Reigning World Boxing Council (WBC) middleweight champion Carlos Adames of the Dominican Republic has called out Kazakh boxer Zhanibek Alimkhanuly, reminding him of a doping scandal, according to infohub.kz.
"Hey, Zhanibek, are you clean yet? Want to fight now? Are you ready? Let's do this," Adames wrote on X, tagging the Kazakh athlete's account.
Adames had previously stated his intention to move up to super middleweight (up to 76.2 kg). That is the division where Alimkhanuly currently competes, holding the top spot in the World Boxing Organization (WBO) rankings and awaiting an opponent for a vacant title fight after British boxer Hamza Shiraz declined to face him.
Recall that the doping scandal involving Alimkhanuly occurred in December 2025. Ahead of a major unification bout for three titles against Cuban Erislandy Lara, the banned substance meldonium was found in his doping sample. In February, the WBO issued a disciplinary decision regarding the boxer. Later, the organization continued to include Zhanibek in its championship plans, and in August named him the mandatory challenger for the WBO title at super middleweight.
It was this incident that Carlos Adames recalled when he decided to jab Zhanibek with a question about his "cleanliness" ahead of a potential fight.