Bob Arum wants to make the best fights possible for Janibek Alimkhanuly as Top Rank Inc., have a belief that Alimkhanuly is the future of the division.
“If he takes care of business like I expect him to [against Bentley], then, you know, we’ll make a date available for any prominent middleweight that wants to step into the ring and fight him,” Arum told Keith Idec of BoxingScene.com this week. “…we’ll pay him a great purse. I’m not gonna call out different names and so forth because all of these names that I would call out have promoters and they take exception. They say I’m trying to poach their fighter, that kind of sh*t. So, all I’m saying is that any top, top middleweight that wants to make a good purse and is willing to fight this guy, we’ll finance it and put on the fight.”
This obviously before his performance this weekend that might have soured the test for some on his potential, but still - Alimkhanuly is one of the best young fighters in the sport, and in a division stuck in the mud like middleweight a viable young force of the division.
The next challenge will be opponents as Demetrius Andrade vacated his WBO middleweight title opting to face more famous fighters at 168 lbs., than Alimkhanuly.
It will be up Top Rank’s expert staff of matchmakers Brad Goodman, and Bruce Trampler to find the ring opportunities for him.
“I don’t know why nowadays champions is not fighting with the champions,” Alimkhanuly said during a press conference Thursday in frustration around the situation of finding him marquee opponents. “I don’t think they should be afraid. I am here. I am a champion now. I am here to fight the champions. And hopefully, Top Rank can organize my next fight to fight with a champion.”
“When [manager] Egis [Klimas] asked me to promote him,” Arum recalled to Boxingscene.com, “I told the guys [at Top Rank], ‘Just sign him. Don’t worry. You don’t have to look at him in the gym or anything. He’s gonna be tremendous.’ And he turned out to be that way. Now, that was maybe stupid on my part because how do you know? But I just had a feeling about the kid. I really believe that he has the potential not only to be good, but for greatness in the middleweight division.
