World Boxing Organization (WBO) President Gustavo Olivieri has officially announced that the teams of Kazakh boxer Janibek Alimkhanuly (17-0, 12 KOs) and undefeated Dane Jacob Bank (20-0, 11 KOs) have successfully reached an agreement to stage a fight for the vacant WBO world title in the super middleweight division (up to 76.2 kg), according to infohub.kz.
The organization received official written notifications from both sides just before the October 7 deadline. As a result, the purse bid has been canceled.
The WBO head confirmed on social media X that the parties have finalized the contract terms, with the date and venue to be announced later. Janibek Alimkhanuly has already responded to the post, reposting it with a green checkmark.
According to reputable insiders (particularly The Ring), the title bout is planned for December 2026 in Denmark (Jacob Bank's home country).
The previous titleholder, Britain's Hamzah Sheeraz, refused to make a mandatory defense against Alimkhanuly and voluntarily vacated the belt. The WBO then immediately matched No. 1 ranked Alimkhanuly with No. 3 Jacob Bank.
For Alimkhanuly, who previously held the WBO and IBF middleweight titles, this fight is an official chance to become a world champion in two weight classes.
Earlier, Kursiv wrote that Janibek Alimkhanuly had chosen a venue for the title fight. He called on promoters to organize the bout at the famous Madison Square Garden arena in New York (USA).