Janibek Alimkhanuly (15-0, 10 KOs) will have his first bout of 2024 against Andrei Mikhailovich (21-0, 13 KOs) on July 13.
The two headline a Top Rank card at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, NV. Fight fans in the United States can catch the action live on ESPN+. Those in the United Kingdom and Ireland can do so on Sky Sports while TSN+ will carry the action in Canada. Alimkhanuly will be defending his IBF and WBO middleweight titles against Mikhailovich.
In anticipation of the clash, Big Fight weekend looks at the last three fights of Kazakhstan’s Alimkhanuly.
The Last Three Fights of Janibek Alimkhanuly
Vincenzo Gualtieri
Vincenzo Gualtieri (22-1-1, 7 KOs) came into this fight as the reigning IBF champion, winning the title against Esquiva Falcão. However, he proved to be no match for Alimkhanuly. “Qazaq Style” used his long reach to repeatedly tag Gualtieri, whose attempt at fighting on the outside did not work as hoped. Eventually, Alimkhanuly backed his opponent into a corner in round six and let his hands go, causing the referee to end proceedings. It was this win that allowed the Kazakh to become a unified world champion.
Steven Butler
Defending his WBO middleweight title, Alimkhanuly took on Steven Butler (34-5-1, 28 KOs) in Stockton, CA. All it took was two rounds. The champion landed a left uppercut that stunned Butler, who soon went to the canvas after several left hooks with two minutes to go in the second. A minute later, the Canadian went down again after two left hands. Though he got up, Butler soon hit the canvas for a third time, after which the fight was waved off.
Denzel Bentley
In comparison to his other fights, Alimkhanuly had a tougher outing against Denzel Bentley (19-3-1, 16 KOs). This was his first WBO title defence after being elevated to full titlist following Demetrius Andrade’s move to super middleweight. Alimkhanuly got off to a quick start in the fight, applying pressure and landing strong straight left hands. But Bentley proved to be a durable opponent and landed stinging right hands of his own. Alimkhanuly finished strong, landing a fight-high 27 punches according to CompuBox statistics. In the end, his work over 12 rounds got him the unanimous decision, winning with scores of 118-110 and 116-112 (x2).
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