Janibek Alimkhanuly spent months trying to get Hamzah Sheeraz into the ring. Now that Sheeraz has vacated his WBO super middleweight title, Janibek is asking fans to stop saying the former champion ran from him. That is generous. It also leaves Janibek with less to say about a fight he wanted badly.

He’s not afraid of me. He didn’t run from me. He made his decision based on his own plans. He has his own goals! He’s my brother, and I ask everyone to stop saying he ran from me. He’s a great fighter, and I have nothing but respect for him! @sheeraz_hamzah 🫂 pic.twitter.com/uxZlegqSmH

— Janibek Alimkhanuly (@qazaqstyle) September 26, 2026

Janibek’s tone has changed since the purse bid. He was eager to fight, said money was not his priority, and publicly pushed Sheeraz to accept. Queensberry then bid $1,001,809 to stage the ordered defense, beating Top Rank’s $820,000 offer. Sheeraz’s 75 percent share would have been roughly $751,000. Days later, he gave up the belt.

That sequence deserves a closer look. Queensberry put a serious number on the fight, so the bid itself cannot be dismissed as proof that nobody valued it. But winning the right to promote a title defense means little to fans when the champion vacates before it happens.

Sheeraz has objected to Janibek receiving a mandatory shot after his failed drug test. He is entitled to explain that position. Fans are equally entitled to ask why the issue reached a purse bid before he surrendered the title. Janibek’s post supplies no answer.

Perhaps Janibek sees no benefit in branding Sheeraz a coward. Doing so would also make the opponent he chased sound less valuable. Calling Sheeraz a great fighter preserves the idea that this was an important contest, even after the belt and the fight slipped away.

The respect between them may be sincere. Janibek still gets no Sheeraz fight, and Sheeraz no longer has to defend his title against Janibek. A friendly photo does not change either result.

Virginia has given World Boxing News its final answer on whether Prichard Colón’s last professional defeat can still be challenged, bringing an end to WBN’s long fight to have the result annulled and removed from his record.

WBN has pursued the possibility of changing the controversial disqualification defeat to Terrel Williams, with those efforts continuing following Colón’s death at age 33.

Virginia’s Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation previously explained that a decision can only be overturned if there is proven collusion, a scorecard error, or a regulatory violation that affected the result.

WBN pressed Eric Beidel, Communications & Digital Media Manager for the Department of Professional & Occupational Regulation, on whether any avenue remained to challenge the decision.

“And on that final question … as mentioned before, a decision can only be overturned if there is proven collusion, a scorecard error, or a regulatory violation that affected the results,” Beidel graciously responded after providing WBN with transparent answers throughout the investigation.

“In addition, a complaint about a regulatory violation must be filed within three years of the alleged violation.”

The Colón-Williams fight took place on October 17, 2015, meaning that deadline expired years ago.

Virginia Closes Appeal Route

Virginia’s response also addressed whether the result could instead be challenged through an appeal.

“The Administrative Process Act (APA) does create appeal rights to case decisions, but because DPOR never received a complaint in this instance, there was no case or decision that could be appealed under the APA.”

The deadline for filing a complaint about a regulatory violation has expired, while the absence of an original complaint means there is no case decision available to appeal under the APA.

For WBN, Virginia’s response ends a long fight to have the defeat annulled and removed from Colón’s professional record.

WBN’s Fight for Prichard Colón

It is no secret that WBN and Prichard were close before the most tragic night of his career ended all contact and left us on the outside for the years leading up to his death.

That never stopped WBN from reporting on Prichard, campaigning for change and hoping lessons from what happened to him could help prevent another fighter and family from enduring the same tragedy.

Virginia’s final response may end WBN’s attempts to have the result changed, but it does not end our commitment to Prichard.

Prichard Colón will not be forgotten.

WBN will continue to keep his name alive whenever and wherever possible with the WBN Boxer Pageand push to ensure his fight for life and everything that happened in its aftermath are never allowed to simply disappear from boxing’s memory.

This investigation ends here, but Prichard’s story does not.

About the Author

Phil Jay is the Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News (WBN), a BWAA-acknowledged boxing news website founded in 2010. A veteran boxing reporter with 16 years of experience, he has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives, and reported ringside from major events. His work is published worldwide through WBN and distributed on platforms including Apple News.

Read Phil Jay’s full bio and latest stories.

Terence Crawford seems to have learned about his supposed December 11 fight with Ryan Garcia the same way everyone else did: by reading Mike Coppinger’s post. His reaction was short enough to say plenty.

“Dam what I miss?” Crawford posted on X after Coppinger named him and Ryan as a possible replacement attraction if Tyson Fury’s fight with Anthony Joshua falls apart.

Dan Rafael joined the replies: “You’re fighting Ryan Garcia Dec 11 apparently 😂”

Crawford answered with laughing emojis and a question: “dam am I? Why I don’t know about this?”

That exchange doesn’t tell us what Coppinger’s sources heard. It does make the idea of a December fight look awfully thin from Crawford’s side. If he’s joking about learning of it online, nobody has given him a date to put on his calendar.

The claim arrived during a strange evening for the Fury–Joshua promotion. Coppinger reported that their December 11 fight in Cardiff could be called off because of unresolved issues, with Crawford against Ryan floated as an alternative. He then raised Tyson Fury against David Benavidez as another possibility. At that point, the proposed replacements began to sound like someone pulling names from different weight classes out of a hat.

You know I’m ready to Turki to run the fade

I’m ready!!!! 👊👊 pic.twitter.com/85sm6uvadb

— RYAN GARCIA (@RyanGarcia) September 26, 2026

Ryan’s situation hardly makes Crawford a simple substitute. Ryan has discussed fighting Isaac Cruz in December, while Crawford announced his retirement last year. Putting them together would require more than clearing a date on a broadcast schedule.

Crawford didn’t explicitly rule out ever fighting Ryan. He laughed at the suggestion that he was already fighting him on December 11. Until the fighters themselves have something firmer to say, that’s the distinction worth keeping.

This shows complete desperation and pure amateurism behind the scenes. When an A-side pound-for-pound star finds out he is supposedly headlining a stadium event in ten weeks by reading social media gossip on his phone, the entire promotion is flying blind.

Promoters and mouthpieces are throwing wild scenarios at the wall, hoping something sticks because the main event is on life support. The real story here is the absolute mess of Tyson Fury against Anthony Joshua. The moment that fight hit contractual trouble over promotional politics, the power brokers panicked. Instead of fixing their heavyweight headache, someone leaked absurd backup options to buy time and control the narrative.

Floating Crawford against Ryan in Cardiff makes zero practical sense. British fight fans bought tickets for a massive domestic clash between two heavyweights who have spent five years posturing. Staging two American box-office draws in a stadium in Wales in the middle of December is total fantasy. On top of that, Crawford retired after conquering Canelo Alvarez and is not sitting around waiting to jump into a two-month training camp.

You do not wake up an elite technician of Crawford’s caliber and demand he cut weight to fight a dangerous puncher without serious, months-long contractual discussions. Floating Fury against David Benavidez right after only exposed how ridiculous the rumor mill had become. Promoters need to stop floating make-believe backup fights using retired legends and focus on getting their heavyweights to honor their agreements.