(OCT 3) LAS VEGAS — Boxing’s most avoided world champion finally has a dance
partner.
WBO middleweight world champion Janibek “Qazaq Style”
Alimkhanuly, a southpaw power puncher from Kazakhstan, will make
the first defense of his title against two-time British champion
Denzel Bentley on Saturday, Nov. 12 at Pearl Concert Theater at
Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
In the co-feature, undefeated
pound-for-pound queen Seniesa “Super Bad” Estrada will defend
her WBA minimumweight world title against Jazmin Gala Villarino.
Janibek-Bentley, Estrada-Villarino, and undercard bouts will
stream live and exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+.
Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Frank Warren’s
Queensberry Promotions, tickets starting at $25 go on sale
Friday, Oct 7 at 12 p.m. PT and can be purchased at
Ticketmaster.com.
“Janibek is the top middleweight in the world, and this fight
will be the start of a long and accomplished championship
reign,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “I am thrilled to see
Seniesa Estrada make her Top Rank debut. She is an exceptionally
talented fighter and is poised to be a superstar in the sport
for years to come.”
“Denzel Bentley is backing himself and completely believes he
has got what it takes to win the WBO world middleweight
championship from a formidable champion in Janibek Alimkhanuly,”
said Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren. “It is a golden
opportunity for Denzel to step up from being a respected British
champion to starring on the world stage in Las Vegas.”
Janibek (12-0, 8 KOs), a 2016 Olympian from Zhilandy,
Kazakhstan, took the express route to a world title. He fought
in his first scheduled 10-rounder in his sixth pro fight,
winning a pair of regional titles in a dominant showing over
Cristian Olivas. Janibek's last four bouts have been in Las
Vegas, a quartet of knockouts that propelled him to the top of
the middleweight heap. In 2021, he knocked out former world
champions Rob Brant and Hassan N’Dam to earn a shot at the WBO
interim middleweight title. Janibek knocked out Danny Dignum in
two devastating rounds to earn a shot at then-champion Demetrius
Andrade. Janibek was elevated to world champion after Andrade
elected to move up in weight rather than defend his middleweight
title.
“I give Denzel Bentley credit for accepting the challenge when
so many fighters ran the other way,” Janibek said. “It is a
great honor to defend my world title in Las Vegas at The Palms,
and I will once again show the world what ‘Qazaq Style’ is
about.”
Bentley (17-1-1, 14 KOs) makes his American debut following a
recent run that saw him become king of the British middleweights
for a second time. Last April, he suffered a stoppage loss to
Felix Cash in a “Bubble” setting in front of limited spectators.
Following a comeback victory over Sam Evans, he regained the
British middleweight title with a 12-round split decision over
the previously unbeaten Linus Udofia. “The Battersea Bomber”
earned the shot at Janibek with a fourth-round TKO over Marcus
Morrison last month. Bentley rebounded from being stunned in the
opening round to bust up Morrison’s nose and open a cut over his
right eye, forcing a corner stoppage. After perhaps his most
dramatic victory, Bentley readies for the Las Vegas main event
stage.
“It will be a good and exciting fight, and I think it is a fight
I can win,” Bentley said. “So why not go out there and enjoy the
theatrics of Las Vegas and come back with a world title? I
genuinely believe I can beat him, and he is beatable. Everybody
says he is scary, but I don't see it. Maybe I am missing
something. We will find out when we get in the ring.”
Estrada (22-0, 9 KOs), the latest fighting sensation from East
Los Angeles, hopes to flash the two-handed power that has made
her one of the sport’s must-see action stars. A two-weight world
champion who has also won an interim world title at flyweight,
Estrada returns from a nearly 11-month layoff to defend her
minimumweight title for a second time. She won that title last
March with one-sided decision over Anabel Ortiz, then captured
the WBO light flyweight title less than four months later with a
decision over Japan’s Tenaki Tsunami. Estrada moved back down to
minimumweight last December and defended her title with a
fourth-round stoppage over Maria Micheo Santizo. A women’s
boxing pioneer who has been grinding in Southern California gyms
since taking up the sport more than two decades ago, Estrada is
set to resume her career with the backing of Top Rank and “The
Worldwide Leader in Sports.”
Estrada said, “This is an exciting time for women’s boxing, and
I am thrilled to be making my Top Rank on ESPN debut in Las
Vegas against a worthy challenger in Villarino. I am entering
the prime of my career and looking forward to unifying the
championships in three weight classes. The newest chapter in my
career begins November 12, and I can’t wait to get in the ring.”
Villarino (6-1-2, 1 KO) enters her first world title opportunity
having not tasted defeat since her 2016 pro debut. Last
November, she traveled to Colombia and knocked out Venezuelan
former world title challenger Yenifer Leon via seventh-round
TKO. Leon also was stopped in five rounds by Estrada back in
2019. Villarino followed up the Leon triumph in March with a
unanimous decision over Judith Vivanco in Vivanco’s home country
of Mexico. She now enters enemy territory for a third straight
fight in hopes of riding her road warrior mentality to a world
title.
"This is the opportunity I have been waiting for, to fight for a
world title against a fellow warrior like Seniesa Estrada,”
Villarino said. “I am thankful to Top Rank for the opportunity,
and I am coming to Las Vegas to shock the boxing world. On
November 12, a new champion will be crowned."
In undercard action, undefeated lightweight prospect Raymond
“Danger” Muratalla (15-0, 12 KOs) will fight in an
eight-rounder. Muratalla is coming off a one-sided decision over
Jair Valtierra.
Antonio “El Gigante” Mireles (5-0, 5 KOs), a 6’9 heavyweight,
will fight in his first scheduled six-rounder. Mireles has three
consecutive second-round knockouts after scoring a pair of
first-round stoppages to start his career.
Junior welterweight Lindolfo Delgado (16-0, 13 KOs), who is
coming off an epic decision victory over the previously
undefeated Omar Aguilar in August, hopes to inch closer to title
contention in an eight-rounder.
2016 U.S. Olympian Karlos Balderas (13-1, 11 KOs) looks to make
it five wins in a row in an eight-round lightweight bout.
Former U.S. amateur superstar Javier “Milwaukee Made” Martinez
(7-0, 2 KOs) returns in a six-rounder at super middleweight.
Lightweight Charlie Sheehy (4-0, 3 KOs), a fearsome puncher from
the Bay Area, makes his fourth appearance of 2022 in a
four-rounder.
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