Janibek Out After PED Test—Lara Draws Fading Gonzalez

Erislandy Lara will defend his WBA middleweight title in opposition to alternative opponent Johan Gonzalez within the co-feature this Saturday evening, December sixth, on the Frost Financial institution Middle in San Antonio, Texas.

Lara’s scheduled opponent, IBF and WBO middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhnuly, examined constructive for a PED. That made it mandatory to drag him from the cardboard.

Gonzalez Steps In Late

Boxing insider, Dan Rafael, revealed the information of the 34-year-old Venezuelan native, Johan Gonzalez (36-4, 34 KOs), being the alternative opponent for Lara.

Johan has misplaced two out of his final 5 fights since 2024, struggling knockouts to junior middleweight Yoenis Tellez and Jesus Ramos Jr. at 154. In Gonzalez’s final combat, he squeaked by 35-year-old former two-time 154-lb champion Jarrett Hurd by a 10-round cut up choice on March 1st, 2025.

Earlier at the moment, it was reported that Janibek examined constructive for the PED Meldonium. He instantly responded on X, saying he was “shocked” by the end result, and that he wished a retest. Nonetheless, he was nonetheless faraway from the cardboard. It’s unclear whether or not he’ll be stripped, fined, and suspended if his retest is flagged as nicely.

It’s an actual unfavourable for Janibek’s profession, as he’s been hounding WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames for a unification combat for over a yr.

Will Lara Preserve the Co-Characteristic Slot?

As for Erislandy Lara’s alternative, it’s not an ideal opponent for the costly $74.99 PPV occasion on Amazon Prime Video. There’s no phrase but whether or not Lara’s combat will stay within the co-feature spot. It wouldn’t make sense to maintain him in that slot, provided that his opponent has been knocked out twice since 2024 and misplaced two out of his final 5 fights.

To maintain Lara that top up on the cardboard, he would wish somebody stable like Yoenli Hernandez, Jesus Ramos Jr., or Meiirim Nursultanov to be introduced in because the alternative. That might be too dangerous for the 42-year-old Lara to combat a younger gun on brief discover.