Janibek Alimkhanuly and Danny Dignum weren’t separated by much height or weight Friday afternoon in Las Vegas.
The odds on their 12-round middleweight title fight Saturday night suggest, though, that Alimkhanuly is superior to Dignum in every other way. Kazakhstan’s Alimkhanuly, who weighed in at 160 pounds, is at least an 11-1 favorite over Dignum, who stepped on the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s scale at 159 pounds.
Alimkhanuly, 29, and Dignum, 30, will fight for the WBO interim 160-pound championship in the main event of ESPN’s tripleheader from Resorts World Las Vegas.
The left-handed Alimkhanuly (11-0, 7 KOs) was the mandatory challenger for Demetrius Andrade’s championship, but Providence’s Andrade moved up to the super middleweight division for a bout with Wales’ Zach Parker. Their 12-round fight for the WBO’s interim 168-pound championship was scheduled for Saturday, but it was postponed due to Andrade’s shoulder injury.
Mexico’s Jaime Munguia and Brazil’s Esquiva Falcao, both of whom were ranked ahead of England’s Dignum (14-0-1, 8 KOs), also turned down the opportunity to fight Alimkhanuly for the WBO interim middleweight title. Dignum, also a southpaw, quickly accepted when this championship chance was presented to him.
The official weights for the nine undercard fights Saturday night are listed below.
ESPN (8 p.m. ET; 5 p.m. PT)
Jamel Herring (L) and Jamaine Ortiz (R) pose during the weigh in prior to their lightweight fight. (Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images)
Jamel Herring (23-3, 11 KOs), Coram, New York, 135 pounds vs. Jamaine Ortiz (14-0-1, 8 KOs), Worcester, Massachusetts, 135.2 pounds, 10 rounds, lightweights.
Delante “Tiger” Johnson (3-0, 2 KOs), Cleveland, 142.4 pounds vs. Agustin Kucharski (8-4-1, 3 KOs), Buenos Aires, Argentina, 143.2 pounds, 6 rounds, welterweights.
Tiger Johnson (L) and Agustin Kucharski (R) pose during the weigh in prior to their welterweight fight. (Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images)
ESPN+ (5:15 p.m. ET; 2:15 p.m. PT)
Adam Lopez (15-3, 6 KOs, 1 NC), Glendale, California, 126.8 pounds vs. William Encarnacion (19-2, 15 KOs), San Juan de la Maguana, Dominican Republic, 126.2 pounds, 8 rounds, junior lightweights.
Karlos Balderas (12-1, 11 KOs), Santa Maria, California, 132.4 pounds vs. Ruben Cervera (13-2, 11 KOs), Santa Marta, Colombia, 130.8 pounds, 8 rounds, lightweights.
Jessie Magdaleno (28-1, 18 KOs), Las Vegas, 127.2 pounds vs. Edy Valencia (19-6-6, 7 KOs, 1 NC), Culiacan, Mexico, 126.8 pounds, 8 rounds, junior lightweights.
Duke Ragan (5-0, 1 KO), Cincinnati, 127.6 pounds vs. Victorino Gonzalez (5-2, 2 KOs), Pawleys Island, South Carolina, 127 pounds, 6 rounds, junior lightweights.
Steven Nelson (17-0, 14 KOs), Omaha, Nebraska, 179.6 pounds vs. Louis Rose (17-3-1, 7 KOs), Lynwood, Califoria, 170.8 pounds, 8 rounds, light heavyweights. [CONTRACT WEIGHT WAS 173. THIS FIGHT WAS CANCELED.]
Kasir Goldston (4-0, 1 KO), Albany, New York, 141.6 pounds vs. Yainiel Alvarez (2-1, 1 KO), Hutto, Texas, 141.8 pounds, 4 rounds, welterweights.
Giovanni Cabrera (19-0, 7 KOs), Chicago, 135.4 pounds vs. Elias Araujo (21-4, 8 KOs), Fresno, California, 135.4 pounds, 8 rounds, lightweights.
Charlie Sheehy (2-0, 2 KOs), Brisbane, California, 134.8 pounds vs. Burnell Jenkins (2-1, 1 KO), New Orleans, 133.6 pounds, 4 rounds, lightweights.
Credit: Boxingscene
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