Janibek Alimkhanuly has a clearer vision of what lies ahead with a win in his next fight.

The reigning WBO middleweight titlist is set for his first defense, which will come against England’s Denzel Bentley atop a November 12 ESPN+ show from The Palms in Las Vegas. The bout has already come with the blessing of the WBO, who ruled on Thursday during its annual convention that the winner must next face mandatory challenger Jaime Munguia within 180 days.

Alimkhanuly could not have been more pleased with the development, although a wait-and-see approach is already being taken in whether such a fight ever materializes.

“Munguia? Easy work,” Alimkhanuly insisted upon learning the news. “I will knock him out. To be honest, I don’t believe Munguia will fight me. He had the opportunity. But if he agrees to fight, then it will be a good fight for the fans and for me.”

To lend any optimism to the situation, BoxingScene.com has learned that Munguia (40-0, 32KOs) plans to return to middleweight for his next bout after a one-fight departure in his previous outing in June. The unbeaten former WBO junior middleweight titlist is expected to fight in November, with a fight announcement coming shortly to reveal further details.  

Alimkhanuly (12-0, 9KOs) claimed the interim WBO middleweight title with a second-round knockout of unbeaten Danny Dignum on May 21 at Resorts World Las Vegas. The fight came as an alternative plan after the undefeated Kazakh boxer was named mandatory challenger to then-full WBO titlist Demetrius Andrade (31-0, 19KOs), who twice bailed on negotiations for such a fight.

The latter departure led to Andrade having to relinquish his belt, with Alimkhanuly upgraded to full titleholder.

Alimkhanuly is a heavy betting favorite to defeat Bentley (17-1-1, 14KOs), a 27-year-old fringe contender from London who enters his first career title fight. Bentley is riding a three-fight win streak since a stunning third-round knockout loss to Felix Cash last April, having most recently stopped Marcus Morrison in the fifth round of their September 16 clash at York Hall in Bethnal Green. It will also mark his first fight outside of the U.K.

Munguia was also once in line to face Alimkhanuly, when the WBO made an interim title available in lieu of the first round of failed Andrade-Alimkhanuly talks. Munguia’s team—Zanfer Boxing and Golden Boy Promotions—declined the offer, as they were negotiating at the time for a shot at WBC middleweight titlist Jermall Charlo. That fight also fell through, due to eleventh-hour demands on their end after it was believed that a deal was reached.

Munguia moved up to middleweight in January 2020, shortly after vacating the WBO junior middleweight title he successfully defended five times. The unbeaten 26-year-old from Tijuana is 5-0 with four knockouts at middleweight, though his most recent bout came above the limit when he weighed 165 pounds ahead of a fifth-round knockout of Jimmy ‘Kilrain’ Kelly on June 11 in Anaheim, California.

There was speculation of further campaigning at super middleweight, though such talks are parked as Munguia will resume his run as a top middleweight contender.   

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox