Janibek Alimkhanuly to Face Jacob Bank for Vacant WBO Title in Denmark on January 23

Two unbeaten contenders get a date in Horsens

Kazakhstan's Janibek Alimkhanuly and Denmark's Jacob Bank are scheduled to fight for the vacant WBO super middleweight world title on January 23, 2027, at Forum Horsens in Denmark. The contest pairs the organisation's No. 1 contender, Alimkhanuly, with its No. 3 contender, Bank, and will be broadcast live on DAZN.

Alimkhanuly enters the announced matchup with 17 wins, no defeats and 12 knockouts. Bank has 20 wins, no defeats and 11 knockouts. Danish promoter Primetime Boxing has announced the fight after the two camps reached an agreement within the negotiating period set by the World Boxing Organization.

The championship became available after Britain's Hamzah Sheeraz gave up the belt rather than make a mandatory defence against Alimkhanuly. That decision leaves two challengers competing to become champion, with no reigning titleholder in the ring.

For Alimkhanuly, the bout offers a route to a world championship in a heavier division after a suspension and the loss of his middleweight titles. For Bank, it brings a first opportunity to win this championship in his home country, near the area where he has built his career.

How the title became vacant

The WBO had designated Alimkhanuly as its mandatory challenger at super middleweight. A mandatory challenger is a boxer whom a sanctioning organisation selects for a required title defence, rather than an opponent chosen solely by the champion and his promoters.

Sheeraz relinquished the championship after objecting to Alimkhanuly's appointment and the purse being offered for the contest. The purse is the money a boxer receives for taking part. With Sheeraz out of the championship picture, the WBO sanctioned a fight between Alimkhanuly and Bank for the empty title.

Bank is ranked third, yet has been approved for this specific contest against the top contender. Their agreement now gives both men the same immediate prize: victory in Horsens would make the winner the WBO super middleweight champion.

An agreement without a purse bid

The WBO ordered negotiations between the two camps in late September 2026. An agreement followed earlier in October, removing the need for a purse bid, a process in which promoters submit competing financial offers for the right to stage a bout.

Bank's representatives included Kasper Holgersen of Primetime Boxing and Spencer Brown of Gold Star Promotions. They reached terms with Alimkhanuly's promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank. Primetime Boxing and Britain's Gold Star Promotions will promote the event.

The first confirmation of the agreement did not include a date or location. Primetime Boxing said those details would follow, while Holgersen had expressed confidence that Denmark could host the fight. The subsequent announcement placed it at Forum Horsens on January 23.

That sequence matters for supporters planning to attend: an agreement to fight and a confirmed event are separate steps. The negotiations settled the contest first; the later announcement supplied the venue, date and ticket sale schedule.

Alimkhanuly returns after a long absence

Alimkhanuly's last listed appearance was in April 2025 in Astana, where he knocked out France's Anauel Ngamissengue. The January 2027 booking would put his return roughly 21 months after that victory, a substantial gap for a boxer entering a world title contest.

The former unified WBO and IBF middleweight champion received a suspension lasting one year from the WBO after a positive test for a performance enhancing drug in December 2025. The suspension is scheduled to expire on December 2, 2026, before the Horsens fight. Details of the substance and any findings from an appeal were not given.

During his absence, Alimkhanuly was stripped of the IBF championship. He voluntarily relinquished his WBO middleweight title in July 2026 and chose to move to super middleweight, where the WBO installed him as mandatory contender.

Those developments leave the Kazakh boxer pursuing a different title from the ones he previously held. His scheduled return combines three changes: a new weight division, an extended period away from competition and a championship fight in his opponent's country.

What changes at super middleweight?

Middleweight has a weight limit of 160 pounds, while super middleweight allows up to 168 pounds. Alimkhanuly is moving into a division with an eight pound higher ceiling, meaning he can weigh more at the official weigh in but will also face opponents competing at that higher limit.

Alimkhanuly brings previous experience as a unified champion, meaning he held titles from more than one major sanctioning organisation at the same time. His record also shows a higher share of wins by knockout: 12 of 17 victories, about 71%, compared with Bank's 11 of 20, or 55%.

