Janibek Alimkhanuly Shows To Level Skill In His Destruction Of Robert Brant
An interesting ten-round middleweight bout is being contested at the Virgin Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, as Janibek (Zhanibek) Alimkhanuly (10-0, 6KO) squares off against Rob Brant (26-3, 18KO), live on ESPN+.
Managed by Egis Klimas and trained by the Hall of Fame inductee Buddy McGirt, Alimkhanuly is on the fast track. In only nine fights as a pro, the 28-year-old southpaw from Zhilandy, Kazakhstan is already ranked second by the WBO. His team feels right now he can compete with the elite middleweights in the world.
He’s facing the biggest test of his career in Brant. The 30-year-old from Saint Paul, Minnesota, is a former WBA “regular” middleweight champ. Having tasted success at the top level of the sport, the fighter known as “Bravo” would love to spoil the “Alimkhanuly applecart” and get back to the top.
SETTING THE PACE EARLY
One thing that was evident early on, Alimkhanuly (10-0, 6 KOs) was the more powerful fighter. As early as round two, he controlled the center of the ring and had his opponent in retreat.
At his best, Brant is a fighter who relies on the jab and a very high work rate. Here was his problem. While his jab was working to a degree, the man from Minnesota couldn’t follow up with subsequent punches. There was no initiative to create openings on his opponent. In short, he was giving his opponent far too much respect.
LIKE SLOW DEATH
By the fourth, Alimkhanuly was full of confidence and was the boss! Brant was fighting solely on the back foot and falling for every faint. His only chance was to get inside the range and power of his foe. However, he didn’t show the courage to make the adjustments and take that risk.
When facing an opponent who is so defensive, it’s on you to step up the pace. Can you put the punches together to wear down, and make your opponent quit? That’s what the unbeaten man from Kazakhstan started to do in the middle rounds. Early in round six, a straight left hand by Alimkhanuly to the chin put Brant down.
The former champion was getting beat up at this point. By the end of that round trainer, “BoMac” McIntyre, threatened to stop the fight.
The outright assault continued in rounds seven and eight. Brant was getting hurt with every power shot. There was no use for this fight to continue. At the end of the eighth, McIntyre thankfully stepped in and told his fighter he’d seen enough.
Alimkhanuly’s team is already claiming their charge is ready for a world title shot. Based on his destruction of Brant this evening, they may be right. The fighter nicknamed “Qazaq Style” is looking like an upcoming force in the middleweight division.
By: Michael Wilson Jr.
