HOUSTON — The WBO middleweight champion Janibek Alikhanuly and Vincenzo Gualitieri have agreed to fight on October 14.The 12-round fight will occur in the Fort Bend Epicenter in the Houston suburb of Rosenberg, Texas.
Alimkhanuly (14-0, 9 KOs), a native of Zhilandy, Kazakhstan who now resides and trains in the Los Angeles region, successfully made the second defense of the WBO title in his most recent fight on May 13. Steven Butler was knocked out in the second round after being down three times. On November 12, Alimkhanuly defeated Denzel Bentley in his last match by unanimous decision.
The 30-year-old weighs 160 pounds and is now ranked No. 2 by The Ring. Alimkhanuly will become the undisputed world champion after defeating Gualtieri, at which point he will aim to capture the other two world championships.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to fight a fellow world champion,” said Alimkhanuly, in media reports.
“This fight gets me one step closer to becoming the undisputed middleweight champion, and I thank Vincenzo Gualtieri for putting his belt on the line. He is doing what the other champions have refused to do. I will, however, return home to Kazakhstan as a unified champion,” said Alimkhanuly, in media reports.
In his most recent fight on July 1, Gualtieri (21-0-1, 7 KOs), a resident of Wuppertal, Germany, won the vacant IBF world title by twice knocking out Esquiva Falcao.
Gualtieri,30, believes he can pull off the surprise victory in the Alimkhanuly fight despite being the underdog.
“Janibek is an outstanding boxer who has done it all as an amateur and a professional, just like Esquiva Falcao,” said Gualtieri in media reports.
“Janibek is a southpaw, just like Esquiva Falcao. Janibek was the favorite, just like Esquiva Falcao. In the end, Janibek, like Falcao will lose because I have the better team and the will of a champion. Only that will decide who wins and who loses, just as it did against Falcao,” said Gualtieri in media reports.
Edited by Judy J. Rotich and Newsdesk Manager
