Janibek Alimkhanuly vs Andrei Mikhailovich live on Sky Sports on October 4

Janibek Alimkhanuly will defend the IBF middleweight world title against unbeaten challenger Andrei Mikhailovich live on Sky Sports on October 4.

The world championship clash will be broadcast live on Sky Sports+ starting at 10am on Friday October 4.

The bout was previously due to headline a July 13 show at Palms Casino in Las Vegas but was cancelled prior to the pre-fight weigh-in when Janibek was hospitalized due to dehydration.

No Limit Boxing won the subsequent IBF purse bid and elected to stage the fight in Australia.

“In the Olympic Games in Sydney, two Kazakh boxers won gold. Bekzat Sattarhanov and Yermakhan Ibraimov inspired many Kazakhs,” Janibek said.

“I grew up with a dream to glorify my country like them. I am very happy that I will box in Sydney. I want to show the world my flag in Sydney once again, as our Olympic champions did in 2000.

“The fight with Andrei is very important to me because he is an official contender for my title. He is like a cloud for me now. I must quickly get rid of the cloud to see the sun. Everyone knows and understands that he is easy work for me. I will knock him out very quickly!”

Janibek, a 2016 Olympian from Kazakhstan, rapidly ascended the middleweight division with key wins over Rob Brant and Hassan N’Dam. In May 2022, he knocked out Danny Dignum to secure the WBO Interim title and was elevated to full champion after Demetrius Andrade vacated the belt. In October 2023, he unified the middleweight titles with a victory over IBF champion Vincenzo Gualtieri, establishing himself as the dominant force in the division.

Mikhailovich, 21-0 (13), born in Saint Petersburg and raised in New Zealand, began boxing at 15 and turned professional in April 2018. He won his first regional title with a third-round TKO against Ernesto España in June 2022 and followed up with a decision win over Francis Waitai the next month. In April 2023, he delivered his most notable performance by recovering from an early knockdown to stop the previously unbeaten Edisson Saltarin in five rounds. He continued his impressive run with a first-round TKO victory over Les Sherrington a year later.

He said: “I live in the present, but I certainly haven’t forgotten the past. I respect him as the champion, but I know that he doesn’t respect me. It’s why I look forward to taking absolutely everything from him.

“I will be writing my name into the history books alongside Joseph Parker and Maselino Masoe as a world champion. This is my destiny, it’s my everything.

“I will stop at nothing to make sure the world remembers the name Andrei Mikhailovich.”

Watch Janibek vs Mikhailovich live on Sky Sports+ from 10am on Friday October 4