SPECIAL REPORT IN LIMBO, QAZAQ STYLE
THE OFFICIAL RULING STATED, “THE INGESTION OF MELDONIUM OCCURRED EXCLUSIVELY WITHIN A MEDICALLY JUSTIFIED EMERGENCY TREATMENT.”
2016. It was in April of that year that heavyweight Alexander Povetkin tested positive for it, abruptly canceling a mandatory shot at then-WBC titleholder Deontay Wilder. Eventually, Alimkhanuly-Lara, which was one of the featured supporting bouts to Isaac Cruz-Lamont Roach, was scratched from the bill. Alimkhanuly also faced disciplinary measures on several fronts. From possibly being one step away from becoming the undisputed middleweight champion, he now finds himself essentially nowhere – and with an uncertain future. Alimkhanuly and his team claimed that the meldonium got into his system in the aftermath of the bout that preceded the scheduled Lara clash – against Anauel Ngamissengue in Alimkhanuly’s home country of Kazakhstan in April 2025. Alimkhanuly scored a fifth-round stoppage. But that victory did come at a price, as a few weeks later he made a trip to the
local Adam Clinic complaining of a severe headache, nausea, vomiting and dizziness. During his visit, he was administered Ripronat intravenously. Ripronat is a brand name for meldonium. Egis Klimas, who manages Alimkhanuly, stated, “As we found out, meldonium can stay in the body up to nine months. At the moment he was treated at the clinic, he wasn’t scheduled for any bouts. He wasn’t involved in any WADA testing. Doctors treated him with completely legal medication, which is not even under prescription in [Kazakhstan].” Eventually the Kazakhstan Professional Boxing Federation ruled that Alimkhanuly would be suspended for six months (retroactive to December 2, 2025). The official ruling stated, “The ingestion of meldonium occurred exclusively within a medically justified emergency treatment.” Another factor that led to its
ruling was that Alimkhanuly had “an impeccable anti-doping record, having undergone numerous tests during his tenure with the Kazakhstan National Team until 2016, all of which returned negative results.” Alimkhanuly was also assessed a fine and must complete an anti-doping educational program on the WADA ADEL (Anti-Doping Education and Learning) platform. The report made it clear that he must “submit a doping test at his own expense immediately after the expiry of the suspension period.” Meanwhile, the WBO had already suspended Alimkhanuly for one year and stated that the bout between Denzel Bentley and Endry Saavedra, which took place on April 4 at the O2 Arena in England, would be contested
Alimkhanuly unleashes on Rob Brant en route to a TKO victory in 2021.
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