Janibek Alimkhanuly (left) lands a hook on Andrei Mikhailovich – Photograph courtesy of No Restrict Boxing
Janibek Alimkhanuly retained his IBF and WBO middleweight titles with a ninth-round knockout of Andrei Mikhailovich at The Star in Sydney, Australia on Friday night time, however the victory got here with a lesson.
Don’t play along with your meals.
Kazakh southpaw Alimkhanuly, 31, was throughout Mikhailovich within the opening rounds, clearly hurting his Kiwi opponent and dropping him late within the second warmth. However Alimkhanuly stood off, wanting his opponent to endure after a bitter lead-up to the rescheduled bout.
Another punch would’ve made it an early night time for everybody. Alimkhanuly didn’t take it.
As a substitute, he was pressured to battle by way of seven extra rounds of grappling and inside combating. For probably the most half, Alimkhanuly bought the higher of the motion. However the Russian-born Mikhailovich, 26, made him work each inch of the best way.
Mikhailovich crowded Alimkhanuly on the within. He threw chopping photographs with every hand, denying the titleholder leverage for his sharper punches at mid- and long-range. However Alimkhanuly, rated at No. 1 by The Ring at middleweight, seemed two shirt sizes greater than Mikhailovich, and was capable of get his personal fingers flowing with heavier photographs.
Victory all the time seemed like a matter of time for Alimkhanuly, even when he needed to go the good distance about it. Mikhailovich, bleeding from the mouth and nostril, managed to squeeze out a brief break within the motion when referee Katsuhiko Nakamura despatched him to his nook to get the tape mounted on his glove.
That respite wouldn’t final lengthy.
Alimkhanuly nailed him with a left uppercut, swiftly adopted by a left cross. Mikhailovich went down. That was sufficient for referee Nakamura, who properly waved off the competition at 2:45 of the ninth.
DEMOLITION ⚠️
🏆🏆 @QazaqStyle stays in a league of his personal. pic.twitter.com/8sADRIfQyi
— Prime Rank Boxing (@trboxing) October 4, 2024
The clean-punching Alimkhanuly shifts his ledger to 16-0 with 11 knockouts, however he may not be lengthy for the burden class after tonight’s expertise. For Mikhailovich, who’s now 21-1 with 13 knockouts, it’s again to the drafting board.
In the primary help bout, Mea Motu took on seasoned veteran Shannon O’Connell over eight two-minute rounds at a 125-pound catchweight.
Motu had been scheduled to face The Ring junior featherweight champion Ellie Scotney (9-0), who additionally holds the IBF and WBO titles, on the undercard of the Jack Catterall vs Regis Prograis undercard on the Co-op Dwell Enviornment in Manchester, England on October 26 earlier than the 26-year-old Londoner withdrew from the bout because of harm.
Motu was decided to not let her coaching camp go to waste.
The powerfully constructed Kiwi opened up a reduce within the hairline of O’Connell above the appropriate temple within the first spherical after an unintended conflict of heads. The 34-year-old mom of 5 backed Brisbane’s O’Connell, 41, onto the ropes and drew her right into a livid change.
O’Connell, who has three youngsters of her personal, returned to her nook drenched in blood.
Motu went on with it within the second, bulling O’Connell again and mauling her in shut. Motu hammered the physique with each fingers and completed off with energy photographs upstairs. The stress from the Auckland native continued within the third, with O’Connell returning to her stool with a big egg over her proper forehead.
O’Connell was as recreation as all the time, touchdown a jarring proper hand early within the fourth, however she merely didn’t have the firepower to maintain Motu off her. O’Connell’s nook threw within the towel and referee Andrew Lazich referred to as the competition on the 1:02 mark.
With the victory, Motu strikes to 20-0 with 8 KOs. O’Connell drops to 24-8-1 with 12 KOs.
