Published September 29, 2026. This report concerns a WBO negotiation directive dated September 22, 2026, rather than an announced fight card.
The World Boxing Organization has directed Zhanibek Alimkhanuly and Jacob Bank, through their representatives, to negotiate a contest for the vacant WBO super middleweight world championship at 168 pounds. The directive is set out in a September 22, 2026, letter from WBO Championship Committee Chairman Luis Batista Salas (PDF), also linked from the WBO’s official notice.
Negotiations run through October 7
The WBO provides a 15-day negotiation period ending Wednesday, October 7, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. Atlantic Standard Time (AST). The deadline concerns the parties’ agreement on terms, not the date of a fight. The cited order does not specify a fight date, venue or event schedule.
What happens if the parties cannot agree?
If negotiations end without an agreement, the WBO says the matter will proceed to a purse bid. The letter sets a minimum bid of US$300,000. It also allows either party to request a purse bid before the negotiation period expires. In that procedure, eligible promoters submit offers under the sanctioning body’s rules to secure the right to promote the championship contest.
These provisions give both camps a defined timetable and an alternative route if they cannot settle terms directly. They do not themselves confirm that an event has been booked. Any eventual fight arrangements would require separate confirmation.
Primary source: WBO Championship Committee letter, September 22, 2026 (PDF).
Featured image: Symbolic editorial illustration of an empty boxing ring and MMA cage; it does not depict either boxer or an actual event.
