By: Sean Crose
He owns the WBO middleweight world title but is largely unknown outside of the world of heavyweight fighting fans. This despite the fact that the man had twelve wins and no losses, eight of those wins came before the final bell rang. Make no mistake about it, Janibek Alimkhanuly is on the radar of world champions. However, he is looking to change all of that. The top-ranked boxer will ply his trade on Saturday night at the Palms Resort and Casino in Vegas. Alimkhanuly’s rival this weekend will be the unknown Bentley Denzel. Alimkhanuly looks impressive, although Bentley, with a record of seventeen wins versus just one loss and one draw, is clearly looking to shock the fighting world.
With that said, Alimkhanuly is not particularly happy with the current state of the fighting game. “I don’t know why today’s champions don’t want to fight other champions,” he said in his final press conference ahead of this weekend’s game. “I don’t think they should be afraid. I’m here. Now I’m a champion. I’m here to fight the champions. Hopefully, Top Rank can hold a fight with another world champion next. ”
With that being said, there seems to be consensus that the division’s other world champions, IBF and WBA champion Gennady Golovkin, and WBC title player Jermall Charlo, aren’t too thrilled at the prospect. scene facing a little known and talented boxer like Alimkhanuly. It’s a common problem in fighting games, a Golovkin felt to himself when he was young. Marvin Hagler, perhaps the greatest middleweight in history, also had a very tough patch before he finally faced big-name opponents. As long as he continues to win, Alimkhanuly will likely go the way of Golovkin and Hagler, which means it will make boxers uncomfortable avoiding him.
Meanwhile, the six-foot-tall Kazakh had to keep winning and win impressively. Supported fighters always run the risk of giving the opposition an excuse to avoid them. A tough performance against Bentley on Saturday, or worse, a loss, is sure to play an important role in Alimkhanuly’s career trajectory. The 29-year-old did not intend for something similar to happen.
“I looked my opponent in the eye today,” he tweeted late Thursday. “He has no fire! He knows who is in front of him. He knows the Qazaq style well. I’ll take him down right away. Before the match, many boxers do not want to say anything in advance. I am different, I will say and I will do what I said! “
