Janibek Alimkhanuly stops Andrei Mikhailovich in nine rounds in Australia

Janibek Alimkhanuly retained his IBF and WBO middleweight titles with a ninth-round knockout of Andrei Mikhailovich at The Star in Sydney, Australia on Friday night, but the victory came with a lesson.

Don’t play with your food.

Kazakh southpaw Alimkhanuly, 31, was all over Mikhailovich in the opening rounds, clearly hurting his Kiwi opponent and dropping him late in the second heat. But Alimkhanuly stood off, wanting his opponent to suffer after a bitter lead-up to the rescheduled bout.