Janibek Alimkhanuly got WBA middleweight champion Erislandy Lara riled up on Tuesday during their virtual press conference when he said he doesn’t think their December 6th unification will be a “difficult” one for him.
The two fighters spoke today about their 12-round co-feature clash on the Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz vs. Lamont Roach card on Amazon Prime PPV at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. The main card starts at 8:00 pm ET / 5:00 pm PT.
IBF and WBO 160-lb champion Janibek (17-0, 12 KO) expressed interest today about wanting to fight Terence Crawford if he moves down in weight. He says he’ll be “ready” to face Crawford.
Lara (31-3-3,19 KOs) took the high road, choosing to tell the media that he’s only focused on the fight in front of him against Alimkhanuly, and he’s not going to look past him toward another fight.
“Not a Difficult Fight” – Janibek
“Yes, it’ll be a very good fight, and I will be ready for it, because it’s a good fight and everybody will be looking at it,” said unified middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhnuly during Tuesday’s virtual press conference, if he’d be interested in fighting Terence Crawford if he moves down to 160. “I don’t think this is going to be a difficult fight for me,” said Janibek about his fight with Lara.
The 32-year-old Janibek has an advantage in youth and activity against the 42-year-old Cuban Lara, who is not only older, but will be coming off a 15-month layoff when he fights on December 6th. His last contest was against Danny Garcia on September 14, 2024.
Lara’s Warning for December 6
“If it’s as easy as he thinks it’s gonna be, he’s gonna be in for a big surprise,” said Erislandy Lara.”I’m only focused on December 6th because Janibek is going to be a tough opponent just as it is right now,” said Lara when asked about whether he would like to fight Crawford.
Janibek’s natural personality is to be confident and to talk down about his opponent. It’s not surprising that he’s assuming he’s going to defeat Lara in the same way he does with his other opponents. With a 48-9 record as an amateur, Janibek showed that he’s not unbeatable. He lost plenty of times, including in the 2016 Olympic quarterfinals by Kamran Shahsuvarli.
“I can’t have the luxury of thinking about anyone else. So, we’ll fight on December 6th, do our best, and then we’ll see what happens,” said Lara about not looking past Janibek.
Studying Lara Since the Amateurs
“In my past, I fought a lot of guys that were lefties in my amateurs and the pro ranks. Even when I was still an amateur, I was watching Lara in the pros. I know his style of what he can do and cannot do,” said Janibek.
