Fans on social media are criticizing the selection of the Edgar Berlanga vs. Hamzah Sheeraz fight as the headliner for the Ring Magazine event on July 12th in New York City. The boxing public prefers that the Shakur Stevenson vs. William Zepeda fight be the headliner on the July 12th fight, because these are actual talented fighters.
Hype Job Headliner?
Berlanga and Sheeraz are viewed as manufactured hype jobs, fighters who were created through clever matchmaking for the purpose of generating revenue. Think Milli Vanilli, the two 1980s lip-syncing performers.
July 12th New York City Card
- Edgar Berlanga vs. Hamzah Sheeraz
- Shakur Stevenson vs. William Zepeda
- Alberto Puello vs. Subriel Matias
- David Morrell vs. Imam Khataev
Edgar lost to Canelo Alvarez by a one-sided 12-round unanimous decision on September 14th last year. Since that fight, Berlanga has fought once, destroying unranked inactive 35-year-old Fury-esque-looking Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz by a first-round knockout on March 15th last month in Orlando, Florida. It was a terrible match-up and unworthy of being on a DAZN card.
Sheeraz hasn’t fought at 168, and is coming off a 12-round draw against WBC 160-lb champion Carlos Adames. Most fans saw Sheeraz losing that fight. I watched it and had Adames winning 11-1. The scoring was embarrassingly bad for this Riyadh-staged fight.
Shakur vs. Zepeda: The Real Draw
The only fight that would garner attention for this event is the Shakur vs. Zepeda lightweight world title clash. The light heavyweight match between David Morrell and Imam Khataev wouldn’t resonate with casual boxing fans, who aren’t familiar with either. The same goes for the fight between WBC light welterweight champion Alberto Puello and former IBF champ Subriel Matias. They’re only known by hardcore fans.
Although Berlanga-Sheeraz hasn’t been confirmed as being the main event on this loaded card, it’s rumored to be the top fight because the match is a WBC super middleweight title eliminator.
The winner of the fight could be matched against Canelo Alvarez in 2026. He needs popular but beatable opposition at this stage of his career. Sheeraz (21-0-1, 17 KOs) and Berlanga (23-1, 18 KOs) meet those requirements for the Mexican star.
Ideally, a talented contender would be used as an opponent for Canelo, like Osleys Iglesias, David Morrell, or David Benavidez, but those guys aren’t beatable. They’re the types that would beat the 34-year-old Canelo and make him look his age.