STEVE’S SOAPBOX
There’s not a lot of glamor in what is traditionally one of the sport’s glamor divisions.
who on April 5 made a successful homecoming to his native Kazakhstan by defending his IBF and WBO titles with a fifth-round stoppage of France’s Anauel Ngamissengue. The 32-year- old Alimkhanuly (17-0, 12 KOs) is generally considered the world’s best middleweight – but again, considering his colleagues, it’s not exactly an earth- shattering distinction. While he’s a unified titleholder, keep in mind that after winning the WBO belt in May 2023, he then took the IBF
schedule – at least by today’s standards – under the guidance of Tom Loeffler. The plan was simple and effective: In lieu of facing big names early on, they would work in volume, grow audiences on HBO and build Golovkin into a
the HBO Boxing franchise, while Alimkhanuly is just a spoke in the Top Rank programming wheel on ESPN. The reality is that he has never really been a priority for Top Rank. In fact, his bout with Mikhailovich was
strap from Vincenzo Gualtieri (TKO 6), who wasn’t even rated in the top 10 by The Ring. His other middleweight title bouts have come against Denzel Bentley (UD 12), Steven Butler (KO 2) and Andrei Mikhailovich (TKO 9). So yes, by virtue of his undefeated mark and his two title straps, perhaps Alimkhanuly should be considered the best middleweight. It’s akin to being the fastest tortoise in a 100-meter dash, though. But make no mistake: “Qazaq Style” is an all- around talented fighter. He has power in both hands, and utilizing his southpaw stance he
originally supposed to take place in Las Vegas but was temporarily scuttled when Alimkhanuly fainted the night before the weigh-in – the result of severe dehydration. The fight instead took place a few months later in Australia, meaning that his last two bouts have taken place outside the U.S. and were only streamed on ESPN+. Golovkin chased Canelo Alvarez and eventually earned a few big paydays against him, but who is Alimkhanuly’s red-headed whale? Currently, the other titleholders are Erislandy Lara (WBA) and Carlos
WBC titleholder Carlos Adames (right) attacks Hamzah Sheeraz.
has shown that he can box effectively when necessary. Versus the game Ngamissengue, Alimkhanuly exhibited the ability to counterpunch inside the pocket and set up his power shots. He’d almost certainly be favored against every other current middleweight. The fact is, though, no one has truly made their mark in this division. The aforementioned Golovkin, like Alimkhanuly, is from Kazakhstan. But really that’s where the similarities end. This is not a knock on the latter, but it should be noted that after “GGG” was first introduced to audiences in the United States, he was kept on a busy
Adames (WBC), who are represented by Premier Boxing Champions. In years past, facing them would have been difficult, if not downright impossible. But now it seems that Top Rank and PBC are willing to sit down and break bread. (Geez, I wonder what brought that about?) Even then, would becoming the undisputed champion against this crop really mean that much? To be fair, getting this distinction in any era would be a landmark achievement for a prizefighter. But the reality is that wearing the division’s crown probably still wouldn’t make him a star.
legitimate gate attraction in both Los Angeles and New York. Alimkhanuly has been relegated to the usual twice-a-year schedule that most modern-day titleholders employ while playing to relatively small crowds in obscure locations like Stockton, which visitstockton. org describes as “a flavorful Northern California getaway,” and Rosenberg, Texas. Golovkin was a pillar of
22 RINGMAGAZINE.COM
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