Alimkhanuly Wins a Unification & Davis Earns Close Decision
Somebody lost the “O”, as WBO middleweight champion Janibek “Qazaq Style” Alimkhanuly (15-0, 7KO) walked away with Vincenzo Gualtieri’s (21-1-1, 7KO) IBF title in impressive fashion.
Alimkhanuly delivered on a promise to win by stoppage. From the starting bell, he was in total control of the fight by building everything off the jab.
His feints, speed, and counter-shots were on point as he stalked Gualtieri with the straight left hand. In the fifth round, the newly crowned unified champion landed a pull counter right hook followed by a left uppercut that put Gualtieri in retreat mode.
In the sixth round, Alimkhanuly turned it up and landed another left uppercut that sent his opponent into the ropes. Qazaq Style did not let up and poured on the attack, landing brutal shots leaving and the referee no choice but to stop the fight.
It was a much-needed performance by the boogeyman of the division, who is viewed as the man to beat. During the post-fight interview, Alimkhanuly wasted no time in calling out the other champions.
KEYSHAWN DAVIS PICKS UP A SOLID VICTORY OVER NAHIR ALBRIGHT
Lightweight Keyshawn “The Businessman” Davis (10-0, 6KO) won a tough fight over a tough Nahir Albright (16-3, 7KO) by majority decision.
Davis had trouble with the hand speed, feints, and long jab of Albright. However, he quickly caught the timing and started landing the overhand right and counter shots with ease.
The Businessman fought in the pocket, and avoided the offense of Albright while attacking the body and scoring with more solid right hands. In the eighth round, Davis hurt Albright with a hard right hand, but he got caught with a right hand that halted his momentum.
In the closing rounds, Albright turned it up by throwing combinations and was having success with the right hand. Davis finally stopped moving and returned fire to end the last round strong. One judge scored it 95-95 even, as the other two saw it 97-93, and 96-94 in favor of Davis. This was a good fight that saw the undefeated contender show he could take a shot and make the correct adjustments.
In the post-fight interview, he called for a fight with veteran Jose Pedraza, hopefully on December 9.
