Crawford can face Sheeraz to slow down the real threats

Hamzah Sheeraz says he would like to face Terence Crawford next for his four belts at 168. The undefeated #2 WBC, #2 WBO ranked Sheeraz (22-0-1, 18 KOs) says it would be “an honor” to face Crawford next.

Crawford’s Escape Hatch at 168

Terence can buy himself some time by defending against the flawed, stork-like Sheeraz, as he has three fire-breathing dragons hot on his heels:

• Isleys Iglesias – IBF mandatory
• Christian Mbilli – WBC Mandatory
• Jose Armando Resendiz – WBA Interim Champion

Fighting Sheeraz now would be a win for Crawford, allowing him to temporarily bypass the aforementioned talents.

Crawford (42-0, 31 KOs) will surely a year off as usual before defending his four belts, making his job much more difficult when he fights in 2026. If Crawford sticks to his 12-13 month schedule of fighting just once a year, he will be 39 by the time he returns to the ring in September or October of next year.

“Who wouldn’t? It would be an honor to share the ring with him, but we’ll see what happens,” Hamzah Sheeraz said. Fight Hub TV when asked if he would be interested in fighting Terence Crawford for his undisputed 168-lb championship next.

Predictably, Crawford will hold out as long as possible and wait to see if Canelo Alvarez chooses to take the rematch with him. This is Bud’s best hope to raise another $50 million. He’s not making that kind of money to fight anyone else except David Benavidez, who he’s already ruled out as an option.

Mount Rushmore Ambitions

If Canelo doesn’t give Crawford the rematch he’s been waiting for, Sheeraz is a definite option unless Terence chooses to move down to 160 for ego purposes to try and capture his sixth division world title. He sees it as a path to cementing his position among the top four of all time on the Mount Rushmore of boxing. This is a weak, superficial way to weaken a top position.

Of course, this is not how the true greats, Sugar Ray Robinson, Henry Armstrong, Muhammad Ali or Joe Louis would have conducted their careers if they had been focused on cementing a spot. They didn’t think so. They were obviously intent on fighting the best without an ulterior motive.

“I got a call from His Excellency and his team. They would like me to fight (Diego) Pacheco in February. I said, ‘No problem. Let’s do it.’ And then a few days later he (Pacheco) announced the fight with (Kevin Lele) Sadjo,” said Sheeraz.

If Sheeraz is real, prove it

Turki Alalshikh should have asked Sheeraz to fight Isleys Iglesias, Christian Mbilli or David Benavidez instead of Diego Pacheco. These are the real talents, and they will attract a lot of interest.

If Sheeraz thinks as well as Turki, he should have no trouble beating those three. However, if he is a fake, he will be blown out of the water by them and shown as hype work. Some fans already suspect this after watching his performance against Carlos Adames and noticing his inflated resume.

“I’d love that fight,” Sheeraz said when asked if he wanted to face Jaime Munguia next. “He was there with Canelo. It’s similar to Edgar Berlanga in terms of the profile of him.”