Promoter Frank Warren posted a picture of Hamzah Sheeraz on social media, showing his injured left hand from his fight against WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames last Saturday night in Riyadh. Sheeraz’s left-hand looks swollen, but that doesn’t explain why he performed so poorly the entire fight.
The judges ruled it a 12-round split draw, but it looked like a one-sided affair, with Adames (24-1-1, 18 KOs) dominating a frightened-looking Hamzah. They scored 115-114 for Sheeraz, 118-110 for Adames, and 114-114. The fans on social media agreed with the 118-110 score. It wasn’t close.
British Level?
Warren says Sheeraz (21-0-1, 17 KOs) suffered the injury “early” in the contest against Adames. He states that he believes Hamzah will “become a world champion,” but he doesn’t say when and who that’ll be against. It would be a mistake for Warren to set up a rematch between them because Adames would likely beat him just as badly.
The other two champions at 160, Janibek Alimkhanuly and Erislandy Lara, would likely be far too good for Hamzah. If he were to fight either of those guys, the chances are that he would be knocked out, and that would send him back from whence he came, fighting at the British level.
If Sheeraz moves up to 168 and gets a couple of quick, easy wins under his belt, Turki Alalshikh might line him up for a fight against unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez. He can’t get a big payday in that fight and live comfortably if his career evaporates soon after. That would be the more intelligent move for Hamzah than staying at 160 and taking his chances against Adames or the other two champions.
Sheeraz doesn’t look like a world-class-level fighter. He got lucky last Saturday with the judges giving him a draw, but he can’t count on making a career out of controversial decisions. If he doesn’t have the talent to beat high-level opposition, moving up to 168 for a cash-out against Canelo is the best strategy. He can follow in the footsteps of Edgar Berlanga and Jaime Munguia, two well-maneuvered fighters with fluff records who got big paydays against Canelo.
