-
Mike Coppinger, ESPN
A doubleheader is being planned for July 13 in Las Vegas featuring Janibek Alimkhanuly defending his unified middleweight championship against Andrei Mikhailovich and Raymond Muratalla vs. former champion Tevin Farmer, sources told ESPN on Friday.
Alimkhanuly (15-0, 10 KOs) is slated to put his IBF and WBO 160-pound titles on the line vs. IBF mandatory challenger Mikhailovich in the Top Rank on ESPN main event at the Palms Casino Resort.
ESPN’s No. 1 middleweight, Alimkhanuly last fought in October when he scored a fifth-round TKO victory over Vincenzo Gualtieri to add the IBF title to his collection. The 31-year-old Kazakh will headline on ESPN for the fifth consecutive bout.
Mikhailovich (21-0, 13 KOs) is coming off a fifth-round TKO win last month vs. Edisson Saltarin. The 26-year-old native of New Zealand has never competed outside Australia or his homeland.
Muratalla (20-0, 16 KOs) is ESPN’s No. 7 lightweight. The 27-year-old from Southern California defeated Xolisani Ndongeni via unanimous decision in March.
Following a January 2020 junior lightweight title loss to Joseph Diaz Jr., Farmer (33-5-1, 8 KOs) didn’t compete for 3½ years. During his comeback, the 33-year-old from Philadelphia has competed three times, most recently scoring a first-round knockout of journeyman Alan Isaias Luques Castillo in March. Farmer made four successful title defenses during his reign at 130 pounds.