In the wake of Terence Crawford’s retirement, there are four vacant super middleweight titles up for grabs. Currently, two of those belts, the WBC and WBO, could be contested for by U.K. contender Hamzah Sheeraz. Sheeraz, (22-0-1, 18 KOs) made his super middleweight debut knocking out former undisputed title challenger Edgar Berlanga in five rounds back in July at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, NY. Prior to his move to super middleweight, Sheeraz had challenged WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames and come away with a split draw for his efforts.
Having two options is always better than one or none, but in this case, Sheeraz can’t pick up both belts on the same night because each organization wants him to fight two different opponents. The WBC, which has Sheeraz ranked #2 behind current champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, wants him to face their interim champion, Cristian Mbilli (29-0-1, 24 KOs). Meanwhile, the WBO has Sheeraz ranked #3 and wants him to face #2 Diego Pacheco for their vacant belt according to a December 20th e-mail sent to Frank Warren of Queensberry Promotions (Sheeraz) and Eddie Hearn of Matchroom (Pacheco). Which direction Sheeraz and Queensberry will take remains to be seen.
