Janibek Alimkhanuly will have plenty of time to terrorize the rest of the middleweight division as sanctioning bodies struggle to secure mandatory challengers.
BoxingScene has confirmed that the WBO-ordered Denzel Bentley-Endra Saavedra 160lbs title eliminator will head to a purse-bid hearing. The ruling came after the two sides failed to reach terms during a negotiation period that began earlier in the summer.
“In light of the parties being unable to reach an agreement, the WBO championship committee will proceed to order purse bid proceedings,” WBO president Gustavo Olivieri alerted BoxingScene and other media outlets. “Official ruling is forthcoming.”
Should the fight move forward, the winner will become the WBO’s number-one contender and potentially in line to fight for three belts in 2026. As previously reported by BoxingScene, Kazakhstan’s Alimkhanuly, 17-0 (12 KOs), will risk his WBO and IBF 160lbs titles against WBA title claimant Erislandy Lara, 31-3-3- (19 KOs) on December 6 in San Antonio, Texas.
The bout between Bentley and Saavedra was originally ordered in July. For whatever reason, Queensberry Promotions and No Limit Boxing – the respective promoters for Bentley and Saavedra – could not find common ground in the three months. It’s an unfortunate development, because such a fight would have been a welcomed addition to Queensberry’s Joseph Parker-Fabio Wardley DAZN pay-per-view event on October 25.
Instead, it is likely that London’s Bentley, 21-3-1 (17 KOs), is left without a fight in 2025. The former title challenger – who offered a credible account of himself in a defeat by Alimkhanuly in Las Vegasin November 2022 – has been out of the ring since a 12-round, unanimous decision victory over Brad Pauls in December 2024 at the Wembley Arena in London. The win was his third in succession following an upset loss to then-unbeaten Nathan Heaney in November 2023.
Saavedra, 17-1-1 (14 KOs), is unbeaten in his past five starts. The Venezuela-born slugger last fought in an eighth-round knockout of Mikkel Nielsen on the undercard of Tim Tszyu-Joey Spencer in Newcastle, Australia in April, marking his third fight under the No Limit banner – a run that included his majority draw with the unbeaten Cesar Mateo Tapia. Their wild, 10-round thriller involved Saavedra twice flooring Mateo Tapia while hitting the canvas himself.
The WBO’s struggles to secure a number-one middleweight contender mirror that of the other sanctioning body whose title is held by Alimkhanuly. Etinosa Oliha and Austin “Ammo” Williams still await the next steps for a rescheduled IBF title elimination bout. The two were due to meet on July 17 on the Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez-Phumelela Cafu undercard in Frisco, Texas. However, Oliha was pulled from the event by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations after a failed eye exam.
The issue in question has since been resolved, but there have not been any updates on when the fight will take place.
