Janibek Alimkhanuly and Hamzah Sheeraz will have a little more time to iron out their differences.
The Ring has learned that a second extension has been granted for the ordered WBO middleweight title. A request was made during the annual WBO convention to move the already amended deadline of 4 November. The Puerto Rico-headquartered sanctions body agreed to do so, but this time only for three more days.
An agreement must now be reached by Thursday, November 7 at 16:00 AST to avoid a wallet hearing.
Kazakhstan’s Alimkhanuly (16-0, 11 KOs)—the unified IBF/WBO middleweight title holder—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.
Several sources informed The Ring that another title fight is in play. Rumors were rife that Sheeraz could instead face WBC titlist Carlos Adames (24-1, 18 KOs), The Ring’s No. 3-rated middleweight.
Sheeraz is the no. 1-rated contender for both the WBC and WBO, although such a fight has yet to develop beyond loose talk.
Sheeraz was also previously linked to an all-British middleweight affair opposite Denzel Bentley (20-3-1, 17 KOs). The fight was even ordered by the EBU—whose middleweight title Sheeraz recently won. It would also have pitted the top two WBO contenders against each other.
However, those plans went up in flames when Alimkhanuly-Sheeraz was instructed by the WBO. It was officially put in the ground once Bentley was confirmed to face fellow countryman Brad Pauls (19-1-1, 11 KOs) next on December 7th at OVO Arena Wembley in London.
For now, Alimkhanuly is still on the hook to make his second consecutive mandatory defense under his two title reigns.
He recently defended his IBF middleweight title in a ninth-round knockout 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. Alimkhanuly was forced to travel to Sydney, Australia as a result.
There was a dispute in the build-up and on fight night about the exact stakes. Mikhailovich’s team requested to fight only for the IBF belt in hopes of weakening Alimkhanuly by committing to 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 retain that status, as a negotiation period has only been ordered on October 8.
An extension was granted until November 4 at the end of the initial 15-day deadline. The timing allowed both parties to plead their case in PR during the annual convention
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 stopped compatriot Tyler Denny (19-3-3, 1 KO) in the 2nd round 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.
