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Janibek Alimkhanuly vs Jacob Bank set for 23 January in Horsens for the vacant WBO title

The unbeaten pair meet at the Forum in Denmark, live on DAZN, for the super-middleweight belt Hamzah Sheeraz gave up rather than face Alimkhanuly.

By Combat Sports UK Staff · Published · AI-assisted reporting
Illustration of Janibek Alimkhanuly and Jacob Bank either side of a WBO belt
Original graphic: Combat Sports UK

Jacob Bank will box for a world title in his own country when he meets fellow unbeaten Janibek Alimkhanuly at the Forum in Horsens on 23 January 2027, live on DAZN.

The two camps agreed terms on 8 October, which avoided a purse bid. Bank's promoters, Kasper Holgersen of Primetime Boxing and Spencer Brown of Goldstar Promotions, struck the deal with Alimkhanuly's promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank.

Bank, 25, from Kolding, is 20-0 with 11 knockouts and ranked No 3 by the WBO. He has fought three times this year, and his biggest win came in January, when he stopped former super-middleweight champion William Scull in the 12th round.

Bank said in Primetime Boxing's announcement that he could not wait to put on a huge show and hoped to become Denmark's next male world champion. The last was Mikkel Kessler, in 2013.

Alimkhanuly, 33, from Kazakhstan, is 17-0 with 12 knockouts and ranked No 1 by the WBO. The southpaw is a former unified WBO and IBF middleweight champion. He was stripped of the IBF belt, then gave up the WBO title in July to move up to super-middleweight, and has not boxed for more than 10 months.

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