Alimkhanuly Defends His Title Against Mikhaylovich

On October 4 in Sydney, Australia, a boxing tournament took place, with the main event being a showdown between Kazakhstan’s IBF and WBO middleweight champion (up to 72.5 kg) Janibek Alimkhanuly (15-0, 10 KOs) and New Zealand's Andrei Mikhaylovich (21-0, 13 KOs). The IBF title was on the line.

The fight was originally scheduled for July 13 in Las Vegas, USA, but Janibek collapsed while cutting weight the day before the fight and was hospitalized due to severe dehydration, leading to the postponement.

Both fighters entered the bout with two consecutive stoppage victories and undefeated records. However, Alimkhanuly had been out of the ring for nearly a year—his last fight was on October 14 against Vincenzo Gualtieri (22-1-1, 7 KOs).

In the second round, Mikhaylovich was shaken by counter punches from Alimkhanuly and went down just as the bell rang. It seemed like the New Zealander wouldn’t continue, but he managed to recover and fought on until the 9th round, when Janibek delivered a series of heavy blows, prompting the referee to stop the fight. TKO in the 9th round.