‘Middle’ champs Gualtieri, Alimkhanuly collide

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Unbeaten world champions Vincenzo Gualtieri and Janibek Alimkhanuly risk their crowns in a world boxing middleweight title unification showdown on Saturday in suburban Houston.

Alimkhanuly, a 30-year-old Kazakh southpaw, was a 2013 world amateur champion and 2014 Asian Games gold medalist. The 2016 Olympian makes his third title defense since claiming a World Boxing Organization crown vacated by Demetrius Andrade in August 2022.

"I'm grateful for the opportunity to fight a fellow world champion," said Alimkhanuly. "This fight gets me one step closer to becoming the undisputed middleweight champion."

Alimkhanuly, 14-0 with nine knockouts, beat British champion Denzel Bentley by unanimous decision last November and stopped Canada's Steven Butler in the second round last May.

Gualtieri, a 30-year-old German, is defending for the first time the International Boxing Federation title he won in July by unanimous decision over Brazil's previously undefeated Esquiva Falcao.