Hamzah Sheeraz moving to Super-Middleweight

[Ruthless-RKO]

HAMZAH SHEERAZ SET TO MOVE UP TO SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT AFTER ADAMES DRAW

Hamzah Sheeraz is plotting an assault on the super middleweight scene after failing in his attempt to win the WBC title at 160lbs last month.

The 25-year-old faced Carlos Adames for his belt at The Venue Riyadh Season on February 22 but the champion retained his title after a controversial split draw.

Sheeraz, who injured his hand early in the encounter, remained undefeated as a result but his promoter allegedly described his fighter as ‘very fortunate to get the draw’.

It had looked as though the Ilford man might be handed an immediate rematch and a second crack at the world middleweight title but he will now be heading in a different direction.

The 6ft 3in puncher will instead move up to super-middleweight and attempt to win a world title there. Ring Magazine champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, who holds the WBC, WBA and WBO belts, will make his Riyadh Season debut on May 3 when he takes on IBF champion William Scull in a super-middleweight undisputed clash.

But Sheeraz will look to position himself for a shot at the winner once he returns to full fitness following his hand injury.

Warren told Ring Magazine: “It was killing him to make middleweight and that was part of the problem. You’ve only got to look at his height to see that. I don’t know how he did the weight, he is just getting bigger and bigger. So he will move up now.

“On the night, I think the weight was a problem for him and then his hand too. It just wasn’t all there for him. He was very fortunate to get the draw but now we move on. He was dead at the weight so how he managed to still box like that in the last few rounds I’ll never know.”

Boxxer boss Ben Shalom recently suggested that Sheeraz could take on his British and Commonwealth super-middleweight champion Callum Simpson. The 28-year-old from Barnsley is ranked inside the top 10 with three of the four sanctioning bodies and is currently on hunt for a big-name opponent for an outdoor show at Oakwell this summer.

But, when asked whether he would consider making that fight for Sheeraz next, Warren said: “There are loads of options in that division. It’s too soon to worry about who he’s going to fight yet, it’s just about getting his hand better.

“It’s Ramadan at the moment and he busted his hand up so it is a chance for him to let it recover. He will be out again in June.

“Then it is about positioning. Below Canelo it is a free-for-all in the rankings. My hope is that Hamzah Sheeraz can establish himself as a big star of the division and if he’s more comfortable at the weight then that’s exactly what he will do.”

[Ruthless-RKO]

He’s done 154, 160, he got his title shot, now 168..

He ain’t getting a belt there..

But I guess he keeps Growing.

Maybe Callum Simpson next

[Controversial]

That was always a dot on the card, he hinted at it in an interview before his last fight that he was struggling at the weight

[CaptainSpacerod]

This news doesn't bode well for Hamzah - it smacks of deluding himself that his piss poor performance against Adames wasn't his fault. It's all too easy to say he was tight at the weight and he hurt his hand but most fighters are tight at the weight and hand injuries often occur in fights.

At 168 and mixing in the company he wants to he'll find that opponents won't just fall over. My guess is that Callum Simpson would be too much for him but what a night that would be in Barnsley

[Coco]

He is huge at the weight

[mickey1975]

He is huge at the weight

He is, but against Simpson he will see it from the other side. Simpson is one of the biggest out there for his weight.

[margaret thatcher]

sheeraz has it cozy with the saudis, fwanks response to the simpson fight there makes me think it's some lighter touches/cherry picks coming, not simpson. unless the saudis really want that one, then im sure they can put the money up to make it happen

[Taansend]

Will be interesting to see how he does up there. He'll be fighting boiled down light heavies now.

Give him a couple of so so fights to get used to the weight then see how he does in 2026. Canelo must be almost done now so all the belts will be freed up leading to a crazy free for all.

I personally think Iglesias is going to be the new daddy at the weight although Pacheco is impressive.

[smiling assassin]

Sheeraz was a weight bully hype job. Il be shocked if he does anything of note now he has moved up a weight. He’s been very well managed up to now, let’s see what they do with him now he moves up in weight

[Controversial]

He looks too one dimensional to me, he keeps his guard tight and doesn’t waste energy or punches but judging on his last performance he couldn’t do anything different when he needed it.

[Deserter]

He is huge at the weight

And was able to use that to his advantage for a decent amount of time. He'll lose that advantage moving up so it will be interesting to see how he gets on. Hopefully he carries his power up.

[Coco]

He is huge at the weight

And was able to use that to his advantage for a decent amount of time. He'll lose that advantage moving up so it will be interesting to see how he gets on. Hopefully he carries his power up.

The age old question

[Deserter]

He is huge at the weight

And was able to use that to his advantage for a decent amount of time. He'll lose that advantage moving up so it will be interesting to see how he gets on. Hopefully he carries his power up.

The age old question

Yep, I just think so much of his approach was dependent on being the bigger fighter, so if you strip that away, it's not only the physical reality, it's also the impact it potentially has on him mentally.
I like what I've seen/heard from him, so hope moving up works out for him.

[Jimmy2025]

And was able to use that to his advantage for a decent amount of time. He'll lose that advantage moving up so it will be interesting to see how he gets on. Hopefully he carries his power up.

