Is Lara Too Old for This? Janibek Seeks Unification Fight

IBF and WBO middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly says he’s excited by combating a unification match towards WBA champ Erislandy Lara subsequent.

Janibek (16-0, 11 KOs) has come up empty together with his hopes of getting fights towards Hamzah Sheeraz, Chris Eubank Jr. and WBC champion Carlos Adames. None of these fighters have proven any want to struggle the 2016 Olympian Janibek, and it’s fairly apparent why. Janibek is the King of the division, and so they know what they’d be up towards combating him.

The 41-year-old Erislandy Lara (31-3-3, 19 KOs) might not wish to struggle Janibek both, as he’s acquired a superb factor going, holding the WBA 160-lb title and defending it towards delicate opposition. Lara could be risking having these straightforward paydays evaporate if he misplaced his WBA title to Alimkhanuly.

A Match Made In Riyadh?

With out Turki Alalshikh stepping in to point out curiosity in financing the Janibek vs. Lara struggle for one in every of his Riyadh Season occasions, it gained’t occur. Lara isn’t going to surrender his WBA title by combating Alimkhanuly and getting knocked out by him.

Though he’s not getting the mega-paydays that guys like Canelo Alvarez and Edgar Berlanga are receiving, Lara continues to be making good cash by defending his WBA belt towards middle-of-the-road opposition.

Lara’s Reign Of Simple Defenses

Lara captured his WBA 160-lb title on Might 1, 2021, stopping Thomas LaManna within the first spherical. Within the Cuban Erislandy’s three profitable title defenses since, he’s crushed these fighters:

– Danny Garcia: RTD 9– Michael Zerafa: TKO 2– Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan: TKO8

The probability of the southpaw Lara agreeing to struggle Janibek in a unification struggle is mightily slim as a result of he’s too outdated to be taking up a fighter of this caliber. Lara turns 42 on April 11, 2025, and he’s solely holding on now because of the matchmaking that’s been accomplished for him.

Erislandy hasn’t fought in a troublesome struggle since his wars with Brian Castano and Jarrett Hurd, which happened in 2019 and 2018, which could as nicely have been a lifetime in the past.