Janibek Alimkhanuly vacates WBO middleweight title for 168 move

WBO middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly has relinquished his title ahead of a planned move to super middleweight, the sanctioning body announced Monday, elevating interim titleholder Denzel Bentley to full champion.

Alimkhanuly remains under suspension after testing positive for meldonium before a scheduled unification bout with Erislandy Lara last December, per Bad Left Hook. The IBF stripped him immediately and ordered Aaron McKenna against Etinosa Oliha for their vacant belt, but the WBO handed down a one-year ban and upgraded Bentley's final eliminator into an interim title fight.

Bentley stopped Saavedra to claim interim strap

Bentley stopped Endry Saavedra in seven rounds to secure the interim belt and now succeeds Alimkhanuly outright. The unbeaten Kazakh fighter holds a 17-0 record with 12 knockouts but has not defended a middleweight title in over two years.

WBO president Gustavo Olivieri said in a statement that a ruling on whether Bentley faces a voluntary or mandatory challenger "is forthcoming," though the organization noted the two-year gap without a mandatory defense. Should the WBO enforce the obligation, unbeaten Cuban Yoenli Hernandez, 10-0 with nine stoppages, would get first crack at the new champion.

Bentley carries a 22-3-1 record with 18 knockouts into his reign. Alimkhanuly's jump to 168 pounds sets up potential matchups in a super middleweight division still anchored by Canelo Alvarez.

Reported via:

• Bad Left Hook — Janibek Alimkhanuly moving to 168, Denzel Bentley elevated to full champion