Janibek Out After PED Test; Lara Draws Fading Gonzalez

Erislandy Lara will defend his WBA middleweight title against replacement opponent Johan Gonzalez in the co-feature this Saturday night, December 6th, at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Lara’s scheduled opponent, IBF and WBO middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhnuly, tested positive for a PED. That made it necessary to pull him from the card.

Gonzalez Steps In Late

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

Johan has lost two out of his last five fights since 2024, suffering knockouts to junior middleweight Yoenis Tellez and Jesus Ramos Jr. at 154. In Gonzalez’s last fight, he squeaked by 35-year-old former two-time 154-lb champion Jarrett Hurd by a 10-round split decision on March 1st, 2025.

Earlier today, it was reported that Janibek tested positive for the PED Meldonium. He immediately responded on X, saying he was “surprised” by the result, and that he wanted a retest. However, he was still removed from the card. It’s unclear whether he’ll be stripped, fined, and suspended if his retest is flagged as well.

It’s a real negative for Janibek’s career, as he’s been hounding WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames for a unification fight for over a year.

Will Lara Keep the Co-Feature Slot?

As for Erislandy Lara’s replacement, it’s not a great opponent for the expensive $74.99 PPV event on Amazon Prime Video. There’s no word yet whether Lara’s fight will remain in the co-feature spot. It wouldn’t make sense to keep him in that slot, given that his opponent has been knocked out twice since 2024 and lost two out of his last five fights.

To keep Lara that high up on the card, he would need someone solid like Yoenli Hernandez, Jesus Ramos Jr., or Meiirim Nursultanov to be brought in as the replacement. That would be too risky for the 42-year-old Lara to fight a young gun on short notice.