WBO orders Janibek Alimkhanuly-Jacob Bank fight for vacant super-middleweight title

The WBO has ordered Janibek Alimkhanuly and Jacob Bank to begin negotiations for its vacant super-middleweight title, giving the fighters’ representatives 15 days to reach an agreement before the contest is sent to a purse bid.

Alimkhanuly is ranked No. 1 by the sanctioning body, while Bank is No. 3. Diego Pacheco, its second-ranked contender, was offered the opportunity but chose to honour his existing commitment to face Darius Fulghum in Los Angeles on November 14.

WBO president Gustavo Olivieri described Bank as the “first AVAILABLE contender” and later addressed Pacheco’s position in a written response.

“…Pachecho was offered the opportunity. However, he decided to honor his previously scheduled contractual commitment. We wish Pachecho all the best in his upcoming bout,” Olivieri wrote.

The belt became vacant when Hamzah Sheeraz relinquished it rather than proceed with a mandatory defence against Alimkhanuly. Queensberry Promotions had won the September 16 purse bid with an offer of $1,001,809, of which Sheeraz was entitled to 75 per cent, approximately $751,356, and Alimkhanuly the remaining $250,452.

Alimkhanuly accepted those terms, but Sheeraz withdrew after previously arguing that the financial package needed to reflect what he regarded as the biggest fight of his career. Sheeraz had won the vacant title by stopping Alem Begic in the second round on May 23 and made one defence, taking a majority decision over Simon Zachenhuber on July 25.

Bank’s title opportunity comes only weeks after the Dane objected to the WBO installing Alimkhanuly as Sheeraz’s mandatory challenger. Bank’s team had petitioned for that position in June and July, but the sanctioning body instead favoured Alimkhanuly on the strength of his championship record at middleweight.

Bank was particularly critical of the WBO’s handling of Alimkhanuly’s anti-doping case.

“The bigger issue is that the WBO has effectively rewarded him,” Bank told The Ring in August. “They’ve put him straight back at the top of the rankings and immediately made him the mandatory challenger. That’s where this becomes completely wrong, it isn’t just about me or Hamzah … it affects every fighter who worked their way up the rankings fairly.”

Alimkhanuly’s planned December 2025 middleweight unification fight with WBA champion Erislandy Lara was cancelled after the Kazakh returned an adverse test for meldonium. The IBF stripped him of its title, while the WBO retained him as champion and imposed a backdated one-year suspension. The WBO later terminated that suspension from July 10 after stating that Alimkhanuly had met the conditions required for reinstatement.

The unbeaten former unified middleweight champion subsequently relinquished the WBO’s 160lbs title and moved up to super-middleweight. Alimkhanuly, 17-0 (12 KOs), has not fought since stopping Anauel Ngamissengue in April 2025.

Bank, 20-0 (11 KOs), has fought three times in 2026. The 25-year-old began the year by stopping former IBF champion William Scull, then knocked out Paulinus Ndjolonimu before outpointing Pawel Augustynik on July 25.

If the two camps do not agree terms within the WBO’s 15-day negotiating period, a purse bid will determine the promotional rights to the vacant-title fight.