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Unified middleweight champion Genibek Alimkhanuly has grand designs for 2026 – eyeing undisputed status at 160 pounds as well as a mega-fight with the super middleweight king. Terence Crawford,
Janibek has spent much of 2025 posting on social media lambasting his rivals, and has focused his attention on WBC belt holder Carlos Adams. A bout with the Dominican was lost, but Janibek has finally arranged another unification fight, with the undefeated Kazakh star set to face WBA champion Erislandy Lara on December 6.
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A victory for Janibek would give him three of the four world titles he seeks, with the “Kazak style” expected to fully unify the division in the spring of 2026, before facing Crawford in an undisputed clash later in the year.
He posted on social media: “What do you guys think about this? By next May, I will have all four belts.”
“And if by then Crawford still retains all four in his division, we will have two undisputed champions clashing in late 2026!”
Janibek, world champion since 2022, has long campaigned to unify the belts at 160lb.
He combined his WBO title with the IBF strap by defeating Vincenzo Gualtieri in 2023, but attempts to move the belt up to middleweight have been thwarted by the reluctance of other champions to face him.
Not content with simply unifying his own division, Janibek has the ambition to fight Crawford, the first man to hold undisputed reigns in three different weight classes.
‘Bud’ defeated previous super middleweight king Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in September, before hinting that he could drop down to 160 pounds to pursue another world title shot in the future.
Janibek, 32, has won all 17 of his bouts since turning professional, with 12 of those wins coming via knockout.
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Crawford, now 38, has a record of 42 wins in 42 fights, including 31 stoppages en route to world titles at lightweight, super lightweight, welterweight, super welterweight and super middleweight.
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