The Middleweight Boogeyman is now a unified world champion.
Janibek “Qazaq Style” Alimkhanuly (15-0, 10 KOs) defeated Vincenzo Gualtieri (21-1-1, 7 KOs) via sixth-round TKO to unify the WBO and IBF middleweight world titles Saturday evening at Fort Bend Epicenter in Rosenberg, Texas.
Janibek, the 30-year-old fighting pride of Zhilandy, Kazakhstan, took a few rounds to establish his rhythm. But once he figured out Gualtieri, the former IBF champ’s fate was sealed.
Janibek, a southpaw, controlled the earlier rounds against Gualtieri, who used lateral movements and occasional bursts of offense. Then, a counter left uppercut from Janibek in the fifth round hurt and dropped Gualtieri.
Gualtieri survived the round, but several unanswered shots in round six forced referee David Fields to halt the fight at 1:25.
Janibek said, “This is my style of fighting. This is Qazaq style, and this is what I will continue to do.
“We knew from the beginning that he wasn’t going to fight back. He was waiting because he thought I was going to get tired. But I didn’t get tired.
“We would like to add another two belts to this collection. We hope that our promoter Top Rank can organize that.”
Gualtieri said, “Congratulations to Janibek. He was better tonight. But I think it was a little bit early to end the fight. But he was better today.”
Keyshawn Davis Defeats Nahir Albright
U.S. Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn Davis (10-0, 6 KOs) continued his rise up the lightweight rankings with a majority decision win over Philadelphia-born contender Nahir Albright (16-3, 7 KOs).
After a battle of jabs in the opening round, Davis found a home for his right hand, sneaking it over Albright’s shoulder throughout the fight. Davis also counterpunched Albright with right and left hands, which made Albright less eager to throw punches down the stretch.
Davis, however, eased up in the final two rounds, allowing Albright to narrow the scorecards. It was not enough as one judge scored the fight 95-95, which was overruled by tallies of 96-94 and 97-93.
Davis said, “I had it as a win for me. That’s all that matters. He was a tough fighter. And this fight today gave me some good experience. I was feeling good. I was just boxing. I was just having fun and doing what I want to do.
“I just want to show that I belong at the top of the 135-pound division. I’m working my way up there. If Jose Pedraza is willing to take a fight with me, then let’s do it.