On Saturday, Janibek Alimkhanuly, the IBF and WBO middleweight titleholder, will fight France’s Anauel Ngamissengue on the occasion of what represents his first fight in his home country of Kazakhstan since 2017.

Janibek, 32, is considered the world’s leading middleweight, and yet has a point to prove in his first fight of 2025 following a 2024 in which a title defense against Andrei Mikhailovich of New Zealand was postponed when he struggled to make weight, and followed by his flawed performance when they finally fought in October. Ngamissengue, 29, is also a less celebrated opponent than the other 160lbs belt holders Carlos Adames and Erislandy Lara, and Hamzah Sheeraz, who has long been anointed the future of their historic division.

BoxingScene: How much are you relishing the prospect of fighting in Kazakhstan again, in front of your countrymen?

Janibek Alimkhanuly: My impressions and feelings – it’s not my first fight back home in Kazakhstan; I’m already prepared for that – of course, this will be something special. Back home in Kazakhstan, so we are now doing our best. For fans; for the boxing community, we want a good fight, and we will deliver one. I will prepare. 

What I know is there is a duty and service towards our fans, first, and our communities – our teams – to deliver them a fight they can nearly, nearly touch in front of their faces, sitting around the arena.

BS: If everything goes to plan, could you fight there more regularly?

Alimkhanuly: It’s not just a matter or an issue on which to decide, it’s also dependent on the promoters; how they provide us [with proposals]; if the opponents, the challenging parties, will be from other parts of the world, other places other than Kazakhstan, of course. We can do anywhere.

BS: Your future with Top Rank has been questioned as a consequence of your struggles to make weight leading to the date with Andrei Mikhailovich being postponed, and then Mikhailovich’s promoters No Limit winning the purse bids for the rearranged date …

Alimkhanuly: We’re still in relations with Top Rank, so there is no reason that we interrupt it now – we continue. That’s my answer.

BS: How much of a threat does Anauel Ngamissengue pose?

Alimkhanuly: We studied his profile. I wouldn’t say that he has some advantages for himself – that he has more skills, or something like that. But I noticed some weaknesses, and those positions, I’ll of course take them into account in the ring, and we’ll punch.

I will just punch, honestly. I will do it, because I didn’t see until now any kind of special skills – strengths, or some kinds of advantages – but I saw some weaknesses. Watch the fight, and you will see.

BS: What did you learn from the recent fight between Carlos Adames and Hamzah Sheeraz?

Alimkhanuly: I would say there are a lot of happenings at middleweight. Hamzah Sheeraz, Erislandy Lara and Carlos Adames. Those guys are good, but they are out of our range. They’re not in my capacities. I witnessed it, but not like a [judge] – I was like a boxer witnessing this, and from that perspective, I witnessed and I observed how they boxed; their styles and other things they applied, during this fight. But I cannot judge. I cannot judge. I can just be a boxer who witnessed this fight.

I’m not looking for No. 2s. I’m trying to get No. 1s, like “Canelo” [Saul Alvarez] and the other guys.

BS: Adames has recently been critical of you …

Alimkhanuly: There was not like some questions challenging my personality. What he did was blaming; it was blackmailing. That was it.

BS: Denzel Bentley is the mandatory challenger for your WBO title. How much does a rematch with him appeal?

Alimkhanuly: Not at all. A second fight with him, he will fall down.

BS: How much longer do you expect to remain at middleweight?

Alimkhanuly: Since 160 is not a problem, I can go up – but I can go back down. I see no problems in terms of the period and in terms of capacities. I have enough capacity.

Declan Warrington has been writing about boxing for the British and Irish national newspapers since 2010. He is also a long-term contributor to Boxing News, Boxing News Presents and Talksport, and formerly the boxing correspondent for the Press Association, a pundit for BoxNation and a regular contributor to Boxing Monthly, Sport and The Ring, among other publications. In 2023, he conducted the interviews and wrote the script for the audio documentary “Froch-Groves: The Definitive Story”; he is also a member of the BWAA.