Janibek Alimkhanuly ready to face fellow champions Erislandy Lara and Carlos Adames
Oct 4, 2024 • 8:08 AM ET
Janibek Alimkhanuly called out the other middleweight champions after his ninth-round victory over the game Andrew Mikhailovich.
The unbeaten Kazakh southpaw is now 16-0 (11 KOs), having made his way to Sydney to defend his IBF title. The WBO crown was not on the line, with the WBO claiming the title would be declared vacant should Janibek win.
Janibek, who had Mikhailovich down and in real trouble in round two, said: “First of all, I wanted to thank all my fans here, who supported me. As far as the fight, please keep in mind I haven’t fought in the ring for a year and the last fight didn’t happen, so it was a good experience for me to come back and shake rust.”
Of his opponent, the Russia-born Mikhailovich, who lost for the first time in 22 fights, Janibek added: “He’s a good boxer, he has a very good team, nice people, and I want to wish him luck.”
He then turned his attention to his future opponents and said: “I do have two titles and two titles are missing, any of them, [Carlos] Adames [WBC] or [Erislandy] Lara [WBA] – I’m ready any time. Send me the papers, I’ll sign it any time.”
The top two spots in the IBF are presently vacant. Mikhailovich was rated third, Hamzah Sheeraz is fourth and Chris Eubank Jnr is fifth.
With the WBO, Frank Warren has Sheeraz at number one, Denzel Bentley second and Brad Pauls fifth.
Should there be problems between Janibek and the WBO, Sheeraz and Bentley could meet for the vacant title.
Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, a BWAA award winner, and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.
