Janibek Alimkhanuly now No. 2 super middleweight in latest WBO rankings
In a notable development at 168 lbs, former unified middleweight world champion Janibek Alimkhanuly has entered the rankings as the WBO's No. 2 contender at super middleweight.
Alimkhanuly, 17-0 (12 KOs), of Oxnard, California, via Zhilandy, Kazakhstan, won the WBO Interim middleweight title with a second-round knockout over then undefeated UK native Danny Dignum in May 2022 and was subsequently elevated to full champion when Demetrius Andrade chose to vacate the title. Southpaw Alimkhanuly then unified the IBF and WBO championships with a TKO 6 over Germany’s newly crowned champion Vincenzo Gualtieri in October 2023 and was last seen scoring a TKO 5 over Anauel Ngamissengue of France to successfully defend his unified middleweight championships in April 2025.
Seemingly on a upwardly mobile career trajectory (and later revealed to be on the fast track to a high-dollar showdown against Terence Crawford), Alimkhanuly was shockingly stripped of his IBF middleweight title and suspended by the WBO after testing positive for the endurance-enhancing substance meldonium in the leadup to a planned unification bout against WBA champion Erislandy Lara in late 2025.
Still sitting out his suspension until December 2, Alimkhanuly officially vacated his WBO middleweight title in July 2026 to transition to the super middleweight division, prompting the WBO to designate the UK’s Denzel Bentley, already the interim champ after his TKO 7 over Endry Saavedra in April, as their new full champion.
With current WBO No. 1-ranked super middleweight Saul Alvarez set to fight Christian Mbilli for the WBC title in September, the move puts Alimkhanuly in a prime position to become mandatory challenger for WBO super middleweight boss Hamzah Sheeraz upon the completion of his suspension.