Bank brings more recorded professional wins and more recent activity. His 20 victories are three more than Alimkhanuly's 17, while his latest listed fight took place in July 2026. The matchup therefore combines Alimkhanuly's championship experience with Bank's more active recent schedule.

Alimkhanuly fights from a southpaw stance, with his right hand and right foot forward. His speed, technical skill and uppercut have been identified as threats for Bank. An uppercut travels upward toward an opponent's chin or body, making the distance between the boxers especially important when that punch is thrown.

Bank aims to turn home support into a title

Bank, from Almind near Kolding, has previously staged home appearances at Sydbank Arena in Kolding. The move to Horsens keeps his championship opportunity in Denmark while placing it in a venue with its own history of world title boxing.

His recent record includes a stoppage victory over former super middleweight champion William Scull in a contest scheduled for 12 rounds in January 2026. Bank fought three times during that year, with his most recent listed appearance coming on July 25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he defeated Britain's Pawel Augustynik.

Bank has spoken confidently about the January contest. The Danish challenger gave this prediction, translated from his quoted remarks:

My prediction for this fight is very simple: on January 23, Jacob Bank will become the new WBO world champion at super middleweight.

That confidence now has a fixed date and venue behind it. Bank will be fighting for the title in familiar national surroundings, while Alimkhanuly will travel from Kazakhstan for a chance to become champion in another division.

Forum Horsens returns to world title boxing

Forum Horsens has a published capacity of more than 4,000 spectators, while the announced boxing event is expected to accommodate just under 4,000. Those figures put the contest on a smaller scale than Mikkel Kessler's victory over Carl Froch in Herning in 2010, which drew more than 10,000 people.

The Bank versus Alimkhanuly contest has been described as Denmark's biggest men's boxing event since that Kessler fight. The comparison reflects the sporting importance attached to the championship opportunity, alongside a considerably smaller expected audience inside the arena.

Forum Horsens last hosted a professional boxing event in 2019, when Dina Thorslund defended her WBO super bantamweight title against April Adams. An earlier world championship appearance at the venue came in 2007, when Anita Christensen defended the WBC bantamweight title against Betina Garino.

Primetime Boxing says more boxers from its stable will appear on the January programme. Ticket sales are scheduled to begin on October 28, 2026, at 14:00. A complete supporting card and the main event's ring walk time have not been announced.

The dates leading to January 23

The championship contest follows a sequence stretching from Alimkhanuly's last bout in Astana through his move out of middleweight and the negotiations that brought the event to Denmark.

• April 2025: Alimkhanuly knocks out Anauel Ngamissengue in Astana.
• December 2025: A positive drug test leads to a WBO suspension lasting one year.
• January 2026: Bank records a stoppage victory over former champion William Scull.
• July 2026: Alimkhanuly relinquishes his WBO middleweight championship to move up a division.
• July 25, 2026: Bank defeats Pawel Augustynik in Jeddah.
• Late September 2026: The WBO orders negotiations for Alimkhanuly versus Bank.
• October 2026: The camps reach an agreement and the Horsens event is announced.
• October 28, 2026: Ticket sales are scheduled to open at 14:00.
• December 2, 2026: Alimkhanuly's WBO suspension is scheduled to expire.
• January 23, 2027: The vacant title fight is scheduled at Forum Horsens.

The immediate milestones are ticket sales and the scheduled end of Alimkhanuly's suspension. The sporting stakes are already set: Bank can become a world champion at home, while Alimkhanuly can return from his absence with a championship in a heavier division.

Key Points

• Janibek Alimkhanuly and Jacob Bank are scheduled to meet on January 23, 2027, at Forum Horsens in Denmark.
• The vacant WBO super middleweight championship is at stake after Hamzah Sheeraz relinquished the title.
• Alimkhanuly is ranked No. 1 with a record of 17 wins and no defeats; No. 3 Bank has 20 wins and no defeats.
• The camps reached an agreement without a purse bid, and DAZN will broadcast the fight live.
• Alimkhanuly's WBO suspension is scheduled to end on December 2, 2026.
• Ticket sales are scheduled to begin on October 28, 2026, at 14:00.