Janibek “Qazaq Style” Alimkhanuly (15-0, 10 KOs) secured a triumphant sixth-round TKO over Vincenzo Gualtieri (21-1-1, 7 KOs) on Saturday night, taking both the WBO and IBF middleweight titles to his name at the Fort Bend Epicenter, Rosenberg, Texas.
At 30 years of age and hailing from Zhilandy, Kazakhstan, Janibek took a bit to get into his groove. When he did, however, it spelled trouble for the ex-IBF champ, Gualtieri.
Janibek, with his slick southpaw stance, dominated the early fights. Gualtieri tried to mix it up with sideway moves and the odd offensive display. Then, out of nowhere, Janibek’s counter left uppercut in the fifth sent Gualtieri crashing.
Though Gualtieri managed to pull through that round, a barrage of punches from Janibek in the sixth left referee David Fields with no choice but to call it at 1:25.
Janibek proclaimed, “This is how I roll in the ring. Pure Qazaq style! We already had a hunch he wouldn’t hit back. I guess he was betting on me running out of steam. Spoiler alert: I didn’t. Another couple of belts in our sights. Let’s hope Top Rank makes that happen.”
As for Gualtieri, he stated, “Kudos to Janibek. He had the upper hand tonight. I felt the end came a tad prematurely, but he was the superior fighter.”
Keyshawn Davis Edges Out Nahir Albright
Keyshawn Davis, the U.S. Olympic silver medalist (10-0, 6 KOs), climbed further in the lightweight division by earning a majority decision over Philly’s own, Nahir Albright (16-3, 7 KOs).
The first round was mostly a game of sharp jabs. Davis cleverly landed his right, bypassing Albright’s defenses repeatedly. He countered Albright with both rights and lefts, which discouraged Albright from throwing many more punches.
Even though Davis took it a tad easy in the last two rounds, Albright’s effort to close the gap fell short. With one judge scoring a 95-95 tie, the other two leaned towards Davis with 96-94 and 97-93.
Davis responded, “In my book, that’s a clear W. Albright is a respectable opponent, and today was a great learning curve for me. I felt on top of the world, just enjoying my time in the ring. My goal? Prove that I’m the real deal in the 135-pound division. Jose Pedraza, if you’re game, let’s make it happen.”
In an explosive display, U.S. Olympic silver medalist Richard Torrez Jr. (7-0, 7 KOs) delivered a huge second-round TKO against San Antonio’s own Tyrrell Anthony Herndon (21-5, 14 KOs). From the get-go, Torrez was all offense, closing in fast to unleash rapid-fire combinations from his southpaw stance. A left from Torrez sent Herndon to the canvas, triggering a barrage that left referee Alejandro Leon no choice but to call it quits. The curtain dropped on this fight at 1:26.
In another heavyweight event, Italian boxing sensation Guido Vianello (11-1-1, 9 KOs) clinched a hard-earned eight-round unanimous decision over seasoned fighter Curtis Harper (14-10, 9 KOs). Despite Vianello finding it tough to connect cleanly against an elusive Harper, he managed to out-punch him throughout all the rounds. The tallies read 80-72 and 79-73 twice, sealing his victory.
