By Jack Tiernan: The WBO has ordered Jaime Munguia vs. Janibek Alimkhanuly to battle for the interim middleweight title. The management for the two fighters has ten days to work out a deal before a purse bid is ordered.
Janibek is a devasting puncher, and it should be a real war between him and Munguia.
The former WBO junior middleweight champion Munguia (39-0, 31 KOs) is ranked #1 with the sanctioning body, and Janibek (11-0, 7 KOs) #2.
Assuming Munguia agrees to the WBO-ordered fight against Janibek, the two fighters will battle for the interim 160lb title with the possibility that the winner could be elevated to full champion if Demetrius Andrade vacates his title.
At this point, it’s uncertain whether Munguia and his promoters at Golden Boy Promotions will agree to take part in the fight with the dangerous punching Janibek.
It’s going to make Munguia look bad if he ducks Janibek, but he’s already turned off a lot of fans with the soft opposition he’s faced since moving up to 160 in 2020.
We’ve already seen Munguia pass up on the opportunity of using his mandatory status with the WBO to challenge champion Demetrius Andrade for his title.
If Munguia and his promoters at Golden Boy are going to pass up on a fight with Andrade, why would they take an arguably more dangerous fight against the 2016 Olympian Janibek for the interim WBO middleweight title?
Janibek’s recent wins:
- Hassan N’Dam
- Rob Brant
- Gonzalo Gaston Coria
- Albert Onolunose
- Stuart McLellan
Andrade (31-0, 19 KOs) is moving up to 168 to face #1 Zach Parker for the interim WBO super middleweight title next. Demetrius wants to get in a position to challenge WBO 168-lb champion Canelo Alvarez, who has shown no interest in fighting him.
The World Boxing Organization is reportedly allowing Andrade to hold onto his WBO 160lb title and return to the weight class if he chooses to after his match with Parker.
What makes it unlikely that Munguia and his promoters at Golden Boy agree to a fight with Janibek is that they’re targeting a fight against IBF middleweight champion Gennadiy Golovkin.
During the build-up for his fight last Saturday night against D’Mitrius Ballard in Tijuana, Mexico, Munguia repeatedly mentioned his desire to fight Golovkin next or later this year for his IBF 160-lb title.
Munguia isn’t ranked high enough with the International Boxing Federation to force Golovkin to defend against him, but he’s hoping that he’ll fight him in a voluntary defense.
If Golovkin doesn’t get the trilogy fight that he’s hoping for against Canelo Alvarez in September, he might look in Munguia’s direction because it’s a match that will pay.
Andrade took heat from boxing fans for his decision not to fight Janibek. It would have been a punishing fight for Andrade with not much to gain, and everything to lose.
A lot of boxing fans believe Andrade didn’t relish the idea of staying at 160 and taking on what would be a grueling fight with the heavy-handed Janibek, who some fans see as a younger version of Golovkin in terms of his power and relentless style of fighting.
