Janibek Alimkhanuly returns to the ring on October 4, when he takes on Andrei Mikhailovich at The Star in Sydney, Australia. The undefeated middleweight world champion of Kazakhstan defends his IBF title in the rescheduled bout against the unbeaten contender of New Zealand. The contest marks his first outing in almost a year.
Alimkhanuly (15-0, 10 KOs) was in action last October in Rosenberg, Texas. Putting his WBO title on the line, the 31-year-old southpaw faced Germany’s Vincenzo Gualtieri (22-1-1, 7 KOs) in the championship unification. The latter brought to the ring his IBF belt.
The scheduled for 12 rounds bout ended half way through. Alimkhanuly dominated, dropped and broken Gualtieri down with power shots, forcing referee David Fields to step in and call it a day. The official time was 1 minute and 25 seconds into the sixth round.
In his next fight on Friday, Janibek Alimkhanuly defends the IBF strap that he claimed against Gualtieri. He is challenged by 26-year-old Andrei Mikhailovich (21-0, 13 KOs), who makes his first attempt to become champion.