With a swift and decisive victory, Janibek Alimkhanuly retained his WBO middleweight title by dismantling Steven Butler in less than two rounds. The Kazakh fighter dropped his Canadian adversary three times in quick succession, each knockout punctuated by a devastating left uppercut. Following this commanding performance, Alimkhanuly didn’t hesitate to call out Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo, challenging the elite of boxing to stand against him.
Despite Butler’s best efforts, he couldn’t withstand Alimkhanuly’s relentless onslaught. He managed to remain upright after the initial blow, but subsequent flurries of left-hand strikes quickly brought him to his knees. Upon Butler’s third visit to the canvas, referee Jack Reiss called an end to the contest. Butler, unfortunately, was only able to land two punches in the entire fight, in stark contrast to Alimkhanuly’s 25, underlining the Kazakh boxer’s dominance.
Not content with merely defending his title, Alimkhanuly declared himself the “middleweight king”. In a post-fight interview with ESPN, he boldly called out boxing superstars, saying “Champions and the boxing superstars, where are you? I’m waiting. Let’s fight.” This statement indicates Alimkhanuly’s readiness to face any opponent and his desire to prove his dominance in the middleweight division.
Image Credit: Top Rank