In Europe, opinions were shared about Alimkhanuly's status ahead of the "main showdown" in Riyadh.

The Ukrainian website Sport.ua has published an overview of the WBC middleweight title fight between champion Carlos Adames (24–1, 18 KOs) from the Dominican Republic, aged 30, and 25-year-old British contender Hamza Shiraz (21–0, 17 KOs), which will take place on February 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, reports Sports.kz.

“An underestimated match that receives little attention — as part of the card for the tournament in Arabia. However, it could turn out to be one of the main confrontations of the boxing evening.

Shiraz is one of the top stars in the middleweight division. Everyone believes in his undisputed championship potential, and no one has been able to hinder him yet. The guy is only 25, and he possesses everything needed: speed, power, and size that surpasses the vast majority of opponents in the category. Additionally, he has tremendous support in the UK — due to his citizenship, and in the Arab world — because of his faith.

It was clear that a boxer of this caliber would reach a championship bout not in years, but quite quickly. However, initially, Hamza's opponent should not have been Adames.

Just before these negotiations, Shiraz and his team were arranging a fight against another champion — Janibek Alimkhanuly from Kazakhstan, who holds the IBF and WBO titles in the middleweight division, but it didn’t materialize. They spoke for a long time about the need to fight. They even nearly finalized the match, but ultimately fell through without signing a deal.

That is why the option with Carlos Adames emerged. In fact, it's not just not the worst choice, but possibly the best at this stage of his career. A confrontation that deserves significant attention.

Adames (like Alimkhanuly) has long sought bigger fights. Holding a title does not guarantee top matchups that generate substantial interest and revenue. By the way, Carlos also called out Janibek for a fight. They have a long history — they even sparred together. However, he was also unable to organize a meeting with the Kazakh fighter. And now, two participants of unsuccessful negotiations with the Kazakh boxer, who holds two titles and the status of a fighter from whom everyone tries to avoid, will face each other. This status was self-assigned by Janibek,” reads the article “Shiraz Must Defeat Adames. However, Carlos Can Surprise.”