The age old question

Yep, I just think so much of his approach was dependent on being the bigger fighter, so if you strip that away, it's not only the physical reality, it's also the impact it potentially has on him mentally.
I like what I've seen/heard from him, so hope moving up works out for him.

Nb we have only been getting ceremonial weigh ins in Saudi so we haven't seen what he looks like when he is weighing in for real. Interesting that he officially scaled 159lbs for his most recent fight and his opponent was 158lbs!

Can't make the weight anymore (according to FW) yet comes in 1lb under. His opponent 2lbs under..?

Scales weighing a couple of lbs light?

[lookingaround87]

160 is dead outside of Jhanibek. 168 is more lively with Canelo, Mbilli & Munguia. All of which would tear him to shreds. Put him in with Plant to test the waters. He had his best chance of become champ against Adames. It only gets worse from here on out.

[KiwiRider]

160 is dead outside of Jhanibek. 168 is more lively with Canelo, Mbilli & Munguia. All of which would tear him to shreds. Put him in with Plant to test the waters. He had his best chance of become champ against Adames. It only gets worse from here on out.

Yes that would be a great test. But as another poster has mentioned, there will probably be one or two light touches first unfortunately.
Hurting his hand was a spot of bad luck, I think he would have got it over the line against Adames if it weren't for that.

[black panther]

160 is dead outside of Jhanibek. 168 is more lively with Canelo, Mbilli & Munguia. All of which would tear him to shreds. Put him in with Plant to test the waters. He had his best chance of become champ against Adames. It only gets worse from here on out.

100% Agreed

However...... Tried and tested formula for certain promoters is allegedly get their man to pick up a vacant WBO belt. Defend it numerous times against nobodies for years all whilst clamouring for bigger fights and saying the top names are avoiding them.

Then finally catch a big name at the end of their career or roll the dice after 27 successful "defences".

[black panther]

160 is dead outside of Jhanibek. 168 is more lively with Canelo, Mbilli & Munguia. All of which would tear him to shreds. Put him in with Plant to test the waters. He had his best chance of become champ against Adames. It only gets worse from here on out.

Yes that would be a great test. But as another poster has mentioned, there will probably be one or two light touches first unfortunately.
Hurting his hand was a spot of bad luck, I think he would have got it over the line against Adames if it weren't for that.

Maybe mate. But Hamzah did have a little of the deer in the headlights look about him in the fight especially after he found it harder to connect on Adames due to his head movement.

[KiwiRider]

160 is dead outside of Jhanibek. 168 is more lively with Canelo, Mbilli & Munguia. All of which would tear him to shreds. Put him in with Plant to test the waters. He had his best chance of become champ against Adames. It only gets worse from here on out.

Yes that would be a great test. But as another poster has mentioned, there will probably be one or two light touches first unfortunately.
Hurting his hand was a spot of bad luck, I think he would have got it over the line against Adames if it weren't for that.

Maybe mate. But Hamzah did have a little of the deer in the headlights look about him in the fight especially after he found it harder to connect on Adames due to his head movement.

Sure did
You could see when his hand went, and that changed his whole demeanor.
Due to his advantages in height and next day weight, I don't think he has had to endure much adversity so far. He will from now on in SMW for sure.
Be interesting to see how far he can go. I'm picking domestic and maybe Euro.

[a force]

Maybe it’s a genuine excuse as he’s clearly a big lad for the weight but it doesn’t seem like two minutes ago that the excuse for him struggling against Skeete was him making the 154 limit.

We’ve had a broken hand & now the weight as issues but in his previous fight against Williams he carried his power late & hasn’t shown any obvious signs of a weight drained fighter.

[Taansend]

He was only 22 when he fought Skeete & moved up after that. He'll be 26 in a couple of months.

Tommy Hearns was 22 when he lost to Leonard at Welter, 25 when he lost to Hagler & 28 when he beat Andries for the Light Heavy title. And he was a couple of inches shorter than Sheeraz.

And before anyone starts, I'm not comparing the two talent-wise. Just comparing age & physical growth.

Give Sheeraz time to get used to the bigger weight & see how he goes from there.

[JxhDel.]

He is big for 160, but title-wise, 168 right now is hard...

[gilgamesh]

Good luck to him. The current Super Middleweight division is a lot deeper at the top than the Middleweight division is.

[olij999]

Super-middleweight could be a mere pitstop if he decides to go full Guillermo Jones.

[jtourettes]

160 is dead outside of Jhanibek. 168 is more lively with Canelo, Mbilli & Munguia. All of which would tear him to shreds. Put him in with Plant to test the waters. He had his best chance of become champ against Adames. It only gets worse from here on out.

100% Agreed

However...... Tried and tested formula for certain promoters is allegedly get their man to pick up a vacant WBO belt. Defend it numerous times against nobodies for years all whilst clamouring for bigger fights and saying the top names are avoiding them.

Then finally catch a big name at the end of their career or roll the dice after 27 successful "defences".

Fortunately the Turkhi train doesn’t seem to approve of those kind of antics so fingers crossed he’ll be matched well for his money.


I think the weight is an excuse for that performance. I’ve never been sold on him and not sure he’ll do much at smw.