Zhanibek Alimkhanuly received disappointing news regarding the fight for three titles.

The world champion in the middleweight division under the WBO and IBF versions, Kazakhstani Zhanibek Alimkhanuly, continues to wait for his opportunity to obtain two other championship belts — those from WBA and WBC. However, their current holders — Dominican Carlos Adames and Cuban Erislandy Lara — are not eager to face him in the ring, as reported by Caravan.kz.

Realizing that Adames, like contender Hamza Shiraz, is unlikely to step into the ring with Zhanibek, he challenged the 41-year-old Lara. The WBA champion did not respond, but journalist Michael Collins from Boxing247.com answered Alimkhanuly on Lara's behalf.

41-year-old Erislandy Lara (31-3-3, 19 KOs) may also be reluctant to fight Alimkhanuly, as he is doing well enough: he holds the WBA title at 160 pounds and defends it against weaker opponents. Lara risks losing these easy earnings if he relinquishes his WBA title to Alimkhanuly.

“The likelihood that southpaw Erislandy Lara will agree to an unification bout with Zhanibek Alimkhanuly is extremely low, as he is too old for fights at this level. On April 11, 2025, Lara will turn 42, and he is currently holding on only because he has been provided with favorable matchmaking. Erislandy hasn’t fought tough battles since his bouts with Brian Castaño and Jarrett Hurd, which took place in 2019 and 2018, respectively — essentially, that feels like an eternity ago,” the expert believes.