Todd DuBoef, president of Janibek Alimkhanuly's promoter Top Rank, has given his approval for the reigning IBF and WBO middleweight champion to face Chris Eubank Jr in a clash for the division's unified title; Eubank Jr is available after negotiations to face Conor Benn broke down
Tuesday 19 December 2023 18:09, UK
A unified title fight between Chris Eubank Jr and Janibek Alimkhanuly has taken a step closer to becoming a reality after getting approval from the Kazak’s promoter.
Eubank Jr's promoter Kalle Sauerland told Sky Sports last week that negotiations for a potential grudge match with Conor Benn in February had broken down, leaving the 34-year-old without an upcoming fight.
However, Eubank Jr has expressed an interest in taking on IBF and WBO middleweight champion Alimkhanuly next and Todd DuBoef, president of Top Rank, has cleared the way for that fight to happen.
"Let's go," DuBoef told Sky Sports. "There is no red light, it's all green light right here.
"We're ready. There was a lot of chatter over this past week about Eubank being ready for the fight and Janibek is a really, really skilled fighter.
"We've put it out there and he's given us the directive of we'll fight anybody. We think he's the premier guy in the middleweight division...Eubank said he was interested, we're interested.
"Let's bring it on, I think it would be fantastic. I think it's fantastic for the sport and fantastic for the middleweights."
Eubank Jr, now 33-3 (24), is coming off avenging his previous loss to Liam Smith via a 10th-round stoppage in their rematch back in September.
Former world amateur gold medallist Alimkhanuly, meanwhile, is unbeaten at 15-0 (10) in his professional career after defeating Vincenzo Gulatieri with a sixth-round stoppage in October to add the IBF strap to the WBO belt he already held.
DuBoef believes British boxing fans will appreciate what the 30-year-old brings to the ring as well, citing him as being able to make the same impact on these shores as Vasily Lomachenko did when he fought Luke Campbell in London in August 2019.
"We also saw Loma do it with Luke Campbell, which is a credit to the wonderful, sophisticated fans the UK has," DuBoef said. "They appreciate great boxers wherever they come from.
"I think Janibek, with the right dance partner, the fans there will appreciate his skillset. It makes sense with the right guy, Eubank would be the right guy, and we're ready to go."
