Marquis Taylor wants Janibek Alimkhanuly fight

Marquis Taylor has described unified 160-pound champ Janibek Alimkhanuly as the dream opponent in the middleweight division.

Houston’s Taylor, 31, believes a clash with the IBF and WBO titlist could help propel his career to greater heights. Taylor told BoxingScene that he can’t wait to grab an opportunity to become a beltholder at 160.

“The dream fight would be against Janibek because he’s got two world titles, so that’s the dream fight,” said Taylor. “I gotta make him very uncomfortable, be a very decent fit.

“So, I don’t want him to know how I’m coming, but I just know I fight him and come real different. I’ma steal the fight. I like to run away with it. 

“I’m looking forward to facing all of them [champions], Carlos Adames, Erislandy Lara, Janibek. The world title fight is a world title fight no matter who it’s against.”

At 31, Taylor, 18-1-2 (3 KOs), is yet to land a world title shot despite being a pro for over a decade. Since moving up to campaign at 160 in February last year, Taylor has gone 5-0, including wins over Roberto Garcia and Ivan Pandzic.

Ahead of next year, Taylor is relishing a chance to land a shot at a world title and was present at the recent WBA convention, making his case for progression in the rankings.

“I want to stay at 160 for now. I literally just moved up to 160. I guess it’s only been like a year so far. So, we’re gonna stay at 160. This is our fourth weight class in professional boxing, so I’m just trying to get a world title shot.”

Taylor acknowledged that he must continue working hard to realize his goals.

“We might not be able to get the guys that we wanna get, but as long as we’re staying active, an opportunity will come.”

Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist with a specialty in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” in his native Ghana for years. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and through email at [email protected].