Janibek Alimkhanuly says he is just getting started.
The 30-year-old middleweight owner is expected to make his second alphabet title defense against heavyweight Steven Butler on Saturday at Stockton Arena in Stockton, California (ESPN, ESPN+).
If he wins, then he will target two other title holders: Jermall Charlo and Erislandy Lara. (The fourth title is blank.)
And he knows he will have to do his best to beat such talented, experienced champions. That’s why he put more emphasis on conditioning after what he thought was a mediocre performance in his final battle, a unanimous decision on the talented Denzel Bentley in November.
“I’ve got a new conditioning coach because I understand that will help me grow,” Alimkhanuly said in his final pre-match press conference. “If you keep doing the same things, you’ll stay in the same place forever. I want to grow. I want unanimity. I want to fight Jermall Charlo. I want to fight Erislandy Lara.
“In order to do that, I knew I had to change.”
That could be bad news for Butler (32-3-1, 26 KOs), a 27-year-old Canadian who was stopped after five rounds by Ryota Murata in his only major match.
He lost by knockout to Jose de Jesus Macias in his next game but won the last four, keeping him motivated ahead of the meeting with Alimkhanuly(13-0.8 KO). However, the Kazakh boxer is still the favorite with the score 20-1.
“I’m 100% ready,” Butler said. “I have a lot of respect for Janibek for giving me a chance, but he would make a big mistake trying to think past me. I want to knock him down. I want the belt. That’s it. …
“I learned a lot. I started boxing when I was 11 years old. Now I am 27 years old. So I have a lot of experience behind me. When I put it all together on Saturday night, I’ll shock the world.”
Alimkhanuly admires Butler’s confidence but suggests that it is the challenger who will be shocked.
“As a boxer, I really respect him because he says what he thinks,” said the former amateur world champion. “But I’ll show him that not only can’t he knock me down, he can’t even touch me.”
Then it will be bigger and better things for Alimkhanuly.
