IBF and WBO world middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly stopped IBF titleholder Pan Pacific and WBO world champion ‘King’ Andrei Mikhailovich in a ninth round war on Friday night at The Star, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
A fight was due to take place in July in Las Vegas when Alimkhanuly passed out the day of the fight due to weight gain.
IBF middleweight champion Aimkhanuly (15-0, 10 KOs) knocked out Mikhailovich (21-0, 13 KOs) at 2:45 of the ninth round in a scheduled 12-round bout.
Aimkhanuly used an effective jab in the first round, rocking Mikhailovich midway through the round with a left to the chin. Mikhailovich landed a solid right to Aimkhanuly’s chin at the bell.
In the second round, after a minute with Mikahilovich holding many of the punches of Aimkhanuly was landed behind the head and warned by the referee Katsuhiko Nakamura.
Aimkhanuly shook Mikhailovich and had him on his feet. In the final seconds, a left from Aimkhanuly on the chin dropped Mikahilovich for an 8 count from referee Nakamura.
In the third round, Aimkhanuly dominated the match, Mikhailovich, who fought back well, but was beaten after the bell. In the fourth round, Aimkhanuly overpowered the tough Mikhailovich throughout, single-handedly keeping the fight level.
In the fifth round, Mikahilovich kept it inside and didn’t allow Aimkhanuly to break free with his knockout power for half the round. In the last round, Aimkhanuly had Mikhailovich on the defense.
Aimkhanuly drew blood from the nose of Mikahilovich in the first minute of the sixth. It was Aimkhanuly who had his way, with Mikahilovich coming back and fighting well.
Aimkhanuly landed three or four punches at a time in the seventh. Arriving two days before the fight could have influenced Aimkhanuly as Mikahliovich fought back well.
In the eighth round, Aimkhanuly drew blood from the mouth of Mikhailovich in the first minute. Mikhailovich was warned several times by referee Nakamura for using his head. In the final seconds, a left leg from Aimkhanuly Mikahliovich hurt.
Aimkhanuly had Mikhailovich nearly defenseless, bleeding from the nose and mouth, in the ninth round. Aimkhanuly rammed Mikhailovich into the ropes and nearly went down when referee Nakamura wisely called a halt.
IBO featherweight champion Mea Motu (20-0, 8 KOs) stopped Shannon O’Connell (24-8-1, 12 KOs) at 1:06 of the fourth round of a scheduled 10-round bout.
In the first round, 41-year-old former Commonwealth champion O’Connell, a late sub, held her own in a solid round by both her and Motu until a clash of heads midway through the round, with O’Connell taking a bad wound on the right side of her head, causing the ring doctor to come in and take a look.
In the second round, O’Connell, with blood streaming down her face, fought back well until the final seconds when he was rocked by a combination from Motu.
In the third round of action the blood did not flow, but at the end an egg-sized lump appeared on O’Connell’s forehead.
In the fourth round, both punches were thrown midway through the round when the towel was thrown in as O’Connell was rocked by a flurry of Motu, prompting referee Andrew Lazich to call for a stoppage.
A true fighter in defeat, O’Connell was scheduled to fight for the WIBF World Super Bantam title in Germany and took the fight on short notice. Motu showed her respect and hugged O’Connell after the break.
Lightweight Charlie Kazzi (7-0, 3 KOs) knocked out featherweight Lui Magavia (4-7 (1 KO)) at 1:18 of the seventh round of a scheduled eight-rounder in an all-out battle for the vacant WBC Australasia Silver -title.
It was all action, with the taller Kazzi going to the body, ending the round with a solid right to Magavia’s chin. Kazzi rocked Magavia with a left hook to the chin in the final seconds.
In the third round, referee Will Soulis warned Kazzi to keep up his punches. Kazzi rocked Magavia with a solid right to the chin in the final thirty seconds.
In the last twenty seconds of the fifth round, Kazzi rocked Magavia, who delivered quite a few punches to the head. In the seventh round, Kazzi landed a flurry of punches, which caused referee Soulis to stop, possibly prematurely, much to Magavia’s displeasure.
Lightweight Amed Reda (3-0, 3 KO) defeated super featherweight Joe Kara (5-7-1, 5 KO) with a second round knockout of a scheduled six rounds.
