Janibek stops game Mikhailovich in 9th round, retains 160 title
Dominating victory concludes saga of fight being canceled in July over titleholder's weight issue and a whirlwind but nasty buildup
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Janibek Alimkhanuly retained the IBF middleweight title as he delivered a one-sided beat down to the extremely game mandatory challenger Andrei Mikhailovich before stopping him in the ninth round on Friday at The Star in Sydney, Australia.
During the pre-fight news conference, Mikhailovich gave Alimkhanuly, seated several feet away from him, a steely look and said he would literally kill him in the ring. When the fight was over, however, it had been all Alimkhanuly despite the admirable effort from Mikhailovich, who nonetheless got knocked down in the second round and took a beating before the fight was waved off in the ninth round.
Despite the harsh words in the buildup, Alimkhanuly and Mikhailovich shared an embrace after the fight and their teams also slapped each other on the back with all the rancor seemingly having melted away.
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