Janibek Alimkhanuly and Vincenzo Gualtieri will meet in an Oct. 14 middleweight unification in Rosenberg, Tex., a fight already reported but today made official by Top Rank.
The show will air on ESPN and ESPN+ from the Fort Bend Epicenter.
Janibek (14-0, 9 KO) will put his WBO belt on the line against the IBF belt held by Gualtieri (21-0-1, 7 KO), who just beat Esquiva Falcao for the vacant title on July 1 in Germany. You have to respect how quickly Gualtieri is back to business and looking to do something even bigger.
Janibek, of course, will be a big favorite, but this is legitimately about as good a fight as can actually be made at 160 right now, and both fighters and Top Rank deserve some credit for getting it done.
Lightweight blue chip prospect Keyshawn Davis (9-0, 6 KO) will return to action in the chief support, facing Nahir Albright (16-2, 7 KO), which is more or less a sideways step for Keyshawn, but does keep him busy. Albright fought his way to this, beating Karlos Balderas on Top Rank’s July 28 card in Las Vegas, and now he has an even bigger opportunity.
Richard Torrez Jr, Guido Vianello, Duke Ragan, and Kelvin Davis will also be in action, among others to be announced, surely.