The undefeated WBO champion will be stripped of his title after knocking out a Russian in the ring. Video

The World Boxing Organization (WBO) has ordered WBO and IBF middleweight champion Zhanibek Alimkhanuly (16-0, 11 KOs) to give a reason why he should not be stripped of the organization's title within 5 days, fightnews.com reports. The day before in Sydney, the Kazakh defeated Russian Andrey Mikhailovich, who fights under the flag of New Zealand.

Earlier, Mikhailovich's team won the promotional bidding and decided to fight only for the IBF title. The WBO agreed to this condition and promised to keep the title for Alimkhanuly, but on the only condition that both fighters would have two belts at stake and the current champion would win. Before the fight, it turned out that the fighters would fight only for the IBF.

According to WBO rules, any fighter who fights in a champion's weight class that is not a title defense can cause that title to be vacant.

Boxing commentator Ben Damon, citing the WBO's decision, says that Janibek will lose the WBO belt anyway.

The title will now be fought between the first and second numbers in the WBO rankings: Hamzaoi Shirazem and Denzel Bentley.

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