“He should be punished.” Erislandy Lara Reacts to the Canceled Fight With Alimkhanuly

WBA Middleweight titleholder Erislandy Lara reacted to the positive doping test of IBF and WBO champion Janibek Alimkhanuly in the same division ahead of their fight, which ultimately fell apart.

“At the end of the day, he deserves to be punished. He should be punished. You understand, he was taking banned substances, he tested positive. He’s a young fighter — he’s 32, and he was going up against a 42-year-old man. I mean, you know, he should be punished. That's what he deserves. You know, he's got two titles. He's gotta be punished – absolutely.

Look, I’m focused only on the fight, no matter who my opponent is, because our preparation was really good. We prepared very well. I’m not even going to say his name because he doesn’t deserve it. I’m glad we were able to put another fight together, and I’m looking forward to it,” said Lara.

Instead of Janibek Alimkhanuly (17-0, 12 KOs), Lara (31-3-3, 19 KOs) will face Venezuelan boxer Johan Gonzalez(36-4, 34 KOs). The fight will take place on December 6 in San Antonio, Texas, USA. The event will be streamed on Amazon Prime Video via PPV.