ESPN’s top-ranked middleweight, Janibek Alimkhanuly, returns to his home country Saturday to defend his IBF and WBO middleweight titles. The fighter from Almaty, Kazakhstan, will face Anauel Ngamissengue in Astana, Kazakhstan, exclusively on ESPN+.
Alimkhanuly (16-0, 11 KOs) competed in Kazakhstan in his first two fights, but hasn’t since. What awaits the 32-year-old champion is a clash with ESPN’s seventh-ranked middleweight for his fifth title defense.
Alimkhanuly, a southpaw, retained his IBF middleweight title with a brutal stoppage victory over Andrei Mikhailovich in the ninth round of his last bout in October. His next test is the 29-year-old Ngamissengue (14-0, 9 KOs), who will challenge for his first world title and compete in his first bout scheduled for 12 rounds.
Alimkhanuly will be one of Ngamissengue’s toughest challenges yet. Six of Ngamissengue’s 14 fights came against opponents with losing records.
Also on the card:
Kazakhstan’s Sultan Zaurbek (19-0, 13 KOs) takes on Azinga Fuzile (18-2, 12 KOs) in a junior lightweight matchup scheduled for 10 rounds.
Heavyweights Bakhodir Jalolov (14-0, 14 KOs) and Ihor Shevadzutskyi (12-2, 10 KOs) face off in a 10-round clash.
Batyrzhan Jukembayev (23-1, 17 KOs) faces Kane Gardner (17-4, 7 KOs) in a super lightweight bout set for 10 rounds.
Makhmud Sabyrkhan makes his professional debut at super bantamweight against Nicolas Tordecilla (2-0, 2 KOs).
Where can I watch the Alimkhanuly-Ngamissengue fight card?
Coverage begins Saturday at 11 a.m. ET on ESPN+ and Disney+.
Fans can catch all the action in the event streaming hub.
How can fans access more boxing content from ESPN?
Check out the ESPN boxing hub page for the latest news, analysis, schedules, rankings and more.
