Kazakhstan's Janibek “Qazaq Style” Alimkhanuly will defend his WBO middleweight world title in the main event against Canadian contender Steven Butler on Saturday, May 13th at Stockton Arena in Stockton, California. In the co-feature, Australia's Jason “Mayhem” Moloney will face big-punching Filipino contender Vincent Astrolabio for the vacant WBO bantamweight title. Alimkhanuly-Butler and Moloney-Astrolabio will be broadcast live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. “We are excited to bring two world championship fights to the wonderful fight city of Stockton,” said Top Rank Chairman Bob Arum. “Janibek is the most avoided middleweight in the world, but Steven Butler did not hesitate to take on the challenge.”
“I'm very proud of the character Steven has shown to work his way back to the top,” said Camille Estephan, President of Eye of the Tiger. “We are not going to miss our chance. We're going to cause a surprise on May 13th.”
Alimkhnauly (15-0 including the World Series of Boxing), a native of Zhilandy, Kazakhstan, took the fast track to title contention after representing his country in the 2016 Olympics. He captured his first pair of regional titles in 2019 by defeating Cristian Olivas. In 2021, Janibek stopped Hassan N’Dam and Rob Brant. The following year, the 29-year-old blasted out Danny Dignum in two rounds to capture the interim WBO middleweight title, earning a shot at then-champion Demetrius Andrade. Janibek was elevated to world champion after Andrade elected to move up in weight rather than defend his title. The southpaw defended his title against Denzel Bentley via a twelve-round decision last November.
“All of the middleweights have run scared, so I give Steven Butler a lot of credit for accepting the fight,” Janibek said. “I want to unify the division, but I cannot overlook Butler. He is a tough, powerful challenger, and I look forward to giving a tremendous show to the fans in Stockton and those watching on ESPN."
Butler (32-3-1, 26 KOs) is a nine-year pro from Montreal, Canada. He got a first-round knockout win against Janks Trotter in 2016 before suffering his first defeat against then-undefeated Brandon Cook the following year. Butler bounced back with eight knockout victories before decisioning Vitalii Kopylenko. The 27-year-old then traveled to Japan to challenge Ryota Murata for the WBA regular title in a valiant but unsuccessful effort. Butler is now coming off four wins, two of them by knockout.
Butler said, “No detail will be spared in this training camp. Expect a big upset on May 13. I am confident that I will bring the belt back to Quebec.”
In undercard action, streaming live and exclusively on ESPN+:
Scheduled for the EPSN+-streamed undercard is the return of “Stockton’s King,” Gabriel Flores Jr. (21-2, 7 KOs). The 22-year-old will fight in an eight-round lightweight bout and hopes to rebound from last July’s loss to Giovanni Cabrera... In an eight-round middleweight bout, former U.S. amateur star Javier Martinez (8-0, 2 KOs) makes his 2023 debut. Martinez dominated the durable Marco Delgado last November in a career-best performance... Atlanta-based welterweight Brian Norman Jr. (23-0, 19 KOs) comes back in an eight-rounder. Norman made his Top Rank debut in January with an eight-round decision over Rodrigo Damian Coria... Junior lightweight Haven Brady Jr. (9-0, 4 KOs) makes his second appearance of 2023 in an eight-rounder. Brady turned back the gritty challenge of Ruben Cervera in January to improve to 9-0.
