Janibek Alimkhanuly Issued Six-Month Suspension; WBO Orders Interim Title Fight

KPBF cites minimal negligence after emergency medical treatment

According to a report by BoxingScene, Janibek Alimkhanuly has been issued a six-month suspension by the Kazakhstan Professional Boxing Federation after testing positive for Meldonium.

The ruling is retroactive to December 2, 2025, when he was first provisionally suspended following a VADA-contracted test that detected the banned substance. As a result, Alimkhanuly cannot compete until June 2 at the earliest.

Per the KPBF’s final report, the substance entered his system after emergency medical treatment in May. Medical documentation showed he was treated for a transient ischemic attack and prescribed Ripronat, a medication legal in Kazakhstan that contains Meldonium. The commission determined that Alimkhanuly was negligent “to a minimal degree” and imposed the six-month suspension.

Alimkhanuly remains on indefinite suspension with the Association of Boxing Commissions and is serving a one-year ban from participating in WBO-sanctioned bouts. However, he is permitted to retain his WBO middleweight title.

The suspension also halts Alimkhanuly’s previously stated pursuit of a unification bout with WBC middleweight titleholder Carlos Adames. Alimkhanuly had publicly targeted that fight in recent months, but he is now ineligible to compete until at least June and remains restricted from WBO-sanctioned bouts until December. Any potential unification would require coordination among multiple sanctioning bodies and is unlikely to move forward while his status remains unresolved.

In the meantime, the WBO’s interim title bout between Denzel Bentley and Endry Saveedra will determine the mandatory challenger for Alimkhanuly’s belt. IBF officials have received the KPBF’s findings and are reviewing the matter, though no final determination has been announced regarding his IBF title status. Until final rulings are issued, the middleweight division faces a temporary delay in resolving its championship picture.

Alimkhanuly is also required to undergo random testing at his own expense and provide clean samples before resuming competition.