IBF and WBO middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly (16-0, 11 KOs) is reportedly close to having a deal done to defense against #9 WBO ranked Shakiel Thompson (13-0, 9 KOs) for April or May in Janibek’s home country of Kazakhstan.
It’s not the ideal opponent that the 2016 Olympian Janibek, 31, would want, but with the other champions or the well-known contenders showing no interest in fighting him, Thompson, 27, is about the best he can do.
Dan Rafael reports that Janibek vs. Thompson is “close” to being made. The seven-year professional Thompson will take a tune-up next month against a still-to-be-determined opponent on February 7th in a 10-round fight at the Park Community Arena in Sheffield, England.
Thompson is from England and has been fighting obscure opposition his entire career. In April or May, he will take a massive step up in class from the sub-level fighters he’s been facing to challenge unified champion Janibek for his two belts.
Middleweight Divisional Decline
Surprisingly, Thompson has never stepped it up to fight any contenders, and even more bizarre, he’s getting a title shot based on his weak record. The middleweight division is the worst it’s been in 20 years, going from being one of the best in boxing during Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin’s time to arguably the worst.
That’s why fighters like Chris Eubank Jr., Carlos Adames, Hamzah Sheeraz, and Erislandy Lara are among the top of the division. Those guys would be nowhere during Canelo and GGG’s time in the division.
Shakiel Thompson’s last seven fights:
– River Wilson-Bent
– Vladimir Georgiev
– Gino Kanters
– Robert Talarek
– Gabor Gorbics
– Bartosz Glowacki
– Yailton Neves
Janibek is coming off a ninth-round knockout of fringe contender Andrei Mikhailovich on October 4th. It appeared to some boxing fans like Janibek carried Mikhailovich through the first eight rounds before putting him away in the ninth because he looked like he could have ended the fight anytime he wished.
