Janibek Alimkhanuly drops and stops Andrei Mikhailovich in nine one-sided rounds

Janibek Alimkhanuly retained his IBF middleweight title by stopping Andrei Mikhailovich in nine rounds, but questions regarding his future at 160lbs will persist.

He so nearly made an emphatic statement at The Star in Sydney, Australia by nearing victory in the second.

The resilient Mikhailovich instead narrowly survived, and remained upright until being rescued in the ninth.

Alimkhanuly, who also holds the WBO title, had been forced to withdraw from a date in July in Las Vegas with Mikhailovich because of his struggles to make weight.

For all that the Kazakh, 31, ultimately recorded a convincing victory, his performance against an overmatched challenger suggested that he was again somewhat drained.

His advantage in size was significant, and was demonstrated repeatedly from the opening bell.

Mikhailovich, who was born in Russia and fights out of New Zealand, fought with aggression but was repeatedly punished as a consequence.

He was hurt by three powerful left hands and a left uppercut by the more accurate, heavy-handed puncher, and to the extent that he was clearly hurt while upright before being sent off his feet. When he attempted to stand he again stumbled – not unlike Zab Judah once so memorably did against Kostya Tszyu – and had the bell not rung to end the round the referee Katsuhiko Nakamura or his corner may have had little choice but to intervene.

Alimkhanuly’s patience in continuing to pick his punches before Mikhailovich hit the canvas was admirable, and showed his confidence that not only was the stoppage imminent, but that it wasn’t something he needed to force. He smiled when he saw his 26-year-old challenger hurt, and while he remained under assault Mikhailovich unconvincingly stuck his tongue out, but that same patience cost Alimkhanuly when Mikhailovich gradually and impressively recovered.

Mikhailovich was hurt again in the third by a left hand, an uppercut and a right hand, when Alimkhanuly, a once fine amateur, showed little respect for him.

The one-sided nature of their contest was captured by how red the challenger’s face was by the start of the fourth, similarly to when in the fifth Alimkhanuly succeeded with a left hand and took a right hand in response that visibly had little effect.

Mikhailovich’s desire, and his determination to fight at close range, undermined the effectiveness of the rangy champion’s punches as much as the subtlety Alimkhanuly had sacrificed in pursuit of the stoppage.

A hurtful combination in the sixth round was followed in the seventh by successive lefts, and in the eighth another left hand and an uppercut. Mikhailovich’s work rate, instead of the quality of his punching, was the focal point of his output, but increasingly he was proving himself at world level. 

In the ninth round Alimkhanuly timed almost to perfection a counter left uppercut, but it was another punch Mikhailovich resisted. A further left uppercut hurt him again before a left hand sent him bouncing into the ropes and he struggled to remain upright. 

It was then that that the referee intervened to rescue him. Mikhailovich was less hurt than he was in the second round but he was struggling to defend himself, and had by then taken considerable punishment. 

Alimkhanuly was leading by scores of 80-71, 80-71 and, surprisingly, 78-73. The stoppage was recorded at two minutes, 45 seconds.