On October 3, the WBO World Championship Committee issued a ruling that approved the unified middleweight championship fight between Janibek Alimkhanuly and Andrei Mikhailovich, set for October 4 in Australia. However, only the IBF middleweight title was on the line during the bout, leaving the WBO title out of the equation. According to WBO regulations, this could lead to Alimkhanuly's middleweight championship being vacated.
The WBO rules state that if a champion participates in a fight within their weight class without defending the title, it could result in the title being stripped. Team Alimkhanuly now has five days to provide a valid reason to the WBO as to why his title should not be vacated due to the lack of compliance with the organization's terms.
The situation has raised questions about what led to the WBO title being left off the table for this contest. While Alimkhanuly successfully defended his IBF belt, the WBO's "SHOW CAUSE" order now puts his WBO middleweight reign at risk.
With the deadline looming, all of us are waiting to see how Team Alimkhanuly responds and what would be the end result.
By the way, if you missed full results of the event, read them here.
Image Credit: Top Rank