One championship is at stake this weekend as Janibek Alimkhanuly will defend his IBF and WBO middleweight titles in his home nation of Kazakhstan against Anauel Ngamissengue of the Congo, now fighting out of France.
If you've never heard of Ngamissengue, join the club.
He's unbeaten, but his last fight was in June against a fighter with a record of 12-32-2. Other than a 2023 majority decision win in an eight-rounder over 22-0 Fidor Czerkaszyn, there is nothing even mildly interesting about his opposition.
Alimkhanuly last fought in October, stopping Andrei Mikhailovich in nine rounds.
Former WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tsyzu will take the first step in his comeback against Joey Spencer in a Prime offering from Australia.
Tszyu has lost two straight, the most recent a devastating humbling at the hands of IBF champion Bakhram Murtazaliev, who dropped Tszyu four times in three rounds.
Tszyu has the perfect foil to re-establish himself in Joey Spencer, a carefully moved PBC prospect that was pummelled in his first test by Jesus Ramos in a seven-round stoppage loss.
Should Tszyu win as expected, he is likely to face Keith Thurman in a match scheduled for 2024, but it was canceled due to an injury to Thurman.
DAZN and Queensbury have a solid heavyweight fight from the UK with two bangers in desperate need of a win as Filip Hrgovic meets Joe Joyce.
Hrgovic is a replacement for Dillian Whyte and is coming off his first career loss, losing to Daniel DuBois in the eighth round when the fight was stopped due to cuts around both eyes.
Had Hrgovic won that fight, he would have eventually been the IBF champion, as DuBois was elevated to that title after Oleksandr Usyk was stripped after his first match with Tyson Fury.
Joyce has lost three of his last four fights, his last loss being a decision to Derek Chisora last summer in a good action fight.
This pits two former amateur rivals against each other, and it should be another bout with plenty of heavy punches landed by both men, a common occurrence in a Joe Joyce affair.
ESPN+ and Top Rank finish the day with a heavyweight main event and a crossroads match at junior welterweight from Las Vegas.
The main event will see 2020 Olympic silver medalist Richard Torrez in his first test against Guido Vianello.
Torrez is an all-action fighter that is a bit small for the heavyweight division and I've wondered if he will have the size and strength against larger men in the division.
Vianello has two losses, but one was on cuts to journeyman Jonny Rice in a fight that Vianello was leading on the scorecards and a split decision to contender Efe Ajagba, which was extremely close. So Vianello brings a credible opponent for Torrez, and it's fair to wonder if Top Rank and Torrez have selected an opponent that the Olympian might not be ready for.
Unbeaten Lindolfo Delgado meets once-beaten Elvis Rodriguez in a junior welterweight pairing that could see the winner gaining position for a future title chance.
Delgado, a former Olympian, won all three of his 2024 fights, including a win over then-unbeaten Brian Flores and knocking out rugged Jackson Marinez.
Rodriguez has won six straight since his only loss, a majority decision to top contender Kenneth Sims in 2021.
The winner will move into title contention with a title eliminator in their immediate future.
TRS: Alimkhanuly KO 4
Vince Samano:
TRS: Tsyzu KO 5
TRS: Hrgovic KO 8
V.S.:
TRS: Vianello Split Decision
V.S:
V.S.:
No comments:
Post a Comment