Hamzah Sheeraz will reportedly be challenging WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames on February 22nd. That fight was the obvious one that would happen next after Sheeraz (21-0, 17 KOs) withdrew from his ordered fight against the WBO 160-lb champion Janibek Alimkhanuly. WBO president Gustavo Olivieri reported that Sheeraz, 25, had withdrawn from that match.
Fighting Janibek would have been tough for the lanky 6’3″ Sheeraz because his size and power wouldn’t have been much help against this talented champion. He would have likely negated Sheeraz’s advantages and knocked him out fairly quickly. He doesn’t possess the greatest chin and hasn’t fought at the world level yet.
Adames Will Be a Tough Fight For Sheeraz
Sheeraz is the ranked #1 WBC for the champion Adames (24-1, 18 KOs). It’s still going to be a perilous fight for Sheeraz because Adames is a big puncher and has an amateur pedigree.
Adames is the only one of the three midweight champions that Sheeraz would have a chance of beating because he’s not shown the talent that would enable him to defeat IBF/WBO champion Janibek or WBA champ Erislandy Lara.
“He’s going to fight Adames for the WBC belt on Feb. 22, per source,” said Dan Rafael on X, talking 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 put himself in as the mandatory for Canelo, as the WBO does, but he may not need that.
Canelo seems to be interested in fighting vulnerable, inexperienced fighters with inflated records at this late stage of his career. He would likely be willing to fight 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. Those are good fringe-level middleweights but nowhere near the level of Adames or the other two champions, Lara and Janibek.