Coming off the back of a recent win to retain his world title, one middleweight champion has now turned his sights on Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and claimed he would ‘knock him out easily.’
Canelo is back on top following his straightforward points win over Jermall Charlo last time out. The fight saw the Mexican retain all four of his super middleweight belts and remind people once more that he is still an elite fighter.
That win followed an uncertain run of form which included a loss to Dmitry Bivol, and rare distance wins over John Ryder and Gennady Golovkin which had many people questioning whether or not the multi-weight champion had peaked.
Coming up hot on his heels in the middleweight division he once ruled is Kazakh Janibek Alimkhanuly, who is the unified 160 champion.
He has held the WBO title since 2022, and added the IBF belt with his recent sixth-round knockout win over Vincenzo Gualtieri.
His record now stands at 15-0, and he is very much eyeing up the other two belts in the division to add to his collection.
However, in a recent post on X, Alimkhanuly said he’s up for a fight with Canelo as soon as possible.
“You know that I’m ready. If Canelo is ready, then I’m ready to fight him in February. I need 4 belts. I can knock him out easily. If you understand boxing, then you know it all!”
You know that I'm ready. If Canelo is ready, then I’m ready to fight him in February. I need 4 belts. I can knock him out easily. If you understand boxing, then you know it all! pic.twitter.com/zfOn78siZX
— Janibek Alimkhanuly (@qazaqstyle) October 17, 2023
Right now, all the talk of Canelo’s next opponent seems to be centred around former two-time super middleweight champion David Benavidez, who defends his mandatory status against Demetrius Andrade next month.
If Alimkhanuly is serious about a move up, there are plenty of contenders to introduce him to the super-middleweight ranks before he targets the Mexican.