Janibek Alimkhanuly ditched his traditional clothing on September 17th, in favor of rocking Gennadiy Golovkin’s gear. On the night, the current unified middleweight champion competed for the first time in his career at the 168-pound limit against Canelo Alvarez.

Though Alimkhanuly screamed at the top of his lungs, his vociferous cheers were ultimately in vain, as Alvarez cruised to a unanimous decision victory. Still, while the Mexican star had officially placed his rivalry with Golovkin to bed, Alimkhanuly (12-0, 8 KOs) was far from impressed with his latest performance. In fact, according to Alimkhanuly, he’s now convinced that the pound-for-pound star is no longer at the top of his game.

“He’s not at his best anymore,” said Alimkhanuly to BoxingScene.com.  

Shortly following the win, Alvarez candidly admitted that at roughly the halfway mark of his bout against Golovkin, he began to hit the proverbial wall. Although listless during the championship rounds, Alvarez’s work in the early going, proved to be more than enough to net him the victory.

Seemingly unsatisfied with his overall showing, Alvarez revealed that his lackadaisical effort down the stretch, was a result of inefficient training due to an injured left hand, something that the Mexican native plans to address with surgery.

At the moment, Alvarez’s timetable to return remains up in the air. However, the current undisputed super middleweight titlist isn’t interested in rushing back to the ring.

In spite of what could be a protracted amount of time on the sidelines, and regardless of Alvarez competing one division above Alimkhanuly, the current WBO middleweight belt holder is confident that Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KOs) will do his best to stay away from him.  

In his latest trip to the ring, the 29-year-old steamrolled Danny Dignum via second-round stoppage. With a string of six consecutive knockout victories under his belt, Alimkhanuly is firmly of the belief that Alvarez would stand no chance in their hypothetical matchup.

“Easy work! But he won’t fight with me. Why would he fight with the strongest middleweight in the world? I’m at my peak right now.”

Alimkhanuly returns to the ring on November 12, when he defends the title against British contender Denzel Bentley in Las Vegas.