Top Rank Presents unified world middleweight championship: Janibek Alimkhanuly vs Andrei Mikhailovich
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Top Rank Boxing on ESPN, presented by AutoZone: Janibek vs. Mikhailovich, will be presented live this Saturday, July 13, at 11 p.m. ET/ 8 p.m. PT exclusively on ESPN+. The event takes place at Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
UK fight fans can watch live on Sky Sports Main Event / Action from 2am on Sunday morning, July 14.
Janibek “Qazaq Style” Alimkhanuly will defend his WBO and IBF middleweight world titles against unbeaten contender Andrei Mikhailovich.
Janibek (15-0, 10 KOs), a 2016 Olympian, swiftly moved from prospect to WBO Interim middleweight champion by knocking out Danny Dignum in 2022.
He was soon elevated to full champion after Demetrius Andrade vacated the title.
Janibek successfully defended his title against Denzel Bentley later that year and became a unified champion in October 2023 by knocking out IBF champion Vincenzo Gualtieri in six rounds.
Born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and raised in New Zealand, Mikhailovich (21-0, 13 KOs) began boxing at 15 and turned pro in 2018.
He claimed his first regional title with a TKO of Ernesto Espana in 2022. He notched an eye-opening victory in 2023, overcoming an early knockdown to stop undefeated Edisson Saltarin in five rounds. His winning ways continued in April with a first-round TKO over Les Sherrington.
Raymond Muratalla vs Tevin Farmer
In the 10-round lightweight co-feature, Raymond Muratalla will face former world champion Tevin Farmer.
At 27 years old, Muratalla (20-0, 16 KOs) graduated to contender status in 2023 with three knockout victories, including a stunning second-round TKO over Jeremia Nakathila on the Devin Haney-Vasiliy Lomachenko pay-per-view undercard.
He made his 2024 debut in March with a 10-round decision over Xolisani Ndongeni.
Farmer (33-5-1, 8 KOs) overcame early-career setbacks before going on an 18-fight winning streak.
In 2017, his bout against Kenichi Ogawa for the IBF junior lightweight title ended in controversy when Ogawa’s initial win was overturned due to a positive test for a banned substance.
Farmer then seized the vacant title by defeating Billy Dib in 2018 and defended it four times before losing a competitive decision to Joseph Diaz Jr. in 2020.
Since losing the belt, Farmer has rebounded with three victories, including a first-round stoppage of Alan Luques Castillo in March.
Undercard action begins at 6:50 p.m. ET/3:50 p.m. PT.
Calling the action will be ESPN’s Joe Tessitore, Timothy Bradley Jr., Bernardo Osuna, and Mark Kriegel.