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Sports

Kazakhstan’s World Champion Boxer Alimkhanuly Faces Doping Scandal Ahead of Title Unification Bout

Kazakhstan's middleweight world boxing champion Zhanibek Alimkhanuly is embroiled in a doping scandal less than a week before the most significant fight of his career -- a unification bout for three championship titles against Cuba’s Erislandy Lara. A positive test for the banned substance meldonium has thrown his career into jeopardy and may cost him at least one of his two belts. The 29 year-old currently holds the WBO and IBF middleweight titles. He was awarded the WBO belt in 2022 after Demetrius Andrade declined to face him and secured the IBF title in 2023 with a knockout win over Germany’s Vincenzo Gualtieri. Alimkhanuly had since declared his ambition to become the undisputed champion by unifying all the major middleweight belts. His bout with Lara, the WBA titleholder, was scheduled for December 7 and was seen as a crucial step toward that goal. However, on Tuesday evening, news emerged that Alimkhanuly had tested positive for meldonium, a substance banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) since 2016. Studies cited by WADA in 2015 indicated that meldonium enhances endurance, accelerates recovery, and impacts the central nervous system. Under the rules of the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA), Alimkhanuly has 10 days to request analysis of the “B” sample. Regardless, the fight with Lara has been canceled. The Cuban boxer has already agreed to a new matchup against Venezuelan fighter Johan Gonzalez. The World Boxing Organization (WBO) announced it had initiated administrative proceedings and would allow Alimkhanuly’s team to present evidence. “The WBO anti-doping program operates on the principle of strict liability... the athlete is fully responsible for the substances found in his body,” WBO President Gustavo Olivieri said on social media platform X. Alimkhanuly’s team expressed shock at the test results and has called for a retest. “The reason for our surprise is that we first received information about a clean sample, and then about a controversial moment in the second one. We didn't change anything between tests, neither diet nor vitamins. We cannot understand how this could have happened,” the team stated. They confirmed that lawyers and independent experts are now involved, and that testing of the “B” sample is underway. The scandal marks the second high-profile doping case in Central Asian boxing within a short span. Olympic champion Lazizbek Mullojonov of Uzbekistan was recently handed a three-year suspension for violating anti-doping regulations.

Boxing

Kazakhstan’s Golovkin Becomes World Boxing President

Gennadiy Golovkin, the two-time middleweight world champion and 2004 Olympic silver medalist for Kazkhstan, was named president of World Boxing at the federation's inaugural congress in Rome on Sunday. Golovkin, who has been president of Kazakhstan’s National Olympic Committee since last year, will lead the amateur boxing federation into the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. He succeeds Boris van der Vorst, a Dutch national who was the first president of World Boxing. “I feel great. I feel more excited. Right now, we have a new team, new view,” Golovkin said after his election to the post. “I have a plan. I have ideas, so many. My goal is bringing boxing’s position back to a high level.” The World Boxing federation was launched in 2023 to address concerns about transparency and governance in amateur boxing that had placed the future of the sport at the Olympics in doubt. That year, the International Olympic Committee, or IOC, expelled the International Boxing Association, the former governing body of amateur boxing, from the Olympic movement because of those corruption concerns. World Boxing, the new amateur boxing federation, has been collaborating with the IOC and said that, by January of this year, it had approved membership applications from 60 national boxing federations around the world. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev congratulated Golovkin. “He has become the first representative of Kazakhstan to lead an international federation of an Olympic sport,” Tokayev said. “This landmark achievement is a testament to the global recognition of Gennady Golovkin’s outstanding accomplishments and his great contribution to boxing worldwide.”

Boxing

Uzbek boxer Mullojonov Gets Three-Year Suspension for Doping Violation

Uzbek heavyweight boxer Lazizbek Mullojonov, who won Olympic gold in Paris last year, has been suspended from amateur bouts for three years because of doping, the International Testing Agency said. “The athlete tested positive for the prohibited substance methasterone metabolites after providing an out-of-competition sample on 11 June 2025,” the agency said in a statement on Friday on behalf of World Boxing, which governs international amateur boxing. Methasterone is a steroid that enhances muscle and strength. The agency said Mullojonov, 26, has agreed to the suspension, which was reduced by one year from the standard period of four years “due to his early admission” of the anti-doping violation. The agency is based in Lausanne, Switzerland. The suspension is retroactive to July 22 of this year, when Mullojonov was provisionally suspended pending the outcome of an investigation, and runs until July 21, 2028. The 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles take place from July 14-30. Under the ruling on Friday, Mullojonov’s competitive results between June 11 of this year, the date of a sample collection, and July 22 are disqualified. The Uzbekistan Boxing Federation had said Mullojonov may have ingested “prohibited doping substances” during a hair transplant last year. It said the surgery occurred on November 19, 2024, at a private clinic in Fergana city in Uzbekistan after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The athlete may have taken medications containing banned substances that were provided by the clinic during the treatment. Mullojonov also won gold in the super-heavyweight category at the Asian Championships in 2022. Despite the suspension from amateur competition, Mullojonov can compete in some professional fights, including one in which he defeated Nigerian boxer Monyasahu Muritador in Tashkent on Friday.

