It was a successful second world title defense for Janibek Alimkhanuly (14-0, 8 KOs), as he stopped Steven Butler (32-4-1, 26 KOs) in the main event of an ESPN telecast from the Stockton Arena in Stockton, California.
As Janibek dawned trunk that were gold, that said bluntly on the side "World Champion", it was clear he took pride in the achievement of holding a world title, his trunks were the most eventful thing that occurred in the first round. Butler showed great respect for the feints and tactics of Janibek, whereas Butler's power appeared to have Janibek's respect as he was unwilling to engage recklessly.
That would change in round two.
We only got one other round as a left uppercut landed on Butler that floored him as referee Jack Reiss allowed the action to continue and the brutality enused as Butler showed the heart of a champion getting up from two knockdowns before Janibek brutally stopped him with an eventful final knockout, Butler never fully recovered from being knocked down the first time.
Butler punched the ground realizing his dream of being a world champion was not occurring on this night. One thing is for sure, Janibek is one tough customer in the middleweight division as he looked every bit of his 20-to-1 favorite status. Now it just becomes a matter of who will face them next, as Janibek's last fight looks to be an outlier from his continuous success.
The time of the stoppage was 2:35 in round number two.