Erislandy Lara and Janibek Alimkhanuly were reportedly negotiated in December about a three-belt middleweight one.
Lara-Alimkhanuly is a decent battle, but not the one that casual fans would be excited about. There was hope that Terence Crawford would move to 160 to challenge January (17-0, 12 COs) for his IBF and WBO belts or 42-year-old Lara (31-3-3, 19 COs) for his WBA band.
According to Jake Donovan of Boxingscene, Lara would be a PBC PPV event in December as part of the Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz vs. Lamont Roach card. It is unclear which of the two battles would be the main file. Given the popularity of ‘Pitbull’ Cruz, his struggle with Roach would make more sense than the most important event.
Lara’s recent enemies
It’s hard to know how much the Cuban Lara left in the tank in his long 17-year-old pro career because he didn’t have a lively body since his collision in 2018 against Jarrett Hurd, which he lost with a 12-round decision. Erislandy has won its last six fights since 2019 and beat this worn group:
- Danny Garcia (37
- Michael Zerafa
- Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan
- Thomas Lamanna
- Greg revenge
- Ramon alvarez
The forgotten section
Look what I mean? Lara has won lately, but looks at who he is fighting. What became of the middleweight division? January, of course, doesn’t care that Lara phased on lesser guys. He wants his title so it can help him show up a little.
For the past two years, Janibek, 32, has chased the WBC middleweight champion, Carlos Adames, and put him under pressure and tried to shame a battle by questioning his courage.
It is understandable that Adames did not bite his battle offers, perhaps because he can make a gold mine if Crawford chooses him as the lucky belt holder he wants to fight in an attempt to win his sixth division’s world championship.
In addition, Adames has his compulsory defense that he should satisfy next by Meiirim Nursultanov. Of course, this is not an excuse why he does not fight against Janibek. If he wanted to fight against him, it would take precedence because it was a unification fight. It makes more sense for Adames to keep his golden ticket, so that if Crawford drops at 160, he might choose him and earn millions in battle.
Chris Williams has been covered since 2010, which brought fans reliable analysis and insight from the opposite of the head events.
Last updated on 10/02/2025
