Janibek Alimkhanuly (left) catches Andrei Mikhailovich – Photo courtesy of No Limit Boxing
Janibek Alimkhanuly retained his IBF and WBO middleweight titles with a ninth-round knockout of Andrei Mikhailovich at The Star in Sydney, Australia on Friday night, but the victory came with a lesson.
Don’t play with your food.
Kazakh southpaw Alimkhanuly, 31, was all over Mikhailovich in the opening rounds, clearly hurting his Kiwi opponent, dropping him late in the second heat. But Alimkhanuly stood back and wanted his opponent to suffer after a bitter run-up to the rescheduled bout.
Another punch would have made it an early night for everyone. Alimkhanuly did not take it.
Instead, he was forced to fight through seven more rounds of grappling and infighting. For the most part, Alimkhanuly prevailed. But the Russian-born Mikhailovich, 26, made him work every inch of the way.
Mikhailovich gathered Alimkhanuly on the inside. He threw jabs with each hand, denying the title holder leverage for his sharper shots at mid- and long-range. But Alimkhanuly, ranked No. 1 by The Ring at middleweight, looked two shirt sizes bigger than Mikhailovich, and could make his own hands flow with heavier shots.
Victory always seemed a matter of time for Alimkhanuly, even if he had to go the long way around it. Bleeding from the mouth and nose, Mikhailovich managed to force a brief pause in the action as referee Katsuhiko Nakamura sent him to his corner to fasten the tape on his glove.
That break would not last long.
Alimkhanuly nailed him with a left uppercut, quickly followed by a left cross. Mikhailovich went down. That was enough for referee Nakamura, who wisely waved off the match at 2:45 of the ninth.
DEMOLISH ⚠️
🏆🏆 @QazaqStyle remains in a league of its own. pic.twitter.com/8sADRIfQyi
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) October 4, 2024
The clean-cut Alimkhanuly moves his ledger to 16-0 with 11 knockouts, but he may not be long for the weight class after tonight’s experience. For Mikhailovich, who is now 21-1 with 13 knockouts, it’s back to the drawing board.
In the main support bout, Mea Motu took on seasoned veteran Shannon O’Connell over eight two-minute rounds at a 125-pound catchweight.
Motu was scheduled to face The Ring junior featherweight champion Ellie Scotney (9-0), who also holds the IBF and WBO titles, on the undercard of the Jack Catterall vs Regis Prograis undercard at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England. on October 26 before the 26-year-old Londoner withdrew from the game due to injury.
Motu was determined not to let her training camp go to waste.
The powerfully built Kiwi opened a cut in the hairline of O’Connell above the right temple in the first round after an accidental clash of heads. The 34-year-old mother of five backed Brisbane’s O’Connell, 41, on the ropes and drew her into a furious exchange.
O’Connell, who has three children of her own, returned to her corner drenched in blood.
Motu kept it up in the second, chasing O’Connell back and pulling her closer. Motu hammered the body with both hands and topped off with power shots. The pressure from the Auckland native continued in the third, with O’Connell returning to her chair with a large egg across her right forehead.
O’Connell was as game as ever and landed a shocking right hand early in the fourth, but she simply didn’t have the firepower to keep Motu off her. O’Connell’s corner threw in the towel and referee Andrew Lazich called the game at the 1:02 mark.
With the win, Motu moves to 20-0 with 8 KOs. O’Connell drops to 24-8-1 with 12 KOs.
