What happens if you turn a tennis stadium into Queens into a boxing place to display some of the best box? I decided to find out myself and watch the action on the Ring III card of Louis Armstrong Stadium.
(Credit: Golden Boy Promotions)
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Edgar Berlanga (23-2, 18 KO) began his career with sixteen consecutive first rounds. The Brooklyn native lost a wide unanimous decision to Canelo Alvarez in September 2024, but earned a title -eliminator fight and an edge on the Ring III card. Berlanga had the Queens, New York crowd behind him, especially when Fat Joe and Remy Ma acted directly during the Puerto Rican’s Ring Walk.
Unfortunately, Berlanga could not do the Rockaway, or lean back from the Hamzah Sheeraz (23-0-1, 18 ko). Sheeraz hit Berlanga twice at the end of the fourth round before ending things seventeen seconds in the five round. Berlanga did a good job early in one, but once Sheeraz got a feeling for Berlanga, he was a class above the indigenous New Yorker.
Hamzah Sheeraz, of the British and Pakistani descent, looked like a future star in the sport. Sheeraz reached 6 feet, 3 inches long, with a 75-inch, used its length and skill to regret Berlanga over all the trash talk and $ 100,000 attack he started with Sheeraz in the lead to the attack.
The match was Sheeraz’s first fight at Super Middleweight, after a disappointing performance against WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames, in which many people felt that Sheeraz was happy to escape with a draw.
In addition to changing weight classes, Sheeraz switched trainers to Andy Lee and moved his training camp from Los Angeles to Dublin, which immediately paid dividends. “Normally, if you go to new coaches, some things feel forced, certain conversations feel forced. (Lee is) a lot, very, very sure and confident man, because you know what he did, he was there and did it. “
After the fifth round victory of Sheeraz, Andy Lee said: “I am very proud of him and we have just scratched the surface of what he can do.” What could be next for Hamzah Sheeraz is a fight with Canelo Alvarez.
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Shakur Stevenson (24-0, 11 KO) against William Zepeda (33-1, 27 KO) for Stevenson’s WBC lightweight title was the other co-head event on the Ring III card. The attack was a clash of contrasting styles, with Zepeda’s volume watching Stevenson’s defensive wizard. Some may have such attacks as Boxer vs. Puncher feature, while others can use the phrase Bull against Matador, or, as Turki Alalshiki recently described it, Tom against Jerry. This description refers to the classic cartoon in which Tom, the cat, Jerry, the mouse, is constantly chasing. Alalshiki recently said he wants to see “fewer Tom & Jerry Fights”.
Stevenson was not happy to become a runner -up as a runner -up and said in the lead to the fight: ‘If you call me Jerry, then I’m a **. That’s what I’m coming here, so Tom & Jerry, Jerry is a **. “
As he walked to the Ring at Louis Armstrong Stadium on Saturday night, a confident Stevenson wore a Tom and Jerry hat with Terence Crawford at his side and many men with 50 cents flipping through the father system.
From the opening lake, William Zepeda comes to come forward and throw push. But Stevenson could evade or block most bumps thrown at him before landing a counter -justice hook or a sharp combination through the guard of Zepeda. Every time Zepeda ended up a clean shot on Stevenson, his supporters cheered wildly. While Zepeda ended up a big shot at the end of the third round on an outdoor balance of Stevenson, there was less and less for Zepeda’s fans to get excited while the fight was running. Stevenson first became more comfortable and went from toes to toe with Zepeda for stretching.
Zepeda, in his honor, continued to push Stevenson and tried to break through the defensive guard of the smooth south leg. But after twelve rounds, Stevenson successfully defended his title and won 118-110 on two scorecards and 119-109 on the other.
This performance should quiet many critics of the young world champion of three divisions. Stevenson is the youngest in a line of defense-first fighters who win almost every round of all their fights, but still receive criticism because they did not entertain enough. Floyd Mayweather, Terence Crawford, and Andre Ward, Stevenson’s mentor, were sometimes stuck in the label. While his style may not fit with every boxing fan, Stevenson’s status becomes indisputable as an unbeaten champion and top boxer in the sport.
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In addition to the co-chief events, Subriel Matias (23-2, 22 KO) defeated Alberto Puello (24-1, 10 KO) by the majority decision to win the WBC Super Lightweight title. One judge tied the match 114-114, while the other two judges Matias gave the lead, 115-113. When Matias was declared the new champion, the Puerto Rican contingent of the crowd burst into cheering.
The decision could have gone anyway, but Matias pushed the action and made Puello fight for most of the attack on the back foot. Matias spent much of the fight running off Puello, while Matias shows the pressure and power punch that earned him in all his career victories. But when the fight was underway, Puello Matias’ pressure was able to weather and began to land a few smooth counter -shots and frustrate Matias. Although Puello won the last two rounds on all three scorecards, he could not overcome the work that Matias did early.
After his victory, Subriel Matias was greeted in the ring by Dalton Smith (18-0, 13 KO), which was revealed that Matias’ first challenger to his newly desired title is. The attack will take place over four months on the Ring IV card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Mike Coppinger reported on the broadcast that the winner of Matias-Smith faces Puello.
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In what could have been the best struggle of the night, David Morrell (12-1, 9 KO) cast a ten-round split decision on Imam Khataev (10-1, 9 KO) in a light heavyweight match. Morrell, who fought for the first time since the loss of David Banavidez, was knocked down in the fifth round, but composed himself enough to win the final rounds and win a win.
But it wasn’t an easy victory for Morrell. He is hit clean by Khataev, the 2020 Russian Olympic bronze medalist, who looked like the better fighter in the first three rounds. In the fourth and fifth rounds, Morrell began to turn things around and it seemed as if he turned the tide until Khataev Morrell knocked down with a right hand at the end of the round.
Morrell faced the prospect of two consecutive losses and earned the split decision on Khataev.
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Reito Tsutsumi, the first lightweight prospect, led as a professional after 2-0 by defeating the excessive Michael Ruiz (2-8-1) of Toms River, New Jersey. Tsutsumi dropped Ruiz three times, the stopping 28 seconds in the second round and finally the Japan’s Little League World Series loss in 1998 against Toms River, New Jersey.
Tsutsumi’s Pro debut was a win on the Ring Magazine card in Times Square in May. Reito Tsutsumi is a ring ambassador, which means he is a brand ambassador for Ring Magazine. Tsutsumi showed a combination of speed and power that made it easy to see why Ring Magazine would support him.
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Ring III was a fantastic fighting card. The venue was impressive, as the lofty plots all gave an excellent view of the proceedings. The crowd was working on the action and was treated with some major battles. That was all that boxing fans could hope for a day in Queens.
Last updated on 07/15/2025
