- Denzel Bentley is calling out Janibek Alimkhanuly for a rematch — Bentley as the WBO interim middleweight champion, Janibek the suspended full champion.
- Janibek is serving a one-year WBO ban after a positive meldonium test stripped him of the IBF strap. He retained the WBO title but cannot fight in WBO bouts until his suspension lifts.
- Bentley wants the rematch the moment Janibek's suspension expires. The WBO needs a clean middleweight champion — and Bentley is the man pencilled in.
Right Then — Bentley Has Picked His Man
Right then. The WBO middleweight division has been a mess for nearly a year, but the picture is starting to clear. Denzel Bentley is the interim champion. Janibek Alimkhanuly is the suspended full champion. And Bentley has now publicly nominated his target — the rematch with Janibek, the moment the Kazakh's WBO suspension is over.
Make no mistake, this is the right callout from Bentley. He stopped Saavedra to take the interim belt and he has earned the right to demand the unification. He is also smart enough to know that calling out Janibek — wounded, suspended, off the mat for a long time — is the easiest way to keep his name in the WBO mandatory queue without sitting around waiting for the sanctioning body to draft a memo.
The Janibek Mess — A Quick Reminder
For anyone who has not been paying attention. Janibek Alimkhanuly tested positive for meldonium earlier in the year. The IBF stripped him outright and the WBO suspended him from sanctioned fights for twelve months, retroactive to early December. He retained his WBO belt on paper — that is a very generous interpretation — but he cannot defend it during the suspension window. So while Janibek sits at home, the division has carried on without him.
That suspension expires later in 2026. The first WBO bout he is eligible for is, on a sensible reading, a unification with the interim champion. That is Bentley. Hence the callout.
Bentley's Case — He Is The Active Champion
Let us not beat around the bush. Bentley has every right to walk around acting like the proper WBO champion. He stopped Janibek in their first fight is the line — he didn't, he lost a hard wide decision in 2023, and he's used that defeat as fuel ever since. He has gone away, beaten his domestic level twice, won a European Title, taken the WBO interim. He has done the work. And he is the active world-level middleweight while Janibek is on suspension.
So the messaging from Bentley is straightforward. "I'm here. I'm clean. I'm winning. Take this belt off me when you can fight again." Brilliant management of the optics, brilliant pressure on the WBO to make the right call when Janibek's clock runs out.
Janibek's Position — Win And Move On, Or Negotiate?
Janibek's camp has options. He could come back and fight a tune-up, then take Bentley. He could go straight into the rematch — that is the financially biggest move and the clean way to silence questions. He could vacate and chase Canelo, Lara, or a super-middleweight move. The vacate move is the one I'd watch for if his team think the WBO will not protect him.
If Janibek does come straight back at Bentley, the rematch is much more interesting than the first one. Bentley has improved. Janibek will be ring-rusty and shadowed by the suspension. The first fight was a wide decision win for Janibek but it wasn't a destruction. With ring rust and Bentley's improvement, this would be a proper title fight at the Copper Box or the OVO Wembley.
Where The WBO Has To Sit
The WBO needs a clean champion. They have given Janibek the maximum protection by retaining his belt despite the meldonium positive. That goodwill runs out at unification. They will order Bentley–Janibek the moment Janibek is back in good standing. Bentley is making sure he stays the named opponent before any other contender pushes in. Smart from him and his team.
Luke's Pick
If the rematch happens this calendar year, I lean Bentley. Active fighter beats long-layoff fighter, especially with the cloud of the suspension hanging over Janibek. He will not be the same animal he was in their first fight. Bentley by points, possibly a late stoppage if Janibek's chin has gone after a year of inactivity. If Janibek has time to fight twice before the rematch and reset, the pick flips back to him on level — but I'd still take Bentley as a live underdog.
Either way, this is the fight the division needs. Sort it out, WBO. Get it on.