(Stacey M Snyder)
On the heels of receiving sanctioning body-issued disciplinary action, Janibek Alimkhanuly was dealt an actual suspension by a presiding commission.
BoxingScene has confirmed that the Kazakhstan Professional Boxing Federation (KPBF) has issued a six-month suspension to the unbeaten IBF/WBO middleweight titlist. The punishment is retroactive from last December 2, the point at which it was learned that Alimkhanuly tested positive for the banned substance Meldonium.
The positive drug test – as discovered from random drug testing contracted through VADA – resulted in Alimkhanuly being pulled from a December 6 three-belt 160lbs unification bout with WBA titlist Erislandy Lara in San Antonio, Texas. He has remained on indefinite suspension by the Association of Boxing Commissions, and was recently issued a one-year ban from participating in any WBO-sanctioned bouts but permitted to keep his title.
Because Alimkhanuly last fought in Kazakhstan – a knockout win over unbeaten Anauel Ngamissengue last April 5 in Astana – the local commission took control of the investigation.
According to the final report – a copy which was obtained by BoxingScene – the KPBF determined that Alimkhanuly, 17-0 (12 KOs) ingested the substance in question from an emergency medical visit last May 7. Alimkhanuly reportedly suffered deteriorated health, at which point his “relatives sought immediate medical assistance at the Adam Clinic” in his Almaty hometown.
“The clinic’s official medical report documents the following: acute severe headache, nausea and vomiting, dizziness, transient bilateral visual disturbance, limb numbness [and] chest pressure.”
The final diagnosis was that Alimkhanuly suffered a transit ischemic attack (TIA) from a vertebrobasilar insufficiency. His condition was described as in need of urgent therapeutic intervention, which came with an assortment of prescribed medication.
Among the administered substances was Ripronat, which is legal in Kazakhstan but contains Meldonium. “The medical intervention, including the administration of Ripronat (Meldonium), was medically necessary, urgent, and professionally justified,” read the KPBF report. “The medical documentation submitted to the Commission is legitimate, complete, and verifiable through the national medical registry.
“[Alimkhanuly] stated that the brand name Ripronat did not lead him to associate the product with the…
2026-02-26 05:00:00
