By: Sean Crose
It’s truthful to say the middleweight division isn’t what it was once, as least not so far as capturing the general public consideration goes. A few of the largest names in boxing historical past have been middleweight titlists. Bob Fitzsimons, Harry Greb, Tony Zale, Ray Robinson, Carlos Monzon, Marvin Hagler, and Gennady Golovkin have introduced status and fame to the middleweight division. Though the title Zhanibek Alimkhanuly doesn’t carry the load these aforementioned names do, there’s no denying the person has discovered success within the middleweight division. At 15-0, the 31 12 months previous Kazakh warrior at the moment holds the WBO and IBF divisional titles.
Alimkhanuly will probably be placing these belts, in addition to his undefeated report on the road Saturday evening in Las Vegas when he squares off towards the 21-0 Andrei Mikhailovich in a scheduled 12 rounder. After all, a lot of the eye this weekend is concentrated on Jaron “Boots” Ennis’ protection of his welterweight title in Philadelphia, however that doesn’t imply Alimkhanuly and Mikhailovich don’t have the prospect to shine in entrance of ESPN+ cameras. That is the middleweight division in any case, a realm ready for it’s subsequent large title to make its presence felt. No small factor.
But reaching divisional dominance isn’t any simple activity. Nonetheless, whereas Alimkhanuly hasn’t met any large names, he’s actually impressed. Using a low southpaw jab and good footwork, the person has a left that may do critical injury. Alimkhanuly additionally does a superb job tossing out punches in mixtures. He’s stopped 10 out of fifteen opponents inside the distance, in any case. To be able to win this weekend, Mikhaiovich should maintain the defending titlist from touchdown effectively. Therein, nonetheless, lies the rub – for Alimkhanuly is infamous for locating a option to land exhausting on his opponents, particularly on the subject of his vicious uppercut.
