The timelines certainly prove this to be the case:
• October 20th 2018: Demetrius Andrade captures the vacant WBO middleweight title after beating Walter Kautondokwa
• March 11th 2019: The WBO orders a final elimination bout between Liam Williams and Atlanta Fox
• December 21st 2019: Liam Williams defeats Atlanta Fox in a WBO final elimination bout
• March 11th 2020: The WBO orders Demetrius Andrade to defend his middleweight championship against Liam Williams
• April 17th 2021: Demetrius Andrade successfully performed his first mandatory defence of his WBO world middleweight title by beating Liam Williams
• November 21st 2021: Zhanibek Alimkhanuly lobbies the WBO to grant him mandatory challenger status, with December being Demetrius Andrade’s deadline
• November 24th 2021: WBO world middleweight champion, Demetrius Andrade, petitions the WBC to install him as the mandatory challenger to Jermall Charlo’s world title
• November 25th 2021: Eddie Hearn claims that Demetrius Andrade shouldn’t be forced to face Janibek Alimkhanuly
• November 30th 2021: The WBO formally approves Janibek Alimkhanuly’s request to become Demetrius Andrade’s mandatory challenger and orders the bout, whilst also issuing a 20-day negotiation deadline
Demetrius Andrade has only performed one mandatory defence during the course of a 38-month title reign.
Andrade only petitioned the WBC to grant him mandatory challenger status to Jermall Charlo’s title, after his team realised the WBO would be forcing Demetrius to face his next mandatory challenger, Janibek Alimkhanuly!
I’d be personally quite excited to see Demetrius Andrade face his mandatory challenger, because I feel that the Kazakh is a much better fighter than Ryota Murata.
For example: Rob Brant and Hassan N'Dam have both beaten Ryota Murata, but then both suffered eighth round KO losses to Zhanibek Alimkhanuly.
Janibek Alimkhanuly’s amateur pedigree (according to the stats cited by The RING) are outrageously impressive (record 300-8; nine-time Kazakhstan national champ, two-time Asian champ; and 2013 World Championship gold medallist)!
The crazy thing is, Andrade is being marketed as the new Boogeyman of the middleweight division, because everybody is allegedly “ducking” him, but Demetrius has not only ducked several PBC fighters in the past, he’s also trying to avoid facing a very dangerous mandatory challenger.
Thoughts?