The sanctioning body ordered Janibek Alimkhanuly, its No. 1 contender, and Jacob Bank, rated No. 3, to begin negotiations Tuesday for a fight for its vacant 168-pound title. Discussions will have to progress quickly, as both sides have just 15 days to come to an agreement. If not, a purse bid will be called.

Diego Pacheco, ranked No. 2 by the WBO, is unavailable. The 25-year-old Pacheco is scheduled to headline a Matchroom Boxing card against Darius Fulghum on November 14 in his hometown of Los Angeles.

Former WBO champ Hamzah Sheeraz was previously ordered to defend his title against Alimkhanuly. However, The Ring’s No. 9-ranked super middleweight was noncommittal and eventually gave up his belt.

England’s Sheeraz (24-0-1, 19 KOs) was apoplectic following the WBO’s mandate due to Alimkhanuly’s past. The powerful southpaw from Zhilandy, Kazakhstan, failed a pre-fight drug test heading into his middleweight title unification bout against WBA champion Erislandy Lara on December 6 in San Antonio.

Alimkhanuly, who held the IBF and WBO 160-pound belts, was stripped of his IBF title. The WBO, however, allowed him to remain champion, but enforced a one-year ban.

Nevertheless, Alimkhanuly revealed July 20 that he was moving up in weight. Shortly after, the WBO announced that Alimkhanuly (17-0, 12 KOs) was Sheeraz’s mandatory challenger.

The WBO also stated that Alimkhanuly was no longer suspended because he met all of the “necessary requirements” for reinstatement.

Sheeraz, 27, eventually moved past Alimkhanuly’s transgressions and appeared on board with fighting his new mandatory challenger. He made it clear, though, that he needed to be financially rewarded for what he described as the “biggest” fight in his career.

Sheeraz was left disappointed by the result of a purse bid September 16, which Queensberry Promotions, his promoter, won by submitting a winning bid of just $1,001,809. Sheeraz was entitled to 75 percent of that purse, a total of just $751,356. Alimkhanuly was set to receive the remaining 25 percent, $250,452.

Alimkhanuly quickly accepted the offer. Sheeraz, on the other hand, opted to vacate the then-vacant belt he won via second-round stoppage against Alem Begic on May 23 at Pyramids of Giza in Giza, Egypt.

Sheeraz made just one defense of that belt, scoring a lackluster majority-decision victory over heavy underdog Simon Zachenhuber on July 25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Denmark’s Bank (20-0, 11 KOs), ranked No. 8 by The Ring, has three victories under his belt in 2026. He beat Pawel Augustynik on points July 25 after knocking out former IBF champ William Scull and Paulinus Ndjolonimu in his first two fights of this year.