Promoter Bob Arum feels he needs to match IBF and WBO middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly against the other champions at 160 to take his career to the next level if he’s victorious in his title defense against Andrei Mikhailovich (21-0, 13 KOs) this Saturday, July 13th at the Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
(Courtesy: Mikey Williams/Top Rank)
Obstacles in the Middleweight Division
Arum has his work cut out to make a name for the 31-year-old Janibek because the middleweight division lacks stars. One way to become a household name would be for Janibek to fight three to four times a year, as Gennadiy Golovkin did early in his career to become a star in the United States.
However, it’s questionable whether Top Rank has enough dates on ESPN for Janibek to fight that frequently without taking undercard slots, which might not be possible. The money he would get fighting in those positions would likely be less.
Securing High-Profile Fights
Arum is in a tough position with Janibek because the other champions won’t be eager to fight him, especially if he looks good on Saturday night against Mikhailovich. Janibek is a dangerous southpaw with no real fan base.
There’s no upside for anyone to fight him because he checks every box for someone to be avoided. No one wants to fight southpaws, and what’s the point if they’re dangerous and the money isn’t there?
Saturday night’s Janibek vs. Mikhailovich event on ESPN+ at 6:50 p.m. ET/3:50 p.m. PT.
“The problem is there aren’t many top middleweights from America. So that greats burdens,” said promoter Bob Arum to the Sean Zittel YouTube channel on the difficulty that he has in turning IBF/WBO middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly into a star.
Potential Matchups and Financial Considerations
“There are some great middleweights around the world. For example, there’s the English kid Sheeraz [Hamzah], who we’re looking forward to. Adames is another potential guy [for Janibek] and Lara. Assuming he gets by [Andrei] Mikhailovich, he only wants the big fights, and whether they’re going to be here or in Saudi Arabia or in Riyadh or England, that’s to be determined,” said Arum.
Without the Saudis offering one of the top fighters a mountain of money to fight Janibek, the names that Arum mentioned are more wishful thinking. Those guys aren’t likely to fight him because they’re better off taking the low-level fights and milking their titles. Sheeraz appears to be heading toward fighting WBC champion Adames, who looks very beatable.
“I think it’s probably too expensive to go on that card,” said Arum when asked if Janibek can fight WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames or WBA champion Erislandy Lara on the undercard of Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis vs. Vasily Lomachenko in November.”
It would be great for Janibek to get a prestigious co-feature spot on the Tank Davis vs. Vasily Lomachenko card in November or December. Arum is right. Janibek would be too expensive if he fought a unification fight with one of the champions.
“If you ask me if either of those fights can be made with PBC, the answer is yes, but I wouldn’t expect it to be on that card because I don’t think that Tank or Loma would want that because they share in the revenue from the fight. That would take out a lot of revenue,” said Arum about Janibek not likely to be added to the Tank vs. Lomachenko undercard.
The best way for Arum to turn Janibek into a star would be to move him up to super middleweight, put him in with David Benavidez, and hope for the best. Given how bad Janibek looked in his fight against Denzel Bentley, he would be no match for Benavidez or any of the top 168-pounders.
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