The IBF (International Boxing Federation) has been in the news a lot lately with the ongoing Jai Opetaia situation, but on Wednesday, they made a decision regarding their middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly after his 2025 positive PED test result.
The IBF released the following statement regarding Alimkhanuly’s status within their sanctioning organization.
“On December 2, 2025, the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) notified the IBF of an adverse analytical finding for Meldonium in Alimkhanuly’s ‘A’ sample, collected on November 15, 2025. VADA later confirmed the presence of Meldonium in the athlete’s ‘B’ sample on January 9, 2026. Under IBF Rule 18, which incorporates the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List, the detection of any banned substance constitutes a violation of IBF regulations.
Following the initial finding, the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports (ABC) imposed an indefinite suspension on Alimkhanuly on December 4, 2025, later formalizing the suspension through June 1, 2026.
The Kazakhstan Professional Boxing Federation (KPBF), which licenses Alimkhanuly, conducted a disciplinary hearing on January 19, 2026. The KPBF concluded that the substance was ingested during a medically justified emergency treatment, determined there was no intent to seek a competitive advantage, and ruled the degree of fault was minimal. The KPBF subsequently imposed a suspension through May 31, 2026, effective December 2, 2025.
Nevertheless, IBF Rule 18 mandates that any boxer suspended by a commission recognized by the IBF is ineligible to be ranked or to compete in any IBF sanctioned bout for one year following the start of such suspension. Because Alimkhanuly’s suspension was effective December 2, 2025, his IBF ineligibility will extend to December 2, 2026.
As a result, Alimkhanuly will be unable to satisfy his mandatory title defense obligation, due on or before July 4, 2026. After reviewing the matter during a March 5, 2026 teleconference, the IBF Board of Directors unanimously voted to vacate the IBF Middleweight Title effective immediately.”
This decision comes about a month after the WBO (World Boxing Organization) decided to suspend Alimkhanuly but allowed him to remain their champion. Now that the IBF title is vacant, the top two contenders in their rankings are Etinosa Oliha and Shakiel Thompson, with the number one spot currently vacant. The next two contenders are Aaron McKenna and Amari Jones. It’ll be interesting to see how these rankings shake out and who the two fighters the IBF orders to fight for the title will be as we head toward the weekend. We might still hear more news from the IBF about their pending decisions, so stay tuned to FightsATW.
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