Janibek Alimkhanuly proved to be even more dominant than the surprisingly odds in place for his biggest win to date.

The 2016 Olympian from Kazakhstan—now based out of Oxnard, California—has officially transformed into a legitimate middleweight contender following a one-sided stoppage of former secondary WBA titlist Rob Brant. Kazakhstan’s Alimkhanuly dropped Brant in round six and forced a corner stoppage after the eighth round of their ESPN+ aired contest Saturday evening at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.

Alimkhanuly made his presence known early in the contest while Brant never seemed to settle into a particular style. The normally active Brant—a Minnesota native who now hails from Dallas—only threw 18 punches in the opening round, one being a right hand to which he overcommitted and Alimkhanuly—guided by Hall of Fame former two-division champion and head trainer James ‘Buddy’ McGirt and multi-time Manager of the Year Egis Klimas—countered with a straight left hand out of his southpaw stance.

The pattern held true pretty much through the balance of the fight. Brant—who threw 1,260 punches in winning the title from Ryota Murata in their first fight in October 2018—was unable to get out of first gear. Alimkhanuly was economic yet dangerously effective, landing clean punches in every round in slowly breaking down a championship-level opponent with three times as much pro experience.

Brant gave cause for concern all around after taking a knee early in round six. A straight left hand from Alimkhanuly forced the American to the canvas for the bout’s first knockdown. Brant beat the count but still seemed uncertain of his next move while continuing to favor his right leg.

The body language did not sit well with head trainer Brian ‘Bomac’ McIntyre, who gave his charge an earful in between rounds and threatened to stop the fight if he didn’t show signs of improvement. The pep talk resonated to a degree with Brant, who came out more aggressive at the start of round seven before reverting to early fight form.

Alimkhanuly remained steady, never forcing the action or looking for a knockout that wasn’t there. The left hand power was telling, dictating the pace and distance as Brant was content to stay on the outside.

With action remaining in one direction throughout round eight, Brant’s corner decided there was nothing left to change the course of the fight. Referee Michael Ortega was instructed by McIntyre to stop the contest, providing Alimkhanuly (10-0, 6KOs) with the biggest win of his promising career. The 28-year-old Kazakh southpaw will be groomed for a middleweight title shot despite just ten fights deep into the pro ranks.

Brant falls to 26-3 (18KOs), suffering the second loss in his last three starts. His aforementioned title win over Murata was followed with a second-round knockout loss to the 2012 Olympic Gold medalist in their July 2019 rematch. Brant rebounded from the defeat and a subsequent biceps tear to score a fifth-round stoppage of Vitalii Kopylenko last August, though now has a hard decision to make as to the direction of his career following Saturday’s disappointing performance.

Brant-Alimkhanuly served as the chief support to a lightweight bout between former three-division champion Vasiliy Lomachenko (14-2, 10KOs) and rising contender Masayoshi Nakatani (19-1, 13KOs).

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox