Sheeraz Faces Purse Bids as Alimkhanuly Says 'Take It or Vacate'

Hamzah Sheeraz's WBO super-middleweight reign has hit a bureaucratic wall. The unbeaten Brit, 23-0-1 with 19 knockouts, now has to either sign to fight mandatory challenger Janibek Alimkhanuly or hand the belt back — and with Queensberry and Top Rank unable to agree terms, the WBO has ordered a purse bid hearing for September 16.

President Gustavo Olivieri confirmed the hearing, which will run on the standard 75/25 split favouring the defending champion. That's a decent cushion for Sheeraz on paper, but purse bids exist precisely because the two camps couldn't get a deal done privately. When it goes to auction, control leaves the room.

How Sheeraz Got Here

Sheeraz picked up the vacant strap in May with a tidy second-round stoppage of the badly overmatched Alem Begic. He backed it up in July with a first defence against southpaw Simon Zachenhuber, edging a majority decision against an awkward opponent who made him work more than Begic did. Two fights, one belt, and now the hard part.

The mandatory picture is where things get messy. Alimkhanuly, a former unified middleweight champion, tested positive for the banned substance meldonium last November. The IBF stripped him of its 160lb title over it — but the WBO let him keep his belt, then pushed him up to 168 as Sheeraz's mandatory. One sanctioning body, one punishment; the other, none. Fans have every right to be confused.

The Ultimatum

Alimkhanuly isn't waiting quietly. On social media he accused Sheeraz of stalling, saying the champion needs to either commit to the fight and make it happen or vacate the title, and that he's got no time to waste. Blunt, and hard to argue with from a challenger who's been handed his shot.

So the choice narrows to two doors. Sheeraz can roll the dice at Wednesday's purse bid and take a fight against a decorated, if controversial, ex-champion — or he can vacate and chase a cleaner path at 168. For a 23-0-1 fighter still building his ledger, neither option is free.