Unified WBO/IBF middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly (15-0, 10 KOs) and challeger Andrei Mikhailovich (21-0, 13 KOs) both made weight for Friday’s middleweight championship fight at the Star in Sydney, Australia. Alimkhanuly weighed 159.5 lbs, while Mikhailovich scaled in at 159.9 lbs. Alimkhanuly and Mikhailovich were previously scheduled to fight in July, but Alimkhanuly was forced to withdraw prior to the weigh-in.
Janibek-Mikhailovich will top a special early-morning world championship card streaming live and exclusively on ESPN+ in the U.S. with fights starting at 5 a.m. ET/2 a.m. PT.
Update: The WBO has now sanctioned Janibek-Mikhailovich. Originally the bout was sactioned only by the IBF.
Heck of a fight! Wouldn’t begin to pronounce either of their names. The difficulty of their names would likely hurt the significance of the fight. They need to go by nicknames. I sometimes get these two fighters confused.
Would need to get my butt in bed early tonight to have a shot at catching a 5am Boxing show. Slim chance. Middleweight is heating up again.