Fight Week: Rolando Romero and Janibek Alimkhanuly in separate title fights

FIGHT WEEK

Also on the card: Rances Barthelemy vs. Omar Juarez, junior welterweights; Batyr Akhmedov vs. Kenneth Sims Jr., junior welterweight
Prediction: Romero KO 8
Background: Romero is coming off the first loss of his career, a sixth-round knockout against Gervonta Davis in a 135-pound bout in May of last year. The 27-year-old from Las Vegas was competitive with the rising star until the stoppage, which helped ease the disappointment to some degree and didn’t damage his confidence. Also, he was having problems making the lightweight limit, which is why he’s making his debut as a full-fledged 140-pounder in this fight. Romero is a solid boxer but is known more for his physical strength and punching power, although we’ll see whether it translates to bigger fighters at junior welterweight. He had been scheduled to challenge WBA beltholder Alberto Puello but Puello was removed from the card after testing positive for a banned substance. He was replaced with the relatively obscure Barroso, a 40-year-old Venezuelan who once fought for a major title (a loss to 135-pounder Anthony Crolla in 2015). He lost back-to-back fights in 2018 but has won four fights since, including a fourth-round knockout of journeyman Fernando David Saucedo last August. Both Puello and Barroso are left-handed, which will have helped Romero in his preparation. The Romero-Barroso fight reportedly is for the full WBA title, an indication that Puello has been stripped.

Also on the card: Jason Moloney vs. Vincent Astrolabio, bantamweights (for vacant WBO title); Robson Conceicao vs. Nicolas Polanco, junior lightweights
Prediction: Alimkhanuly UD
Background: Alimkhanuly was elevated from “interim” to full WBO 160-pound beltholder when Demetrius Andrade vacated the title last August and successfully defended once, outpointing Denzel Bentley in competitive fight in November. The one-time amateur world champion from Kazakhstan is a slick boxer with heavy hands. The decision against Bentley ended Alimkhanuly’s streak of knockouts at seven. Alimkhanuly was expected to defend against mandatory challenger Liam Smith but the Englishman was obligated to face Chris Eubank Jr. in a rematch first, which makes the fight on Saturday a voluntary defense. Butler’s career seemed to be in jeopardy when he was stopped by future titleholder Ryota Murata and journeyman Jose de Jesus Macias in back-to-back fights in 2019 and 2021. However, the Montrealer stepped away for a year and then reeled off four consecutive victories over second-tier opponents, including a unanimous decision over Joshua Conley in December. He’s a solid boxer with decent power, as his knockout ratio indicates. Butler is ranked No. 6 by the WBO.

ALSO FIGHTING THIS WEEK

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

Joseph Maigwisya vs. Luca Antonio Cinqueoncie, light heavyweights, Offenback, Germany (DAZN)
John Riel Casimero vs. Fillipus Nghitumbwa, junior featherweights, Paranaque City, Philippines (FITE)
Alex Vargas vs. Mauro Godoy, junior welterweights, Huntington, New York (StarBoxing TV)
Jadier Harrera vs. Jeff Ofori, junior lightweights, Dubai, UAE (FITE)

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