Anauel Ngamissengue did his best to draw a rise out of the crowd while in hostile territory. 

The visiting challenger flexed and shadowboxed while on stage after he easily made weight ahead of his first title bid. Defending IBF and WBO middleweight titlist Janibek Alimkhanuly smiled at his antics and then gave a glance as if to say, “Get a load of this guy”.

Weight-wise, both fighters are fit and ready for Saturday’s ESPN+ headliner from Barys Arena in Astana, Kazakhstan. Alimkhanuly checked in at 159.5lbs for his long overdue homecoming, while Ngamissengue was 158.8lbs — a full eight less than his previous outing in June. 

The historic bout marks the first time that a Kazakh unified titlist defends his crown in his home country. 

For Alimkhanuly, 16-0 (11 KOs), it’s a return home for the first time since his second pro bout back in September 2017. He spent the next seven years in the US under the promotional guidance of Top Rank, where he has unified two of the four major titles at middleweight.

In his most recent start, the 32-year-old southpaw hit the road with a ninth-round stoppage of the unbeaten Andrei Mikhailovich in October in Sydney, Australia. Victory satisfied his IBF mandatory title defense, and Alimkhanuly is in the voluntary phase of his unified title reign. 

Ngamissengue, 14-0 (9 KOs) fights outside of France for just the second time as he enters his first career title fight. The Congolese-Frenchman’s lone other road trip came in an eight-round, majority decision win over Sandro Jajanidze on the Oleksandr Usyk-Daniel Dubois unified heavyweight title fight undercard in Wroclaw, Poland in August 2023. 

Saturday’s promotion also features a terrific 10-round junior lightweight contest between unbeaten local contender Sultan Zaurbek and former title challenger Azinga Fuzile. 

Shymkent’s Zaurbek, 19-0 (13 KOs) was initially more than two pounds above the divisional limit but made weight on the second attempt. South Africa’s Fuzile, 18-2 (12 KOs) was 129.5lbs. on the first try.

Below are the weights for the full card, with select bouts to air live on ESPN+ beginning at 11:00am ET.

Middleweight – 12 rounds

Janibek Alimkhanuly (159.5lbs) vs Anauel Ngamissengue (158.8lbs)

For Alimkhanuly’s IBF and WBO middleweight titles

Junior lightweight – 10 rounds

Sultan Zaurbek (130lbs) vs Azinga Fuzile (129.5lbs)

*Zaurbek initially 132.25lbs on first attempt

Heavyweight– 10 rounds

Bakhodir Jalolov (25.15lbs) vs Igor Shevadzutskyi (weight not recorded)

Junior welterweight (142lbs contract limit) – 10 rounds

Batyr Jukembayev (141.9lbs) vs Kane Gardner (140.2lbs)

Junior featherweight – six rounds

Makhmud Sabyrkhan (122lbs) vs Dung Duc Huynh (120.8lbs)

Bantamweight – eight two-minute rounds

Balaussa Muzdiman (117.9lbs) vs Maria Thereas Pinili (117.4lbs)

Featherweight – eight rounds

Otabek Kholmatov (126.5lbs) vs Jason Canoy (125.5lbs)

Junior middleweight – six rounds

Torekhan Sabyrkhan (152.5lbs) vs Jiri Hauke (156.3lbs)

Junior middleweight – four rounds

Akniet Alimbay (155lbs) vs Josef Dubsky (154.8lbs)

Junior middleweight – four rounds

Alisher Abdulaim (154.3lbs) vs Ashish Chaudhary (155.8lbs)

Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as a senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home. Follow Jake on X and Instagram.