Erislandy Lara vs. Janibek Alimkhanuly never happened. Alimkhanuly was pulled from the December 6, 2025, middleweight unification four days before it, after a positive test for meldonium, and Lara kept his WBA title that night with a unanimous decision over replacement Johan Gonzalez.
ESPN’s boxing schedule, updated September 24, 2026, lists no fight for either man, so there is no new date for the unification.
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Why the fight was called off
Premier Boxing Champions announced on December 2, 2025, that Alimkhanuly had tested positive for meldonium in a test taken by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association on November 15, ESPN reported. The fight was to be the co-main event under Lamont Roach Jr. vs. Isaac Cruz at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio.
Alimkhanuly said on X that he was innocent. “I have always supported clean sport,” he wrote. “VADA took the first test and said everything was clean. I have not made any changes to my vitamins.” He asked for a retest.
ESPN later reported that both the A and B samples came back positive. The WBO suspended him for a year in late February 2026 and let him keep its title, and the IBF stripped him of its belt in March 2026, citing the failed test and his inability to make his mandatory defense.
What happened on December 6
Gonzalez stepped in at a few days’ notice. Lara dropped him in the first round and again in the 12th and won on scores of 120-106, 119-107 and 118-108, according to PBC’s official result.
| Fighter | Record after December 6, 2025 | Title status |
|---|---|---|
| Erislandy Lara | 32-3-3, 19 KOs | Kept the WBA middleweight title |
| Johan Gonzalez | 36-5, 34 KOs | Lost the title challenge |
| Janibek Alimkhanuly | 17-0, 12 KOs (did not fight) | WBO title kept; IBF title stripped in March 2026 |
ESPN described Lara, 42 at the time, as the oldest current champion in boxing. Before Gonzalez, his last fight was a stoppage of Danny Garcia in September 2024.
Alimkhanuly was also suspended until May 31, 2026, by the Kazakhstan Federation of Professional Boxing and until June 1, 2026, by the Association of Boxing Commissions, ESPN reported. In its December report, ESPN gave his last fight as the April 5, 2025, defense of his WBO and IBF belts against Anauel Ngamissengue.
Betting the middleweight division next
No middleweight title fight for Lara or Alimkhanuly is on ESPN’s schedule, so this page names no price. When one is posted, turn it into a chance first: -600 implies 85.7% and +400 implies 20.0%.
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