Boxing doesn’t do quiet build-ups. It does chaos. And fight week just blew itself to bits when Janibek Alimkhanuly got booted off the December 6 Prime Video PPV for failing a VADA test. One minute he’s the unified champ strolling into San Antonio like he owns the place, next minute he’s off the poster and everyone’s scrambling. Classic boxing — the sport can’t help bottling itself when things finally start looking smooth.
But here’s the twist: the card didn’t crumble. It got meaner. WBA middleweight boss Erislandy Lara now defends against violent Venezuelan puncher Johan Gonzalez, and honestly, that swap might make the night nastier. Janibek was slick; Gonzalez is blunt-force trauma with gloves on. It changes the vibe completely.
A PPV That Should Have Fallen Apart… But Somehow Got Meaner
Saturday’s Prime Video PPV from Frost Bank Center already had Pitbull Cruz vs Lamont Roach Jr on top — a fight guaranteed to get spiteful. Now Stephen Fulton Jr vs O’Shaquie Foster gets bumped into the co-main, which is proper fitting considering how quietly venomous that matchup is.
And before all that? Jesus “Mono” Ramos Jr and Shane Mosley Jr open the PPV at 8 p.m. ET, both lads walking in like they’ve had enough of being talked about as “promising.” Someone’s leaving that opener feeling sick about how their year ends — and that’s exactly how openers should be.
Why Lara vs Gonzalez Might Steal the Whole Night
Lara (31-3-3, 19 KOs) has this weird habit of making brutal things look tidy. At 160 he’s been cracking people clean — Danny Garcia learned that the hard way when Lara folded him in 2024. Before that, he smoked Thomas LaManna in one round, then finished Gary O’Sullivan and Michael Zerafa like he was just checking boxes.
People forget Lara was the longest-reigning king at 154 until Jarrett Hurd beat him in that 2018 split decision war the BWAA called Fight of the Year. Canelo, Castaño, Angulo — Lara’s danced with all of them and usually made them miss so badly they questioned their career choices.
But Gonzalez? He’s not here for footwork lectures.
Gonzalez Brings Violence, Not Manners
Johan Gonzalez (36-4, 33 KOs) is that type of fighter who looks like he’s waiting for someone to disrespect him just so he has an excuse to start swinging. He iced Jarrett Hurd earlier this year and didn’t look bothered by the occasion one bit.
Yeah, he dropped a couple fights in 2024 — Yoenis Tellez got him, Jesus Ramos got him — but every time he’s knocked down the ladder, he comes back trying to kick the whole thing over. Ask Ricardo Villalba or Emmanuel Schramm; they got flattened fast.
Gonzalez has the mentality of a lad who thinks legacy is something you earn by punching through whatever’s in front of you. Lara better be switched on — because this replacement wasn’t meant to be polite, it was meant to be dangerous.
This Card Shouldn’t Work. But It Might Be the Most Unhinged One of the Year.
You’ve got Pitbull Cruz snarling at Roach. You’ve got Fulton and Foster circling each other with bad intentions. Then Lara vs Gonzalez in a fight that could flip from chess to murder in two seconds.
It’s messy, last-minute, and absolutely unfiltered — which means it’s probably going to overdeliver.
I still think Pitbull Cruz shoulda been main event anyway 🐶 dude always puts on a war no matter who he fights.
Yeah Pitbull brings fire every time 🔥 don’t matter where he is on the card
He should’ve been headlining from day one! Everyone else just playing catch-up tbh
People complaining too much 🙄 fights change all the time, just enjoy some violence for once and stop acting like you experts or whatever
Everybody sleeping on Fulton vs Foster but that fight gonna steal the show frfr🔥 them dudes ain’t friendly at all
Facts! Both them guys got hands and nobody wanna lose on a big stage like this 💯
If this card ends up being good it won’t be cause of the promoters, it’ll be cause the fighters mad about being disrespected and wanna prove something.
You can’t trust boxing anymore cause every time there’s a good card something stupid happens. Now we gotta pretend this new main event is better? Come on now.
Yeah Sienna I feel you, they always try to spin it like we dumb or something 😒
Exactly!! And they still charging full price even when the best fighter ain’t even fighting anymore 😤
Honestly Lara is old news and people acting like he still in his prime. Gonzalez might not have manners but he hits harder and that’s what fans wanna see.
True!! Lara dances around too much, Gonzalez is gonna walk him down and smash him 💥 people tired of all that moving around stuff.
They say the fight got meaner but I think it’s just more desperate. You can’t just switch fighters and expect it to be better. People trained for one thing and now it’s all different.
Exactly! Like it’s supposed to be professional but feels like they making stuff up as they go. If I paid for this PPV I’d be mad 😠
I don’t care what anyone says, boxing always messes things up before a big event. It’s like they don’t want things to go right. That Janibek guy got caught cheating, so good riddance!