Earlier today in Australia, two-belt middleweight champ Janibek Alimkhanuly of Kazakhstan retained both the IBF and the WBO 160-pound belts with a dominant ninth-round stoppage win over a game but outgunned Andrei Mikhailovich. The defending southpaw champ pretty much had things all his own way, as he landed plenty of hurt on the tough and constantly aggressive challenger who was born in Russia but now lives in New Zealand.
Alimkhanuly dropped his man in round one; this was a heavy knockdown, and it seemed as though it could be a short night. But the gutsy challenger got up and battled back, making 31-year-old Alimkhanuly work hard to get his win. What looked Ike a broken jaw suffered by Mikhailovich later, in round nine, Alimkhanuly scored another knockdown, and this time, the third man called a halt to what had been a fun-to-watch but largely one-sided affair.
It was 2:45 in round nine, and Alimkhanuly is now (16-0, 11 KOs). 26-year-old Mikhailovich, who tried his best, is now (21-1, 13 KOs).
Today in Sydney, Alimkhanuly showed again that he just might be the best middleweight out there right now, this taking into account the fact that the 160 pound division is not at all what could be called strong, and today’s Alimkhanuly foe was out of his depth if gamer than many.
It will be interesting to see who Alimkhanuly is matched within his next fight and when. Maybe Alimkhanuly can and will make a move up a weight class to 168 and challenge Canelo Alvarez. That, for sure, would be some fight to see down the road.
However, Alimkhanuly, who had been out of the ring for a year prior to today’s fight, seems far more interested in sticking around at middleweight for the time being, with him wanting to unify the titles at the weight.
“There are two belts missing,” a victorious Alimkhanuly said in the ring today, referring to the WBA and WBC middleweight belts. “Send me the contract; I’ll sign it anytime. Either of them.”
But will either Erislandy Lara or Carlos Adames want any part of Alimkhanuly and his blend of skill and power?
