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Mike CoppingerESPN
Janibek Alimkhanuly retained his WBO middleweight title with a far-tougher-than-expected unanimous decision over Denzel Bentley on Saturday in Las Vegas.
The scores: 116-112, 116-112 and 118-110.
Alimkhanuly, a 20-1 favorite, jumped to an early lead as he peppered Bentley with straight lefts before the Londoner came alive in Round 5.
Bentley (17-2-1, 14 KOs) exceeded expectations by even making it to the middle rounds, but he wasn’t just there; he was winning them. The 27-year-old applied pressure and connected time and again with heavy right hands before he briefly stunned Alimkhanuly in Round 8.
However, Alimkhanuly (13-0, 8 KOs) was too much in the championship rounds. The 29-year-old won the exchanges in Round 11, and then in the final round, wobbled Bentley’s legs several times with straight left hands.
“It’s boxing, anything can happen here in the ring,” Alimkhanuly, who is from Kazakhstan, said in comments translated by his manager Egis Klimas. ” … I respect my opponent because he was really prepared. … I’m ready for any champion for unifications.”
If Alimkhanuly is going to add to his title collection at 160 pounds, he’ll have to be much better. Bentley, a British-level fighter, was stopped in three rounds by prospect Felix Cash last year. The fight with Alimkhanuly was his first outside England (and also his first title shot).
“I didn’t come with that [underdog] mindset. … I thought I was in the fight,” said Bentley, who was fighting a southpaw for the first time. ” … I can be a world champion; I showed that tonight.”
Alimkhanuly, ESPN’s No. 4 middleweight, outlanded Bentley 187-159. He won the interim title with a second-round KO of Danny Dignum in May and was later elevated to WBO champion when Demetrius Andrade vacated his title.
“It was a good lesson for us tonight,” said Buddy McGirt, the Hall of Fame boxer who trains Alimkhanuly. “When you get five straight knockouts, you think you’re going to knock everybody out. He was looking for the one punch, then he loosened up.”
Estrada shuts out Villarino
Seniesa Estrada retained her WBA strawweight title on Saturday in Las Vegas with a unanimous-decision victory — a 100-90 shutout on all three scorecards — over Jazmin Gala Villarino.
Estrada (23-0, 9 KOs) ended an 11-month layoff with her Top Rank debut. The Los Angeles native signed with Top Rank after a contract dispute with Golden Boy Promotions led to the split.
“It’s been an emotional week for me because it’s been 328 days since I’ve been in the ring,” Estrada said. ” … I might’ve been slowed down, but I can’t be stopped. … I shook the ring rust off and I’m ready to go for unification fights and undisputed fights.”
The 30-year-old Estrada, ESPN’s No. 7 pound-for-pound women’s boxer, was able to sustain her attack with ease round after round against her overmatched opponent. She unloaded with both hands in a series of exchanges and inflicted damage on Villarino’s midsection with 95 connects to the body, a career best.
The victory was the second successful defense of Estrada’s WBA belt. She previously held a title at 108 pounds, too.
Now, Estrada could unify 105-pound titles in 2023. Top Rank is looking to match Estrada with WBC titleholder Tina Rupprecht, ESPN’s Michael Rothstein reported.
The setback was the first for Villarino (6-2-2, 1 KO), a 32-year-old Argentinean, since her pro debut.