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Unbeaten world champion maps out path to huge undisputed fight with Terence Crawford
Unified middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly has grand designs for 2026 - eyeing undisputed status at 160lbs as well as a mega-fight with super middleweight king Terence Crawford.
Janibek has spent much of 2025 posting on social media calling out his rivals, focusing his attention on WBC belt holder Carlos Adames. A bout with the Dominican fell through, but Janibek has finally arranged another unification fight, with the unbeaten Kazakh star set to face WBA champion Erislandy Lara on December 6.
Victory for Janibek would see him hold three of the four world titles he desires, with ‘Qazaq style’ hoping that he will fully unite the division in the spring of 2026, before facing Crawford in an undisputed clash later in the year.
He posted on social media: “What do you guys think about this? By next May, I’ll have all four belts.
“And if by then Crawford is still holding all four in his division, we’ll have a clash of two undisputed champions in the fall of 2026!”
Steve Marcus/Getty Images
A world champion since 2022, Janibek has long campaigned to unite the belts at 160lbs.
He combined his WBO title with the IBF strap by defeating Vincenzo Gualtieri in 2023, but efforts to further collect belts at middleweight have been thwarted by the reluctance of other champions to face him.
Not just content with uniting his own division, Janibek harbours ambitions of fighting Crawford, the first man to reign as undisputed in three separate weight classes.
‘Bud’ defeated previous super middleweight king Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in September, before indicating that he could drop down to 160lbs in the future to chase another world title.
The 32-year-old Janibek has won all 17 of his bouts since turning professional, with 12 victories coming by way of knockout.
Now 38, Crawford’s record stands at 42 wins from 42 fights, with 31 stoppages en route to world titles at lightweight, super lightweight, welterweight, super welterweight, and super middleweight.
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