WBO middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly (13-0, 8 KOs) is set to defend his title against #6 Steven Butler (32-3-1, 26 KOs) on May 13th at the Stockton Arena in Stockton, California on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+.
Supporters were anticipating a more formidable opponent for Janibek than the Canadian Butler, who suffered a devastating loss to journeyman Jose de Jesus Macias in five rounds in 2021 and a 5th round knockout by Ryota Murata in 2019.
Official weigh-in conference on YouTube: Watch
Despite winning his last four bouts, 27-year-old Butler has faced relatively weak competition and hasn’t fully recovered from his consecutive losses to Macias and Murata. Janibek experienced numerous difficulties in his previous fight against Denzel Bentley in November 2022 in Las Vegas.
In the co-main event, bantamweight Jason Moloney (25-2, 19 KOs) takes on Vincent Astrolabio (18-3, 13 KOs) in a contest for the vacant WBO 118-lb championship.
Main card: (begins at 10 pm ET)
▪️Janibek Alimkhanuly vs. Steven Butler, 12 rounds, for Alimkhanuly’s WBO middleweight title ▪️Jason Moloney vs. Vincent Astrolabio, 12 rounds, for the vacant WBO bantamweight title
Undercard:
▪️Gabriel Flores Jr. vs. Derrick Murray, 8 rounds, lightweight ▪️Ruben Villa vs. Maickol Lopez Villagrana, 8 rounds, featherweight ▪️Javier Martinez vs. Joeshon James, 8 rounds, middleweight ▪️Amado Vargas vs. Bernardo Manzano, 4 rounds, junior lightweight ▪️Brian Norman Jr. vs. Jesus Perez, 8 rounds, welterweight
Watch Top 5 Janibek Knockouts: Watch
