Whilst all eyes are on this weekend’s Wembley showdown between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois, one fight has flown under the radar and has now been announced for an unconventional Friday night event in just two weeks’ time, although the possible benefit and consequences of the world title contest are complex.
The middleweight division has been blown wide open over the last couple of years but the man who is attempting to takeover at 160lbs is Janibek Alimkhanuly – who reigns as both IBF and WBO world champion after a knockout win over fellow champion Vincenzo Gualtieri saw him pick up a second belt at the weight.
This July, Alimkhanuly was scheduled to meet with New Zealand’s IBF mandatory challenger Andrei Mikhailovich in a first defence of the unified straps, but the event was cancelled just before their weigh-in after the champion ended up in hospital because of dehydration.
It has now been confirmed that ‘Qazaq style’ will take on his vocal and undefeated rival on the rescheduled date of October 4th and following the announcement a confident Alimkhanuly predicted an early knockout – whilst giving a nod to the heroes of old from his native land, as per The Ring.
Janibek Alimkhanuly-Andrei Mikhailovich Set For Oct. 4 In Sydney; IBF Title Only At Stake. Story (and details as to what the hell happened to the WBO title) by @JakeNDaBox: #JanibekMikhailovichhttps://t.co/kD6qT2rb3T
— Bible of Boxing (@ringmagazine) September 19, 2024
“In the Olympic Games in Sydney, two Kazakh boxers won gold,”
“Bekzat Sattarhanov and Yermakhan Ibraimov inspired many Kazakhs. I grew up with a dream to glorify my country like them and am very happy that I will box in Sydney. I want to show the world my flag in Sydney once again, as our Olympic champions did in 2000.
“The fight with Andrei is very important to me because he is an official contender for my title. He is like a cloud for me now. I must quickly get rid of the cloud to see the sun. Everyone knows and understands that he is easy work for me. I will knock him out very quickly!”
Similarly, Russian-born but New Zealand raised Mikhailovich hoped to emulate the success of his Kiwi idols.
“I live in the present, but I certainly haven’t forgotten the past,”
“I respect him as the champion, but I know that he doesn’t respect me. It’s why I look forward to taking absolutely everything from him. I will be writing my name into the history books alongside Joseph Parker and Maselino Masoe as a world champion.
“This is my destiny, it’s my everything. I will stop at nothing to make sure the world remembers the name Andrei Mikhailovich.”
However, despite planning on taking ‘absolutely everything’ from Alimkhanuly, Mikhailovich will only be able to become IBF world champion with a victory, after the WBO refused to sanction the bout as a world title contest. Still, Alimkhanuly will lose the WBO strap as well as the IBF belt if the challenger is able to spring the upset, leaving the victor of Tyler Denny (WBO #2) vs. Hamzah Sheeraz (WBO #1) well poised for a crack at a possibly vacant title.
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