Rising middleweight star Janibek Alimkhanuly will continue his march to a world title shot with a 10-rounder against former WBA belt holder Hassan N’Dam at the Virgin Hotels resort in Las Vegas on November 5.
Kazakh Alimkhanuly (10-0, 6 KOs) forced an eighth-round retirement of another ex-champion Rob Brant in June and is rated No.2 by the WBO, No.4 by the WBC and No.9 by the IBF. He is widely regarded as his country’s successor to Gennadiy Golovkin, who still holds the IBF title.
Alimkhanuly-N’dam will be the chief supporting contest to the 130lbs unification between WBO champion Mikaela Mayer and IBF belt holder Maia Hamadouche, according to Keith Idec of BoxingScene.
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Unbeaten 130-pounder Archie Sharp will face Alexis Boureima Kabore in the main event of an MTK Fight Night at the York Hall, Bethnal Green, on October 29.
WBO No.2 rated Sharp is, in theory, in touching distance of facing the winner of champion Jamel Herring’s defence against leading contender Shakur Stevenson, earlier this month.
Sharp (20-0, 9 KOs) doesn’t appear to be taking too much risk against the 38-year-old Kabore (28-4, 7 KOs) from Burkina Faso, who has gone the distance with former WBC 122lbs champion Rey Vargas in an otherwise moderate record.
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WBA featherweight champion Erika Cruz Hernandez (13-1, 3 KOs) has signed a promotional deal with Matchroom Boxing.
“I am extremely happy to sign a multi-fight deal with Matchroom, it has been a dream of mine to win a world title and showcase my fights on the biggest stage globally,” said Hernandez, who will now fight on DAZN.
“I believe I am the first residing Mexican woman to sign with Matchroom, and this is a proud moment for me to play my part in flying the flag for women’s boxing in my country and around the world.”
Main image: Mikey Williams/Top Rank.