Janibek Alimkhanuly waited more than seven years for a fight in his home country.
The unbeaten and unified IBF and WBO middleweight titlist didn’t waste any time in the ring once that moment arrived.
An opening round knockdown set the tone for Kazakhstan’s Alimkhanuky to earn a fifth-round stoppage of France’s Anauel Ngamissengue. The 32-year-old Kazakh southpaw scored two knockdowns on the night to force the stoppage at 2:59 of round five in their ESPN+ headliner Saturday evening at Barys Arena in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Ngamissengue put up a valiant effort in both his debut on the title stage and second career fight outside of France. The 29-year-old Congolese Frenchman fought behind a tight guard and attempted to apply pressure but found a stubborn target in the world’s best middleweight.
Alimkhanuly sought any excuse to send his countrymen into a frenzy in his first fight on home soil since his second pro bout in 2017.
That moment came towards the end of the opening round. Consecutive left hands found the chin of Ngamissengue, who tried in vain to remain upright but ultimately fell to the canvas. He beat the count and made it out of the round, but was already well behind the eight ball.
Momentum not only remained with Alimkhanuly in the second but never shifted away from the defending titlist. He was sharp with his left hand, which connected on both sides of Ngamissengue’s two-toned beard.
Alimkhanuly waded through Ngamissengue’s offense and continued to land his power shots with minimal resistance in the third. A right hook shook the unbeaten challenger near the end of the round, though he was able to make it to the bell.
The action remained in favor of the local hero in rounds four and five. The body language of Ngamissengue shifted, though his determination remained intact.
It worked to the challenger’s detriment and ultimate led to his demise.
Alimkhanuly pushed through a cut inside his left eye and fended off a spirited attack by Ngamissengue. A straight left hand immediately put an end to the offensive surge by Ngamissengue, who barely remained upright as his head snapped back. An ensuring left hand sent him to the canvas for the second time on the night.
Ngamissengue bravely climbed to his feet but was unable to respond to the referee’s commands, which prompted an immediate stoppage.
Ngamissengue fell to 14-1 (9 KOs) as he fell very short in his first major title bid. It was a valiant challenge by the visiting middleweight, but the jury is still out on his full capability as he lacks a signature win to confirm his place among the division’s best.
Meanwhile, Alimkhanuky, 17-0 (12 KOs), will undoubtedly wreak havoc—through social media—on his middleweight peers.
Saturday’s win was his fifth overall title defense, and second since he unified the IBF and WBO belts nearly eighteen months ago. Alimkhanuly claimed the interim WBO belt in a May 2022 second-round knockout of unbeaten Danny Dignum in Las Vegas. He returned to the city as a full titlist ahead of his November 2022 points win over Denzel Bentley.
Eleven months later, Alimkhanuly slaughtered unbeaten Vincenzo Guatieri via sixth round knockout to unify the IBF and WBO middleweight belts in Rosenberg, Texas. Failure to secure fights with Carlos Adames and Erislandy Lara, the WBC and WBA middleweight titleholders, respectively, led to his moving forward with an IBF mandatory defense against Andrei Mikhailovich.
The two were due to meet last July in Las Vegas, but Alimkhanuly withdrew just prior to the weigh-in as a bout with dehydration forced a visit to the hospital. The moment drew concern over his ability to make middleweight but Alimkhanuly left no doubt in a ninth-round stoppage last October 4 on the road in Pyrmont, Australia.
From a showing in hostile territory came the dedicated effort by Nomad Promotions and renowned boxing personality Sam Katkovski to provide a homecoming for Alimkhanuly. He delivered in emphatic fashion in the ring, and will now resume his pursuit of full unification at middleweight.
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