Janibek Alimkhanuly was hit with a second consecutive mandatory title defense.
This time it’s the WBO calling for its top-rated contender to get a shot at the unified middleweight title. The sanctioning body has ordered Kazakhstan’s Alimkhanuly to face unbeaten contender Hamzah Sheeraz next. The ruling was made on Tuesday, with both sides given until October 23 to reach an agreement.
“Please be advised that the parties … are ordered to begin negotiations,” WBO Championship Committee Chairman Luis Batista-Salas said in a statement obtained by The Ring. “The camps are given 15 days to reach an agreement.
“Failure to reach an agreement within the time set forth herein shall result in this Committee ordering scholarship bidding proceedings.”
Kazakhstan’s Alimkhanuly (16-0, 11 knockouts) is promoted by Top Rank and managed by Egis Klimas. England’s Sheeraz (21-0, 17 KOs) is promoted by Queensberry Promotions. The two are respectively no. 1 and no. 2 by The Ring, which will put his vacant championship on the line.
That’s IF the fight takes place.
The order comes just four days after Alimkhanuly defended his IBF middleweight title in a ninth-round stoppage of New Zealand’s Andrei Mikhailovich (21-1, 13 KOs). Their October 4 clash was ordered by the IBF and won by No Limit Boxing via purse. As a result, Alimkhanuly was forced to travel to Sydney, Australia.
There was a dispute in the build-up and on fight night about the exact stakes. Alimkhanuly holds the IBF and WBO titles. However, Mikhailovich’s team requested to fight only for the IBF belt in hopes of weakening Alimkhanuly through a same-day rehydration limit. The plan failed miserably as Alimkhanuly overwhelmed his mandatory challenger.
However, the WBO was disappointed in its October 3 ruling that was ignored where the call came for his title to be on the line. Alimkhanuly was subsequently sent a Show Cause notice to vindicate the remaining champion. He will now have to face Sheeraz next to maintain that status.
Sheeraz has stopped each of his last fifteen opponents in his rapid rise through the ranks. The 25-year-old from Ilford, Essex has emerged as a favorite of the Riyadh Season circuit, which has hosted his last two wins.
In his most recent start, Sheeraz tore through streaking contender Tyler Denny (19-3-3, 1 KO) to win the European (EBU) middleweight title. The fight came as part of Riyadh Season’s UK debut on September 21 at London’s Wembley Stadium.
Interestingly, he was ordered to defend next against Denzel Bentley, a previous opponent of Alimkhanuly who happens to be the WBO no. 2 middleweight contender is.
As previously reported by The Ring, rumors have been swirling of a Sheeraz-Bentley clash being in the offing for later this year. Such a fight is expected to come with at least the interim WBO middleweight title on the line.
However, this arranged fight between Alimkhanuly and Sheeraz will have to be resolved somehow before any other future plans are made.
