WBO Responds to Sheeraz's Corruption Claims Over Alimkhanuly's Mandatory Status

WBO president Gustavo Olivieri has hit back hard at Hamzah Sheeraz, flatly rejecting the champion’s claim that the sanctioning body is “corrupt” for naming Janibek Alimkhanuly his mandatory challenger at super middleweight.

The dispute cuts straight to the heart of boxing’s credibility problem: how the sport handles doping cases, power, and opportunity.

Sheeraz blasts “disgraceful” decision

Sheeraz, the unbeaten WBO super middleweight titleholder, did not hold back when speaking with Ariel Helwani on Uncrowned. The flashpoint is the WBO’s move to install Alimkhanuly as his mandatory at 168 pounds, despite the Kazakh star never having boxed in the division and having recently failed a VADA test.

“I think it’s a joke,” Sheeraz said. “I think what the WBO have done here is disgraceful to the sport of boxing. What they’re essentially doing is rewarding someone who has [tested positive], so to me, it doesn’t make sense.

“What the WBO have done here — to me, it’s corrupt,” he continued. “And I’ll say it as it is, I feel like it’s all based off relationships. These moves being made are all based off personal relationships or whatever it may be, because it’s come out of nowhere and is extremely not right for the sport of boxing.”

Those comments landed directly on Olivieri’s desk.

Olivieri fires back

Contacted by Uncrowned, Olivieri responded with a firm, line‑by‑line rejection of Sheeraz’s accusations.

“I respectfully but unequivocally disagree with his assertions, particularly any suggestion of ‘corruption,’ improper ‘motives,’ or decisions influenced by ‘personal relationships,’” he told the outlet.

The WBO then followed up with a detailed explanation of how it reached its decision on Alimkhanuly, a former unified middleweight champion at 160 pounds.

At the center of the controversy is Alimkhanuly’s failed VADA test before a scheduled three-belt unification with Erislandy Lara last December. The bout collapsed when the banned substance result came in, and the Kazakh was suspended. The WBO later shortened that suspension and has now placed him directly in line for Sheeraz’s title.

To Sheeraz, that looks like a reward. To Olivieri, the context matters.

WBO: Janibek’s case is “fundamentally different”

Olivieri stressed that Alimkhanuly never actually fought under the cloud of the failed test.

“First, Zhanibek never stepped inside the ring in connection with the anti-doping matter,” he said. “The bout did not proceed. That fact materially distinguishes his case from other circumstances, including Ryan Garcia vs. Devin Haney, where the contest actually occurred and the anti-doping findings arose in connection with a completed championship bout. These are fundamentally different factual circumstances and should not be treated as interchangeable cases.”

The WBO also leaned on the fact that this was Alimkhanuly’s first offense. During the disciplinary process, Olivieri said, the fighter presented mitigating circumstances, including medical evidence, for the organization to review.

The Kazakhstan Professional Boxing Federation (KPBF) banned Alimkhanuly for six months. The WBO went further, initially imposing a suspension twice as long. When it handed down that punishment, the body explicitly kept the door open to modify the sanction. It later did so, Olivieri said, after reviewing the full record and Alimkhanuly’s cooperation and compliance with the conditions imposed.

From the WBO’s standpoint, once that suspension ended, the case was closed. The doping issue, Olivieri insisted, has no bearing on whether Alimkhanuly can be named a mandatory challenger now.

Precedent and power: how champions move

The other pillar of the WBO’s defense is precedent. The organization has long allowed its recent champions to move up or down in weight and receive fast-track consideration — including immediate mandatory status — even without having boxed in the new division.

Olivieri pointed to Keyshawn Davis as a prime example.

Davis lost his WBO lightweight title in June 2025. He then stepped up to super lightweight, boxed twice in non-title fights, and jumped again to welterweight. Despite never having fought at 147 pounds, he was ranked No. 1 at welterweight and later named mandatory challenger for Devin Haney.

That climb raised eyebrows at the time. It now serves as a blueprint the WBO says it is following again. Davis is just one among “many” such cases, Olivieri argued, and his situation shows that even fighters not viewed as in perfect standing can still benefit from the policy.

The message is clear: this is how the WBO operates, not a one-off favor for a particular fighter.

Why Janibek over Jacob Bank?

There is also a sporting argument. On paper, Alimkhanuly’s résumé dwarfs that of Jacob Bank, the undefeated contender Sheeraz and his team might have expected to see at the top of the queue.

Alimkhanuly is 17-0 with 12 knockouts and held unified WBO and IBF belts at middleweight. Bank stands at 20-0 with 11 knockouts but lacks the same level of opposition and accolades. Olivieri made it clear he does not view Bank’s record as comparable to the Kazakh’s body of work.

In the WBO’s eyes, that difference in accomplishment justifies elevating Alimkhanuly straight into the mandatory spot at 168, especially under a system that routinely favors former champions when they change divisions.

A rift that won’t fade quickly

The positions could not be more stark. Sheeraz sees a system that protects names and relationships, even after a failed test. Olivieri sees a governing body applying its rules and precedents, with a completed suspension drawing a line under the doping case.

The belt remains around Sheeraz’s waist. The mandatory slot now belongs to Janibek Alimkhanuly.

If they do meet, it will not just be a fight for a title. It will be a collision of two sharply opposed visions of how boxing should be run — and who gets to decide what “fair” really looks like.