Janibek Alimkhanuly not only made it to the scale this time, but comfortably made weight.
The unified 160-pound titlist was 159 ½ pounds, while IBF mandatory challenger Andrei Mikhailovich was 159.9 pounds. Their bout headlines an ESPN+ show this Friday at The Star in Sydney, Australia.
Both fighters still have to comply with IBF second-day rehydration check, where they must weigh no more than 170 pounds. IBF rules call for title fight and elimination bout participants to weigh no more than 10 pounds above the contracted limit during the fight day weigh-in.
Kazakhstan’s Alimkhanuly (15-0, 10 knockouts) holds the IBF WBO titles. However, New Zealand’s Mikhailovich (21-0, 13 KOs) declined to challenge for the WBO title and is only eligible to win the IBF strap.
Alimkhanuly will retain both titles if he wins. A loss will see Mikhailovich take home the IBF title, while the WBO belt will be vacant.
Alimkhanuly-Mikhailovich was previously due to take place on July 13 in Las Vegas. The fight was canceled prior to the pre-fight weigh-in when Alimkhanuly was hospitalized due to dehydration.
Mikhailovich was left without a fight as a result. Alimkhanuly was subsequently summoned by the WBO—whose title he also holds—to provide medical proof of what led to his dehydration and whether he was fit to resume his reign.
Meanwhile, the IBF intervened and put the fight back on the table. The matter provided an epic moment for the #PurseBidHeads faction of the sport. No Limit Boxing, Mikhailovich’s promoter, outbid Top Rank by a mere $1,000 ($351,000 to $350,000) to win the rights to the fight on Sept. 3.
Alimkhanuly attempts his fourth overall title defense and first of the IBF belt. He knocked out unbeaten Vincent Gualtieri in the sixth-round knockout of their IBF/WBO unification bout last Oct. 14 in Rosenberg, Texas.
Mikhailovich (21-0, 13 KOs) enters his first career title fight. The timing means he fights for one belt instead of two, though it was theorized that the tactic was intentional this time. Unified titlists are spared same-day weight-checks under IBF rules, but only when more than one title is at stake. That is not the case here, which left Alimkhanuly and Mikhailovich bound to IBF rules to the letter of the law.
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