Dehydration causes Janibek to withdraw from the Mikhailovich fight; Muratalla vs. Farmer is now the main event.
As a result of dehydration, Janibek Alimkhanuly, the IBF/WBO middleweight champion, has canceled his scheduled Saturday championship defense against Andrei Mikhailovich.
The card will still take place, but the ten-round bout between Tevin Farmer (33-5-1, 8 KOs) and undefeated lightweight contender Raymond Muratalla (20-0, 16 KOs) will now be the main event. That is a fantastic battle that belongs on the main card. According to Top Rank, Janibek, 31, who is 15-0 with 10 KOs, passed out during Friday’s weigh-in and had to be transported to the hospital.
Janibek’s championship defense against Mikhailovich (21-0, 13 KOs), who is undefeated, is therefore no longer scheduled. The two were supposed to square off in the ESPN+ main event at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
“Janibek was cutting the final pounds last night when he fainted,” said Egis Klimas, Janibek’s manager in media reports.
“We immediately took him to Spring Valley Hospital Medical Center, where he was put on an IV. While the scans showed no kidney, he was severely dehydrated and in no condition to fight,” added Egis Klimas.
When the two posed for the face-off on stage at Thursday’s final press conference, Janibek seemed noticeably larger than Mikhailovich, implying that he would need to work extremely hard to lose the water weight in the limited time he had before Friday’s weigh-in. Given his age, Janibek may need to step up to the 168-pound weight class as it may be dangerous for him to continue competing in the 160-lb division.
If Janibek advances to 168, he may end up being Canelo Alvarez’s mandatory with the WBO or IBF in order to obtain a rapid crack at the belt. Janibek stands to gain significantly more financial advantage from his battle with Canelo than he would from continuing to compete at 160 pounds, a weight he finds difficult to maintain.
“160 is truly a wasteland if Janibek can’t make the weight anymore. Adames looked pedestrian in his last fight and Lara is 500 years old and about to defend against Mosley Jr,” commented a fan.
