Alimkhanuly Out of Fight Due to Doping; Lara vs. González in New Bout

Janibek Alimkhanuly, out of action due to doping; Erislandy Lara will face Johan González

Unified middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly has tested positive for a banned substance and has been withdrawn from his unification fight scheduled for Saturday against WBA champion Erislandy Lara. Given this situation, Lara will defend his title against Johan González, as announced by Premier Boxing Champions on Tuesday. Alimkhanuly (17-0, 12 KOs) tested positive for Meldonium, a banned substance, in a test conducted on November 15 by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA). The unified champion responded to the result on X, proclaiming his innocence.

I have always supported clean sport, they know it well. I was surprised to read the news. VADA did the first test and said everything was clean. I haven’t made any changes to my vitamins. I don’t know what happened with the second test, so I requested a new test.

Janibek Alimkhanuly

I have always supported clean sport you know this well. I was surprised when I read the news. VADA took the first test and said everything was clean. I have not made any changes to my vitamins. I don’t know what happened with the second test, so I requested a retest.

— Janibek Alimkhanuly (@RealBigG) November 20, 2023

The fight between Alimkhanuly and Lara was scheduled as the co-main event of the matchup between Lamont Roach Jr. and Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. The event was part of a PBC PPV card on Prime Video. Alimkhanuly last fought on April 5, where he successfully retained his WBO and IBF titles against Anauel Ngamissengue. Instead, Gonzalez (36-4, 34 KOs) will take on the challenge. Gonzalez was last seen in action in March, when he defeated Jarrett Hurd by split decision. Hurd retired after the loss. González will take a big step by challenging the current oldest champion in boxing. Lara (31-3-3, 19 KOs), 42 years old, hasn’t fought since September 2024, when he retained his title by stopping Danny García.