Shawn Porter says Erislandy Lara could catch Janibek Alimkhnuly with a shot and knock him out this Saturday in their middleweight unification fight on December 6th at the Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, Texas.
Lara’s 160 Power Surge
Porter notes that WBA middleweight champion Lara 31-3-3, 19 KOs) has shown more power since he moved up from 154 to 160 in 2021. He’s knocked out all four of his opponents he’s faced.
IBF and WBO 160-lb champion Janibek (17-0, 12 KOs) fancies himself to be a puncher. So, he’ll go right at the Cuban Lara, looking to score a knockout. Something has got to give with one of these.
Lara vs. Janibek will be fighting on the undercard of Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz vs. Lamont Roach on Amazon Prime Video PPV.
“Janibek is going to push Lara. If you push Lara, you’re walking into something,” said Shawn Porter to K.O. Artist Sports about this Saturday night’s unification fight between middleweight champions Erislandy Lara and Janibek Alimkhnuly. “We may end up getting Lara and TC [Terence Crawford].
Janibek’s Knockout Ambition
Janibek is a knockout puncher, and he’ll definitely be coming straight at Lara, trying to KO him from the get-go. The winner of this fight could face Terence Crawford in 2026 if he decides to move down to 160.
“You’re not sucking down to get to 154 lbs anymore. You let your body grow into its natural form. Stuff that you had that people never knew,” said Porter about how the 42-year-old Lara is punching with more power now that he’s fighting at 160 rather than at 154, as he’d done through most of his career.
“We saw with Devin, speed makes power. Lara’s timing is pretty much second to none. Who has better timing than Lara? His style is atrocious to deal with. It’s a nightmare. Jared Hurd and Lara. This fight could look like that, or Janibek could get caught. Lara has the ability to control that distance and make the fight boring. I enjoy those tactical wars,” said Porter.
