Janibek Alimkhanuly was not yet relieved of his unified middleweight title reign but has lost the right to defend at least one belt for the bulk of 2026.
WBO officials ruled that Kazakhstan’s Alikhamuly is not permitted to participate in any WBO-sanctioned bouts for one year, retroactive from last December 2. The timing coincides with the point when Alimkhanuly was formally removed from a planned three-belt unification bout with WBA titlist Erislandy Lara after producing a positive drug test for elevated levels of meldonium.
“The WBO World Championship Committee hereby informs that, on [February 19], it unanimously resolved to suspend Middleweight Champion Zhanibek Alimkhanuly from participation in all boxing and/or exhibition events for a period of one (1) year, effective retroactively as of December 2, 2025,” WBO president Gustavo Olivieri confirmed Friday.
“The official written ruling, setting forth the full findings, terms, and conditions, will be published later today.”
Because the sanctioning body has yet to strip Alimkhanuly, an already-ordered clash between Denzel Bentley and Endry Saavedra will now come with the WBO interim 160lbs title at stake. Their bout was upgraded from a previously ordered eliminator and is now set to take place on the undercard of the April 4 Deontay Wilder-Derek Chisora DAZN pay-per-view event in London.
Alimkhanuly – who also holds the IBF belt – will be required to face the winner of Bentley-Saavedra. The WBO will not recognize any other title fight for Alimkhanuly, a 32-year-old southpaw, upon his permitted return.
IBF officials have yet to rule on Alimkhanuly’s title status.
A November 15 sample collected through random drug testing as contracted through the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) discovered the presence of the banned substance. The development left Alimkhanuly, 17-0 (12 KOs), without a fight and his career in a tailspin as he vigorously battles to clear his name.
The show went on for Lara, 32-3-3 (19 KOs), who faced Venezuela’s Johan Gonzalez on short notice. Lara claimed a lopsided 12-round unanimous decision on the Isaac Cruz-Lamont Roach PBC undercard in San Antonio.
Meanwhile, Alimkhanuly has not fought since an April 5 homecoming title defense in Astana, Kazakhstan. He remains under indefinite suspension, pending the outcoming of the ongoing investigation.
That said, he has not been suspended outright from fighting anywhere else in the world. Sanctioning bodies only have the authority to forbid boxers from fighting specifically for their titles or an approved eliminator.
An official suspension would have to come from the presiding commission. Alimkhanuly was supposed to fight in Texas and remains under indefinite suspension by the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC). However, his most recent fight came under the auspices of the Kazakhstan Federation of Professional Boxing, whose involvement has made the investigation difficult to produce a final resolution.
Alimkhanuly first claimed the interim version of the WBO 160lbs title in May 2022. He was upgraded to full titlist later that year and has made five successful defenses. Three have come with the IBF belt at stake, which he first claimed in an October 2023 knockout win over then-unbeaten titleholder Vincenzo Gualtieri.
Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as a senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home. Follow Jake on X and Instagram.
