“Second time this year where the WBO has screwed Jacob Bank out of a title shot. First was their rush to judgment in sanctioning Hamzah-Alem Begic mismatch for vacant belt. Now, he gets passed over for a fighter who paid minimal (if not zero) consequences for a positive drug test,” Donovan posted on X.

One response underneath Sheeraz’s reaction captured how some fans are going to interpret his interest in the subject.

“lmao buddy tryna look for a way out,” Amin wrote.

There is no proof that Sheeraz is trying to avoid Janibek, but the timing is interesting. Bank represented a much safer first defense. Janibek presents a far more dangerous threat, and suddenly the WBO’s decision-making has become uncomfortable for the champion.

Sheeraz is not in a position to look for sympathy. Donovan’s criticism goes beyond Janibek receiving favorable treatment; his post notes that Bank was wronged when Sheeraz was allowed to fight Alem Begic for the vacant belt.

In other words, Sheeraz capitalized when the sanctioning body skipped Bank the first time. Now that Bank has been bypassed in favor of a dangerous puncher, the situation looks entirely different from the champion’s side.

The bigger issue is what Janibek can take away from him.

Sheeraz has been moving toward the lucrative end of the division, where a fight against Canelo Alvarez would bring a massive payday that dwarfs anything available against Janibek. Losing the WBO belt before getting there would wreck those plans.

In theory, Sheeraz can rebuild from a loss with careful matchmaking and work his way back into position for a major fight. The question is whether Canelo will still be around by the time he gets there.

Canelo lost his last fight to Terence Crawford and will have been inactive for more than a year when he returns against WBC super middleweight champion Christian Mbilli. If Canelo loses that fight as well, retirement becomes a realistic possibility rather than something safely off in the distance.

That gives Sheeraz less room for error than it might seem. A loss to Janibek can send him through a rebuilding process while the biggest payday available to him moves closer to disappearing altogether.

Janibek represents more than an inconvenient mandatory. He can wreck the entire Canelo plan, and Sheeraz may not have enough time to put it back together.

That turns the 20-day negotiation window into a crucial countdown. Sheeraz wanted a world title, and the WBO has delivered the exact kind of mandatory challenger that comes with owning one. If he wants an easy route around Janibek, he will have to look elsewhere.