What was one of the best boxing lineups of the year took a hit earlier this week when it was reported that unified middleweight champion (WBO/IBF), Janibek Alimkhanuly, had failed a VADA drug test. He was scheduled to face WBA belt-holder, Erislandy Lara. In light of the news, PBC has announced that Johan Gonzalez will replace Alimkhanuly.
There's no doubt that this is a significant buzzkill but it's still a pretty solid card taking place from the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas.
But back to Alimkhanuly, he didn't just lose a fight or an opportunity to add another belt to his collection. He probably lost his place in line (permanently) to face Terence Crawford next year. The bottom line is this, guys like Alimkhanuly need belts, they act as a currency for him. While guys like Crawford can ditch belts at this stage of their careers, most other boxers need them as they create value, and if you have more than one, well, guys like Crawford will be enticed to face you.
Ring Magazine
Crawford skipped middleweight after picking up a junior middleweight title last summer on his way to defeating Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez for the undisputed super middleweight. Now, 'Bud' has designs on being undisputed at 160. Well, if Alimkhanuly had three belts around his waist, he suddenly becomes enticing. So yeah, belts matter.
There is now a good chance that he will be stripped of his titles. And if he didn't find it tough to get recognizable opponents before, it may be downright impossible moving forward.
OK, so the show will go on. And headlining the marquee is the clash between Lamont Roach and Isaac 'Pit Bull Cruz. For Roach it has to be a bit of a letdown. Back in March, he had to settle for a draw versus Gervonta Davis. If a knockdown was called (as it should've been) as Davis took a knee in the eighth round, Roach, would've had his hand raised in victory.
PPV.comThen to add insult to injury, instead of doing the rematch, Davis made the decision to face Jake Paul (before that went to 'bolivian). Which left Roach without a fight through the summer and much of the fall. Finally, he and his camp moved on and now they face the rugged Cruz. Keep this in mind, given that this card is being staged in San Antonio, this is a bit of a road contest for Roach. But he seems undeterred by this, “San Antonio is great and I’m glad to be back. I can’t wait to put on a show for everyone on Saturday night.
It's a good match-up of contrasting styles. Roach is a well-schooled boxer with well-rounded skills, and Cruz is a hard-nosed plugger that comes forward and has never been hard to find inside that ring. Roach wants to turn this into a boxing match. Cruz needs to make this into a fight.
“I can promise you that this is gonna be an exciting fight, round after round. And I’m gonna get the win," he said.
Then you have the match-up between WBC junior lightweight champion, O' Shaquie Foster, defends his belt against the highly accomplished, Stephen Fulton. Foster is the naturally bigger boxer but you could say that it's Fulton who is a bit more technically sound. Fulton's one loss came against Naoya Inoue. Certainly no shame in that, but what was alarming was that after a long layoff he looked a bit shaky versus Carlos Castro. He eked out a close decision while hitting the deck in that 10 round contest. But he looked much better in February in defeating Brandon Figueroa in decisive fashion for the WBC featherweight crown.
As for Lara, well, at least he's still fighting. You have to give PBC credit for this, they do a better job of having pinch hitters lined up than any other promotional outfit. There may not be three belts on the line any more, but Lara will get paid.
WBA
“I’m just focused on fighting, no matter who the opponent is. I’m not even gonna mention that guy’s name cause he doesn’t deserve it," said Lara. “I’m glad to be on this big card. It means a lot. We’re gonna go out there prepared and see what our opponent does and take it from there.”
3KR
This week on 'the 3 Knockdown Rule, Chris Algieri, joined Mario Lopez and I to preview this card:
