Janibek Alimkhanuly Tests Positive For Banned Substance, Fight With Lara Off
- Matthew Brown
- Dec 2, 2025
- 2 min read
12/02/2025
WBO and IBF Middleweight Champion Janibek Alimkhanuly has tested positive for a banned substance, prompting the cancelation of Saturday’s planned unification showdown with WBA Middleweight Champion Erislandy Lara. According to a VADA source, Alimkhanuly returned an adverse analytical finding during his Voluntary Anti-Doping Association testing protocol. Multiple sources tell Brunch Boxing that as a direct result of the positive test, the three-belt unification bout is officially off, and contingency plans to secure Lara a replacement opponent are already in motion.
Alimkhanuly, who holds the right to request testing of his B sample, now faces a potentially severe set of consequences as the WBO prepares to issue him a formal notice. Once that notice is delivered, the Kazakh champion will have 30 days to provide an explanation as to why the sanctioning body should refrain from imposing disciplinary action.
According to the terms being prepared, the WBO is considering several possible measures, including:
• Declaring the WBO Middleweight Championship vacant;
• Excluding Alimkhanuly from the WBO World Middleweight Ratings;
• Imposing a ban from the WBO World Middleweight Ratings for no less than two years; and/or
• Issuing any additional ruling deemed appropriate under WBO policies, rules, and regulations.
Should Alimkhanuly fail to comply with the notice or provide the requested explanation within the 30-day window, the WBO Championship Committee is expected to move forward with its actions. In that scenario, Alimkhanuly would effectively waive all rights to a further hearing or citation.
With the unification bout now scrapped and disciplinary proceedings looming, Lara and his team await confirmation of the next steps, as efforts intensify to keep the WBA champion active with a new opponent.
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