Janibek Alimkhanuly-Andrei Mikhailovich Set For October 4 In Sydney; Only The IBF Title Is At Risk
Janibek Alimkhanuly’s unified title reign is on the line even though one belt is at stake with his next fight.
Ring’s No. 1-rated middleweight will put his IBF title on the line when he faces challenger Andrei Mikhailovich. Their fight will take place on October 4 at The Star in Sydney, Australia. ESPN+ will broadcast the fight in the US, while it will be streamed live for free on Kayo Sports in Australia.
Kazakhstan’s Alimkhanuly (15-0, 10 knockouts) also holds the WBO title. However, the sanctions organization has given the conflict a non-trivial status. As a result, New Zealand’s Mikhailovich (21-0, 13 KOs) qualified to win only the IBF belt.
Alimkhanuly will retain both titles if he wins. Defeat will see Mikhailovich take home the IBF title, while the WBO belt will be vacant.
The timing comes as The Ring has learned that the Hamzah Sheeraz-Denzel Bentley fight will be considered later this year. Sheeraz (20-0, 13 KOs) is due to make his debut against hotshot Tyler Denny (19-2-3, 1 KO) this Saturday at Wembley Stadium in London.
Sheeraz and Denny were rated at No. 1 and No. 2 by the WBO. A fight of this type is expected to come with at least a temporary title.
Alimkhanuly-Mikhailovich was previously scheduled to take place on July 13 in Las Vegas. The fight was canceled before the weigh-in fight started when Alimkhanuly was hospitalized due to dehydration.
Mikhailovich was left out of the fight as a result. Alimkhanuly was then called by the WBO—and the title he holds—to provide medical evidence as to what led to his dehydration and whether he is fit to continue reigning.
Meanwhile, the IBF intervened and put the fight back on the table. This issue provided a historic moment for the #PurseBidHeads team of the game. No Limit Boxing, Mikhailovich’s promoter, outbid Top Rank by one dollar ($351,000 to $350,000) to win the rights to the September 3 fight, sources said. A ring that Senior VP Carl Moretti was still celebrating Notre Dame’s Aug. 31 win over Texas A&M and forgot to grab the big fund bid envelope.
A date has been secured to allow Alimkhanuly to continue his work.
“At the Sydney Olympics, two Kazakh boxers won gold,” explained Alimkhanuly. “Bekzat Sattarhanov and Yrmakhan Ibraimov inspired many Kazakhs. I grew up with a dream to make my country famous like them and I am very happy that I will be boxing in Sydney. I want to show the world my flag in Sydney again, like our Olympic champions did in 2000.
“The fight with Andrei is very important for me because he is the legitimate fighter for my title. He is like a cloud to me now. I have to clear the cloud quickly to see the sun. Everyone knows and understands that you are an easy job for me. I will get him out quickly!”
Alimkhanuly is trying to defend his fourth title and first IBF belt. He knocked out undefeated Vincent Gualtieri in the sixth round of their IBF/WBO unification fight last October 14 in Rosenburg, Texas.
Mikhailovich (21-0, 13 KOs) enters his first title fight. Time means he’s fighting for one belt instead of two but he doesn’t care about that or the lack of respect from his opponent.
“I live in the present, but I have not forgotten the past,” said Mikhailovich. “I respect him as a champion but I know he doesn’t respect me. That’s why I’m looking forward to taking everything from him. I will write my name in the history books alongside Joseph Parker and Maselino Masoe as a world champion.
“This is my destiny, it is my everything. I will stop at nothing to ensure that the world remembers the name Andrei Mikhailovich. “
