Janibek, Gualtieri look to raise profile by unifying 160 belts
Titleholders come together Saturday in Top Rank's main event
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In recent years the once-loaded middleweight division has transformed into a wasteland with little star power.
It has seen an exodus to super middleweight of fighters such as superstar Canelo Alvarez, Demetrius Andrade, Daniel Jacobs, Jaime Munguia, Sergiy Derevyanchenko and Billy Joe Saunders. Gennadiy Golovkin, one of the longtime stars at 160 pounds, vacated two world titles and is in apparent retirement.
WBC titleholder Jermall Charlo has not boxed for more than two years and Erislandy Lara, who became the WBA’s only titlist in the division when GGG vacated, rarely fights, is near the end of his career and was at his best at junior middleweight.
The other two titleholders are Janibek Alimkhanuly, who holds the WBO belt and is not well known, and the even less known Vincenzo Gualtieri, who acquired the IBF title GGG vacated by outpointing Esquiva Falcao in July in a fight that was so low-profile it was not even broadcast in Gualtieri’s home country of Germany, landing only on the YouTube channel of his promoter, Agon Sports & Events.
So, what’s a division to do? Try to make lemonade out of lemons it appears — hence the Alimkhanuly-Gualtieri title unification fight that will headline the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card on Saturday (ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN+, 10:30 p.m. ET) at the new Fort Bend Epicenter in Rosenberg, Texas, which opened in late August and is about 45 minutes from Houston.
With the division so devoid of big names, Top Rank, which promotes Alimkhanuly, sought to get him the most meaningful fight it could. A unification bout at least checks that box. Gualtieri, with no prospects for anything bigger either, quickly accepted the assignment and will fight outside of Germany for the first time.
“The division has a void of any names of relevance and that happens,” Top Rank president Todd duBoef told Fight Freaks Unite. “Guys move up and you have guys who are still there who are good fighters who want to create a name for themselves and a legacy. So, you use the conventional way of anointing fighters, which is a world title to create interest in them. The titles are the hook here and to see if Janibek can create a body of work.
“You can use the title as the glue to create marquee events around him. So, go out there and get another titleholder. That’s what we were thinking. Neither of these guys have a big profile but they have titles and we’ll see if we can help create something.”
The southpaw Alimkhanuly (14-0, 9 KOs), 30, a 2016 Olympian from Kazakhstan, will be making his third title defense and is coming off a second-round destruction of tremendously overmatched Steven Butler on May 13 in Stockton, California. Big-name opponents or not, Alimkhanuly has wanted to unify titles and was pleased Top Rank was able to secure him a fight with another titleholder.
“I want to thank my opponent for bringing his title into this battle,” Alimkhanuly said at Thursday’s news conference. “I expect it to be a very good fight on Saturday night. I will once again show what ‘Qazaq Style’ is.”
Alimkhanuly goes into the bout with a new trainer, having split with Buddy McGirt. His new trainer is 2000 U.S. Olympian and former junior flyweight and unified flyweight titlist Brian Viloria.
“I changed my trainer for this fight. We got all the knowledge that we could from Buddy McGirt and now we have a new trainer in Brian Viloria,” Alimkhanuly said. “We are doing new workouts and learning new things. We’re also adding things to my style. On Saturday night, you’ll see a new side of me.
“My new trainer was a world champion, so he knows what this is about. It was our first camp together, so we couldn’t add too much. But I’ll show what I learned in the ring on Saturday night.”
Like Alimkhanuly, Gualtieri (21-0-1, 7 KOs), 30, was thrilled to get a chance for a unification fight and especially to have it take place in the U.S.
“It has always been my dream to have a fight here in the United States,” said Gualtieri, the significant underdog. “Now, my dream has come true, and I expect to be the winner on Saturday. For this fight, I had more sparring partners than in previous camps, and I’ve been more focus than ever before. I have invested everything in this training camp.
“This fight means everything to me. It’s why I worked so hard in camp. A lot of people underestimate me, but I’m here to prove that I will be successful.”
DuBoef is hoping Alimkhanuly will not only unify the titles but look good doing it.
“I think there are a lot of things you can do with him if he wins but let’s see how he wins,” he said. “A win is not a win. It’s how you do it sometimes and what is the bloom or the bust as the result of your performance. Maybe he goes to 168? Or maybe he feels good and can drop to 154? What we all want to do is look at him based on his performance. If you keep him going and he puts on a great performance, hopefully great opportunities will come with it.”
Davis vs. Albright in co-feature
In the 10-round co-feature, lightweight Keyshawn Davis, the 2022 Fight Freaks Unite prospect of the year and a 2020 U.S. Olympic silver medalist, will face Nahir Albright.
Davis (9-0, 6 KOs), 24, of Norfolk, Virginia, is on the fast track and moved into 10-rounders this year, stopping former junior welterweight title challenger Anthony Yigit in the ninth round in April and winning a shutout decision over Francesco Patera on July 22.
He is expecting to put on another strong performance against Albright.
“We followed the game plan in training camp and, honestly, this is the best I’ve ever felt before a fight,” Davis said. “If you miss it, you’re going to see it all over social (media). His ass is going to be on SportsCenter and Sky Sports. He’s really a rookie. I’m going to show it.
“We ain’t coming here to play. He already knows how I’m coming. You don’t have to be scared to get fucked up!”
Albright (16-2, 7 KOs), 27, of Philadelphia, has won his last two fights since a 10-round decision loss to Jamaine Ortiz, who has emerged as a contender, in February 2022. In his last fight in July, Albright upset 2016 U.S. Olympian and since-released Top Rank prospect Karlos Balderas via eight-round majority decision. It was that performance that landed him the fight with the heavily-favored Davis.
“I didn’t really learn anything in my last fight. I just showed where I belong,” Albright said. “I came out and did what I was supposed to do and got the win.”
The rest of the card will stream on ESPN+ beginning at 5:55 p.m. ET and includes 2020 U.S. Olympic super heavyweight silver medalist Richard Torrez Jr. (6-0, 6 KOs), 24, a southpaw from Tulare, California, against Tyrrell Anthony Herndon (21-4, 14 KOs), 36, of San Antonio, in a six-rounder.
Listen to our latest podcast episode previewing the weekend fights, news of the week and a look back on the anniversaries of two notable fights.
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