Janibek Alimkhanuly and Hamzah Sheeraz will have a little more time to iron out their differences.
The Ring has learned that a second extension was granted for the ordered WBO middleweight title. A request was made during the annual WBO Convention to move the already modified Nov. 4 deadline. The Puerto Rico-headquartered sanctioning body agreed to do so but this time only for another three days.
A deal must now be reached by Thursday, Nov. 7 at 4:00 p.m. AST to avoid a purse bid hearing.
Kazakhstan’s Alimkhanuly (16-0, 11 knockouts)—the unified IBF/WBO middleweight titlist—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 ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively by The Ring, which would put its vacant championship at stake.
That’s IF the fight happens.
Multiple sources have informed The Ring that another title fight is in play. Rumors have swirled 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, though such a fight has yet to evolve beyond loose talk.
Sheeraz was also previously linked to an all-British middleweight affair versus Denzel Bentley (20-3-1, 17 KOs). The fight was even ordered by the EBU—whose middleweight title Sheeraz recently won. It would have also pitted the top two WBO contenders versus one another.
Those plans went up in flames, however, when Alimkhanuly-Sheeraz was ordered by the WBO. It was officially put in the dirt once Bentley was confirmed to next face countryman Brad Pauls (19-1-1, 11 KOs) on Dec. 7 at OVO Arena Wembley in London.
For now, Alimkhanuly is still on the hook to make his second straight mandatory defense among his two title reigns.
He recently defended his IBF middleweight title in a ninth-round stoppage of New Zealand’s Andrei Mikhailovich (21-1, 13 KOs). Their Oct. 4 clash was ordered by the IBF and won by No Limit Boxing via purse bid. Alimkhanuly was forced to travel to Sydney, Australia as a result.
There was a dispute in the build-up and on fight night over the exact stakes. Mikhailovich’s team requested to only fight for the IBF belt in hopes to weaken Alimkhanuly by means of committing to a same-day rehydration limit. The plan failed miserably, as Alimkhanuly overwhelmed his mandatory challenger.
However, the WBO was disappointed in its Oct. 3 ruling being ignored where the call came for its title to be at stake.
Alimkhanuly was subsequently sent a Show Cause notice to justify remaining champion. He will now have to next face Sheeraz to maintain that status, as a negotiation period was first ordered on Oct. 8.
An extension was granted to Nov. 4 at the end of the initial 15-day deadline. The timing allowed both parties to plead their case during the annual convention in P.R.
Sheeraz has stopped each of his last fifteen opponents in his rapid ascension through the ranks. The 25-year-old from Ilford, Essex has emerged as a favorite of the Riyadh Season circuit, which has housed his last two wins.
In his most recent start, Sheeraz halted countryman Tyler Denny (19-3-3, 1 KO) in the 2nd round to win the European (EBU) middleweight title. The bout came as part of Riyadh Season’s UK debut on Sept. 21 at Wembley Stadium in London.
