Sheeraz ordered to defend against dangerous mandatory challenger.
In boxing’s super-middleweight division, there is currently a power struggle to figure out who the best in class truly is. This has been the case ever since Terence Crawford hung up the gloves last December.
It was Crawford’s victory over Canelo Álvarez almost a year ago that made him the undisputed 168-pound champion, but his retirement caused those belts to go in four separate directions.
As a result, the WBC champion is now Christian Mbilli, the WBA champion is now Jaime Munguia (who won it from original champion Armando Resendiz), the WBO champion is Hamzah Sheeraz, and the IBF and IBO champion is Osleys Iglesias.
Mbilli will be facing Canelo in October, and a Canelo victory will officially add him back into the conversation. However, until a unification fight takes place, the dominant force is up to speculation.
When former unified middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly officially moved up a class recently, he became the newest addition to the division, and he has now been offered a shot at a world title in what will be his first fight at the weight.
The WBO have officially designated Janibek as the mandatory challenger to Sheeraz’s world title. Should Sheeraz not go ahead with the fight, he will be stripped of his belt.
Janibek was a destructive, dominant force at 160 pounds who is currently serving a drug ban for a failed test at the end of last year, scrapping what would have been a three-belt unification with WBC champion Erislandy Lara.
Having believed to be struggling to make the 160-pound limit, it is possible the Kazakhstani will be a renewed force at the weight above, making him a very dangerous proposition for Sheeraz–or anyone at super-middleweight–indeed.
OFFICIAL: Zhanibek Alimkhanuly has been designated Mandatory Challenger to WBO Super Middleweight World Champion Hamzah Sheeraz. 🥊
Both teams have been ordered to begin negotiations. pic.twitter.com/nJTbHELITJ
— WBO (@WorldBoxingOrg) August 14, 2026
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