Janibek Alimkhanuly, the undefeated IBF and WBO Middleweight World Champion, says he'll beat Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez easily. The Kazakh fighter claims Canelo isn't special anymore.
Canelo, the Mexican superstar from Guadalajara, has lost only twice in 66 fights. Floyd Mayweather beat him years ago, and Dmitry Bivol got the better of him recently. Now, Canelo's getting ready for two big fights. He'll face IBF Champion William Scull in May to try and become a two-time undisputed champion at super-middleweight. Then, he's set to fight Terence Crawford in Las Vegas this September.
But Alimkhanuly doesn't think much of Canelo these days. He told reporters:
"I am 100% ready to be his opponent and this will be easy for me. We see nothing special, nothing extraordinary. Everything is within the frame … I would say he's not active like in the past. He does not have the ability anymore to jump to everybody like in the past. He knows what his place is."
Alimkhanuly fights at 160 pounds but says he'd move up to face Canelo. Right now, he's focused on defending his IBF and WBO titles against Anauel Ngamissengue on April 5 in Kazakhstan. It's a homecoming fight for the champ.
After that, Alimkhanuly wants to become undisputed at middleweight. But if he keeps winning impressively, he might move up in weight. That could lead to the Canelo fight he wants.
Canelo's got a long list of fighters wanting to hand him his third loss. If Alimkhanuly keeps impressing and moves up, fans might start asking for this matchup.
Canelo's fight with Scull in May will show if he's still at the top of his game. Crawford's moving up two weight classes for their September clash, which will be another big test for the Mexican star.
