The WBO reminded its middleweight champion American Demetrius Endred (31-0, 19 KOs) of the need to make a mandatory defense with the holder of the “temporary” belt from Kazakhstan Zhanibek Alimkhanuly (12-0, 8 KOs) or give up the title.
The parties have 30 days to negotiate, after which promotional bidding will be scheduled, the winner of which will receive the first right to organize the fight, and the winning bid will become the prize pool of the fight. The minimum bet is 200 thousand USD.
Endred hasn’t fought since last year (result of last performance). His comeback in the super middleweight limit against Britain’s Zach Parker for the “interim” WBO champion belt above the division was derailed due to shoulder problems. It was rumored that the champion would need about 4 months to recover. This means that Andred must first contact the doctors – he will start training only if they give the go-ahead.
The WBO are categorical. If something happens, they are ready to take away the belt from the American and raise their interim champion Alimkhanuly – he won the “half-belt” in May in Las Vegas (USA), stopping the British Danny Dignam in two incomplete rounds.
An interesting detail is that promoter Eddie Hearn (Matchroom Boxing) no longer represents Andred’s interests. Earlier, he honestly admitted that he failed to turn him into a top star and organize iconic fights. The parties had a contract for one more fight, but they decided to break off cooperation a little earlier.
Judging by the WBO letter, Andred’s new promoter is a native of Odessa (Ukraine) Dmitry Salita (Salita Promotions).
In May, the promoter of the Kazakhstani declared that “Alimkhanuly is the next middleweight superstar!”, And the candidate for membership in International Boxing Hall of Fame this is what he says about Zhanibek: “He is bypassed by the tenth road.”
In order not to miss the most interesting news from the world of boxing and MMA, subscribe to us at
Facebook and
Google News.
