Janibek Alimkhanuly will have to wait even longer to make his first ring appearance of 2024, as Top Rank announced that the unified middleweight champion is out of tomorrow’s title defense against Andre Mikhailovich after being hospitalized for dehydration.
Raymond Muratalla’s lightweight clash with Tevin Farmer now serves as the main event.
Alimkhanuly (15-0, 10 KO) has not seen action since stopping IBF titlist Vincenzo Gualtieri last October, making this his longest layoff since 2020. Bob Arum had raised the possibility of Alimkhanuly facing WBC champion Carlos Adames in a long-brewing grudge match if Alimkhanuly got through Mikhailovich (21-0, 13 KO), the timing of which would have been perfect after Adames’ recent victory over Terrell Gausha.
Top Rank have yet to reveal whether they’ll re-book the Mikhailovich fight, which was a voluntary defense.
The card still features featherweight contender Ruben Villa’s bout with Sulaiman Segawa, which could potentially lead into a clash wit the winner of Luis Alberto Lopez vs Angelo Leo, and the latest from 21-year-old prospect Jonathan “La Roca” Lopez.