spaniard last August. One judge scored the bout 117-111 for Campillo (19-3, 6 KOs). Most of the ringside press scored the fight for Campillo, a well-rounded southpaw boxer from Madrid who fought in the U.S. for the first time Friday night.

Neither fighter is well-known to American fight fans but both exhibited exceptional heart and ability during the brisk and bloody 12-round bout. Shumenov showed his considerable athletic talent for much of the fight. The 2004 Olympian is a physical specimen with heavy hands, however, he faded badly in the late rounds and wasn’t able to land clean punches on the cool-headed slick-boxing Campillo, who out-boxed and out-hustled the challenger for much of the bout.

It was clear by the late rounds, when Campillo almost overwhelmed a backpedaling Shumenov with non-stop combination punching, that the 31-year-old Spanish titleholder is seasoned enough to compete on the world-class level. As tough and determined as Shumenov is, the 26-year-old banger still needs to develop before taking on the sport’s top 175-pound fighters.

In the co-featured bout of the evening, junior middleweight prospect Erislandy Lara (10-0, 6 KOs) took a step towards contender status by stopping season two of The Contender winner Grady Brewer (26-12, 15 KOs) in the final round of their 10-round bout.

Lara controlled most of the bout from a distance with his stiff southpaw jab and hard straight lefts to the body. However, Brewer had his moments, especially in the third and fourth rounds, when he stunned the 26-year-old Cuban amateur star with right crosses.

Lara stepped up his pressure in the fifth round and took over the bout after an accidental headbutt opened a nasty cut over Brewer’s left eye in the sixth round. After dropping Brewer with a hard left uppercut two minutes into the 10th, Lara forced referee Tony Weeks to halt the bout at 2:44 of the round by pressing the 39-year-old veteran with non-stop punches along the ropes.

The KZ Productions (Shumenov’s promotional company) and Golden Boy Promotions co-promotion featured a good non-televised undercard that was enjoyed by the Las Vegas fans in attendance at Hard Rock’s Joint venue.

In what was arguably the fight of the night, unheralded junior lightweight prospect Eloy Perez, of Salinas, Calif., out-boxed and out-slugged the very game David Rodela, of Oxnard, Calif., over 10 hard-fought rounds to earn a unanimous decision.

Perez (16-0-2, 4 KOs), who won by scores of 97-93 and 98-92 (twice), overcame a fast start by Rodela (14-2-3, 6 KOs) and clinched the victory by being the slicker (but still offensive-minded) fighter down the stretch of the contest.

Featherweight prospect Ronny Rios (9-0, 5 KOs), of Santa Ana, Calif., out-boxed tough and talented Willshaun Boxley (5-4, 3 KOs), of Coons Rapids, Minn., to a hard-earned unanimous six-round decision. Rios won by scores of 60-54 and 59-55 (twice) but the fight was more competitive than the judges’ tallies indicate.

Junior welterweight prospect Jessie Vargas (8-0, 3 KOs), of Las Vegas, looked sharp in out-punching game southpaw Ricky Kinney (3-2, 2 KOs), of Baton Rouge, La., over four rounds to earn a decision by unanimous scores of 40-36.

Light heavyweight prospect Gayrat Ahmedov (10-0, 6 KOs), Las Vegas by way of Uzbekistan, made quick work of Harely Kilfian (8-4, 7 KOs), stopping the 6-foot-4 journeyman in the first round with a single left hook to the body.

Junior middleweight prospect Ravshan Hudaynazarov (10-0, 8 KOs), Las Vegas by way of Uzbekistan, stopped Shadrack Kipruto (10-13, 7 KOs) in the third round of their scheduled four rounder.

Lightweight prospect Carlos Molina (10-0, 6 KOs), Norwalk, Calif., easily blasted Tyler Ziolowski (12-11, 6 KOs), of St. Joseph, Mo., into a quick first-round retirement, stopping the career opponent 54 seconds into the fight with a series of power shots.