While this may sound like big deal, it doesn’t appear that it’ll have any bearing on his professional career. As fellow Uzbek Jalol Akhmedov explained on Twitter, this is an AIBA-specific ban, and seems like more of a formality than anything else. The ban includes a directive that Melikuziev be stripped of any medals won in 2020, but by then he was already competing professionally so there were no amateur results to overturn.
This is an interesting development if only because it overlaps with Sergey Kovalev’s positive drug test that resulted in their January 2021 light-heavyweight fight being canceled. Kovalev tested positive for synthetic testosterone, but Melikuziev was more than willing to carry on with that ultimately doomed matchup. Thankfully for Melikuziev, this AIBA ban doesn’t figure to impact his June 19 fight with Gabriel Rosado.
Brian Lawless/PA Images via Getty Images and Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images and Mikey Williams/Top Rank via Getty Images
It may not be the most stacked weekend of action that we’ve seen, but there are still plenty of things to consider ahead of this weekend’s boxing.
Is Bakhodir Jalolov a genuine heavyweight sleeper?
Uzbekistan heavyweight Bakhodir Jalolov returns to action on Saturday night, taking on Kristaps Zutis in his eighth professional outing.
At 6’7”, the 26-year-old southpaw matches up well physically to this generation’s brand of “super heavyweights,” and will be looking to kick on in his career after temporarily dipping his toe back into amateur waters.