Erislandy Lara and Janibek Alimkhanuly have reportedly agreed to meet in a middleweight unification clash at the back end of 2025.
Boxing’s oldest world champion, Lara, 42, will place his WBA belt on the line, alongside Alimkhanuly’s IBF and WBO straps.
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Alimkhanuly is the IBF and WBO middleweight world championCredit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank
According to Ring Magazine’s Mike Coppinger, the bout will fall on the undercard of Lamont Roach and Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz’s headliner on December 6 in San Antonio, Texas.
Pound-for-pound king Terence Crawford will be keeping a close eye on the fight after teasing a potential move to 160lbs in the aftermath of his historic victory over Canelo Alvarez in September.
Speaking to the Netflix broadcast panel post-fight, Crawford said: “My gut says the same thing [about my next steps].
“I’m going to sit down with my team and discuss what is next in the future for Terence Crawford.
“But who knows, I might go down to 160lbs.”
Middleweight remains the only division from lightweight to super middleweight that ‘Bud’ hasn’t held a world title in.
Picking up gold there would tie him with Oscar De La Hoya for the second most weight classes conquered at six.
And if the winner of Janibek vs Lara can get an undisputed fight locked in with WBC champion Carlos Adames over the coming months, then a move down in weight would be even more appealing for Crawford.
What have Erislandy Lara and Janibek Alimkhanuly achieved in boxing?
Janibek (17-0) has been a title holder since 2022, when he was upgraded from interim to full WBO world champion.
He saw off Britain’s Denzel Bentley and Canada’s Steven Butler before snatching the IBF’s version of the 160lbs belt from Vincenzo Gualtieri in October 2023.
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Crawford is considering a move to middleweightCredit: Getty
Alimkhanuly was last in action in April when he blasted away Anauel Ngamissengue in five rounds.
He had originally been in talks with Adames, but those discussions have since fizzled out.
Lara (31-3-3) retired Danny Garcia on his stool last September to retain his black and gold strap.
The Cuban became the full WBA champion after his ‘regular’ belt was elevated in 2023.
Lara’s best years were spent at super welterweight, where he held the ‘regular’ and ‘super’ versions of the WBA belt from 2014 to 2021.
Before embarking on this lengthy title reign, he famously pushed Canelo Alvarez all the way to the final bell in a nip-and-tuck affair in July 2014.