The reigning WBC middleweight world champion, Dominican Carlos Adames, has called out Kazakh boxer Zhanibek Alimkhanuly. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
"Hey, Zhanibek, are you clean yet? Want to fight now? Are you ready? Let's do it," Adames wrote on the social network X, tagging the Kazakh boxer's account.
Adames's plans to change weight class
Earlier, Carlos Adames stated his intention to move up to super middleweight (up to 76.2 kg). It is precisely in this weight category that Zhanibek Alimkhanuly currently competes, holding the first spot in the WBO rankings and awaiting the appointment of an opponent for a fight for the vacant championship title after British boxer Hamza Shiraz refused to fight him.
The doping scandal
Recall that the doping scandal involving Zhanibek Alimkhanuly occurred in December 2025. On the eve of the crucial unification fight 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 appointed him as the mandatory challenger for the WBO title in the super middleweight division.
It was this very case that Carlos Adames recalled when he decided to jab Zhanibek with a question about his "cleanliness" ahead of a potential bout.