extradition

Kazakhstan to Seek Extradition of Boxer Dmitry Bivol’s Ex-Wife

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs plans to pursue the extradition of Ekaterina Bivol, the ex-wife of world boxing champion Dmitry Bivol, according to Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Sanzhar Adilov. Dmitry Bivol, who was born in Kyrgyzstan and moved to Russia at age 11, married Ekaterina Burdinskaya before rising to prominence in professional boxing. The couple divorced while Bivol held the WBA light heavyweight world title. Following the split, Ekaterina repeatedly posted derogatory comments about Bivol and his relatives on social media. Despite the controversies, Bivol became the undisputed world champion in his weight class in February 2025. In the fall of 2025, a video circulated on social media in which Ekaterina Bivol made offensive remarks about Kyrgyz and Kazakh people. In response, Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs launched a preliminary investigation into the distribution of the video material. On October 25, the Pervomaisky District Court in Bishkek issued a preventive detention order and an arrest warrant for Ekaterina Bivol under Article 330 of Kyrgyzstan’s Criminal Code: “Inciting racial, ethnic, national, or interregional discord.” Soon after, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs opened a similar criminal case. The matter is complicated by the fact that Ekaterina Bivol is a citizen of the Russian Federation. However, Adilov stated that Kazakhstan intends to seek her extradition if she is located within Russian territory. “A criminal case has been opened against her, and she has been placed on an international wanted list. The investigation is ongoing. We are in contact with the Russian police through special channels. If she is detained, we will raise the issue of extradition through the Prosecutor General’s Office,” Adilov said in response to journalists’ questions. Earlier this year, The Times of Central Asia reported that in May, Kazakhstan secured the deportation of Talgat Ardan, the former head of the Astana Light Rail Transit (LRT) project, who was wanted internationally for large-scale embezzlement. He was extradited from Turkey, a process made easier by the fact that he held Kazakh citizenship.

Sports

Gennady Golovkin Unveils Presidential Program for World Boxing

Gennadiy Golovkin, the former world champion and current head of Kazakhstan’s National Olympic Committee, has officially presented his program as a candidate for the presidency of World Boxing. World Boxing was established in 2023 after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspended the International Boxing Association (IBA) from organizing Olympic qualifying events, and raised the possibility of removing boxing from the Olympic program entirely. Golovkin, known globally by his ring name GGG, was appointed chairman of the World Boxing Olympic Commission in late 2024. Under his leadership, the new organization secured IOC accreditation to oversee Olympic qualifying events for the 2028 Games. The current president of World Boxing, Dutch official Boris van der Vorst, will conclude his term at the end of November 2025. He has announced he will not seek re-election. On November 23 in Rome, representatives from 125 national boxing federations affiliated with World Boxing will vote to elect a new president, vice president, and board members. Golovkin has been nominated for all three roles. His sole opponent in the presidential race is Mariolis Charilaos of Greece. On Friday, November 7, Golovkin published his official campaign platform. According to the document, available via the Kazakhstan Boxing Federation’s social media channels, Golovkin’s proposals center on athlete representation, governance transparency, and digital innovation. If elected, he plans to establish a World Boxing Athletes’ Council in 2026 with voting rights on the Executive Board, and to protect athletes’ rights through the implementation of an independent judging system. Golovkin also aims to launch a World Boxing Academy for athletes and coaches, covering anti-doping education, mental health awareness, and refereeing standards. The academy would also assist boxers in transitioning to post-athletic careers and offer targeted grant support. A key element of his platform is the use of artificial intelligence. Golovkin proposes AI-assisted refereeing and the creation of a digital platform called Digital Ringside, which would publish real-time bout data, athlete profiles, and explanations of judging decisions, serving as a transparency tool for the media and public. In addition, Golovkin advocates for the annual publication of audited financial reports and the development of sponsorships with international brands aligned with Olympic values to support amateur boxing. “As chairman of the World Boxing Olympic Commission, I worked with partners to expand our membership base. Thanks to those efforts, we achieved provisional recognition and preserved boxing’s place in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic program,” Golovkin said. “If you place your trust in me, I will continue working to safeguard boxing’s Olympic future, not only for 2028, but for generations to come and to secure full IOC recognition for World Boxing.” As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, World Boxing held its first amateur world championship in 2025, where Kazakhstan topped the team standings.

Sports

Kazakh Boxing Legend Gennadiy Golovkin Nominated to Lead World Boxing

Gennadiy Golovkin, Kazakhstan’s former middleweight world champion, and current head of the National Olympic Committee, has been nominated for the presidency of World Boxing, the international boxing federation. He is also running concurrently for a vicepresidential post and a seat on the Board of Directors. World Boxing was created in April 2023 as an alternative to the International Boxing Association (IBA) after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspended it from hosting Olympic qualifying tournaments citing governance problems, corruption scandals and nontransparent refereeing. At its founding the association included only six countries, United States, Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the Philippines but by late 2025 it has grown considerably. In September 2024 Golovkin became Chair of World Boxing’s Olympic Commission, whose key task is to work with the IOC to keep boxing in the Olympic programme and gain official recognition for the new organisation. The next World Boxing leadership elections will take place on 23 November 2025 in Rome as part of the World Boxing Congress. The incumbent president, Dutchman Boris van der Vorst, has announced he will not seek reelection. According to the organisation’s press service, Golovkin has been nominated for three positions simultaneously, president, vicepresident and board member. Election to one position automatically excludes voting for the others. Two other candidates for the presidency have been announced: Mariolis Charilaos of Greece. A number of other candidates are also running for the vicepresidential and board seats. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, in 2025 World Boxing held its first amateur world championship, with Kazakhstan’s team winning the overall team competition.