Is Kazakhstan’s Janibek Alimkhanuly the next Gennady Golovkin?
Janibek Alimkhanuly’s destructive fists have earned him comparisons to Gennadiy Golovkin and he’s going “the Triple G way,” said Top Rank president Todd DuBoef.
Alimkhanuly can once again display his explosive power in a unification fight against IBF champion Vincenzo Gualtieri in the early hours of Sunday morning, live on Sky Sports.
The 30-year-old has mercilessly stopped nine opponents during his record 14-fight unbeaten run while winning the WBO belt and DuBoef says Alimkhanuly can emulate fellow Kazakh Golovkin in asserting his dominance in the middleweight division.
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Janibek Alimkhanuly retained his WBO middleweight title with comprehensive victory over Steven Butler in two rounds
“I think he’s going to have to do it the Golovkin way – the Triple G way,” DeBoef said.
“He’s in a division that has a lot of lesser fighters – the top guys in the division have made weight, so we don’t have a really strong division.
“That’s why he wants unification.”
Golovkin, nicknamed “GGG”, is the former middleweight and super middleweight champion who, in 45 fights, won 42, knocked out 37 opponents and lost only twice.
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Alimkhanuly called out Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and Jermall Charlo after his impressive win over Butler
DuBoef believes Alimkhanuly will need to rack up similarly high numbers to further improve his reputation at a weight where there are fewer big names to contend with.
“I think people make the connection to Triple G because of where it came from,” DeBoef said.
“But I think what you look at is there’s a high level of skill there.
You can see IQ, you can see natural ability.
“When Triple G came along, the first time I saw him, he fought in the semifinals for us in New York, and he had the speed, the power and that presence.
Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images
“So I think it’s going to be an interesting moment from him (Alimkhanuly) – he’s going to have to get the stars that we all think he has, bite and fight everyone in front of him.
“Being active, staying out there – out of sight, out of mind – if you stay active, go out there, work on your character traits and compete against everyone in front of you, eventually everyone will get that buzz.
“Who is the next Manny Pacquiao from the Philippines?
“There probably wasn’t – he was super special.
“We saw a wonderful relief system in Mexico, with who the next Julio Cesar Chavez is going to be – you had a group of guys playing that.
“And I think Janibek – it’s too early to say he’s the next Triple G – but some things are lining up, and he’s going to have to do it the hard way.”
Find out if Janibek Alimkhanuly can claim his 15th consecutive victory this weekend, live on Sky Sports.