IBF middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly will make a protection of his title this Friday, October 4th, in a 12-round contest in opposition to Andrei Mikhailovich, stay on ESPN+ at The Star in Sydney, Australia. The occasion begins at 5:00 a.m. ET. Janibek’s WBO belt received’t be on the road for the struggle.
The 2 fighters had beforehand been scheduled to struggle in July, however Janibek, 31, turned dehydrated attempting to get all the way down to 160 for the weigh-in. Now, with the competition rescheduled for Friday, it’ll be attention-grabbing to see if Alimkhanuly could make weight.
One different downside that might get in the way in which is the IBF’s 10-lb rehydration weight examine on the morning of the struggle. That might be an impediment for the champion. If Janibek can barely make weight as it’s, it’s going to be troublesome for him to maintain from rehydrating past the IBF’s restrict.
Assuming the struggle occurs, we’ll see how nicely Saint Petersburg, Russia-born Mikhailovich can deal with Janibek’s energy and expertise. The venue ought to assist Mikhailovich as a result of he’s been combating in Australia on and off.
Janibek shall be coming off a 12 months layoff since scoring a sixth-round knockout win over Vincenzo Gualtieri in October 2023. Being out of the ring for a 12 months and coping with weight points may make life troublesome for Janibek on Saturday night time if he’s not sharp. He regarded good in opposition to Gualtieri, however that was a 12 months in the past in opposition to a man with no energy.
If Mikhailovich can stand as much as Janibek’s energy the way in which that Denzel Bentley did in 2022, we may see an upset. Janibek fades within the later rounds, and we’d see that occur on Friday. The ability of Janibek is deadly when he’s recent and at his finest, and it wouldn’t be stunning if he scores an early knockout if he can put palms on Mikhailovich.
.@QAZAQSTYLE WORLDWIDE.
The Unified champ is about to defend his throne in Sydney 👑#JanibekMikhailovich | FRI 5AM ET | @ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/nCpX4tWt5G
— Prime Rank Boxing (@trboxing) September 30, 2024
