Hamzah Sheeraz will reportedly challenge WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames on February 22. That fight was the obvious one to happen next after Sheeraz (21-0, 17 KOs) pulled out of his scheduled bout against WBO 160-lb champion Janibek Alimkhanuly. WBO president Gustavo Olivieri reported that Sheeraz (25) withdrew from this match.
Fighting Janibek would have been difficult for the lanky 6’3″ Sheeraz as his size and strength would not have helped much against this talented champion. He would probably negate Sheeraz’s advantages and knock him out pretty quickly. He doesn’t have the biggest chin and hasn’t fought at world level yet.
Adames will be a tough fight for Sheeraz
Sheeraz is the No. 1 WBC for champion Adames (24-1, 18 KOs). It’s still going to be a dangerous fight for Sheeraz because Adames is a big puncher and has an amateur pedigree.
Adames is the only one of the three middleweight champions Sheeraz would have a chance to beat as he has not shown the talent that would allow him to defeat IBF/WBO champion Janibek or WBA champion Erislandy Lara.
“He’s going to fight Adames for the WBC belt on February 22, per source,” Dan Rafael said. Xtalking about Hamzah Sheeraz challenging WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames next on February 22nd.
If Sheeraz can defeat Adames, he can use the WBC title to validate his credentials to potentially move up to 168 to challenge unified champion Canelo Alvarez in a fight for him. The WBC doesn’t have a ‘Super Champion’ position that Sheeraz can use to position himself as the mandatory for Canelo, as the WBO does, but he may not need it.
At this late stage of his career, Canelo seems interested in fighting vulnerable, inexperienced fighters with inflated records. He will probably be willing to fight against Sheeraz because he fills all those categories. His record is filled with fluff wins, and he has no real qualifications in terms of experience to fight Canelo, which makes him perfect.
Sheeraz has recent wins over Tyler Denny, Austin Williams and Liam Williams. These are good middleweights on the edge, but nowhere near the level of Adames or the other two champions, Lara and Janibek.
