Does Berlanga-Sheeraz deserve top billing over Stevenson-Zepeda?
If the caliber of the fight was judged by the world title at stake and the talent of the champion, then Shakur Stevenson’s July 12 title defense against Mexico’s unbeaten knockout artist William Zepeda would be the main event.
It’s not.
Instead, the super middleweight non-title bout between recent title challengers Edgar Berlanga and Hamzah Sheeraz now stands as the headliner to a card that also includes a bout between WBC junior welterweight titleholder Alberto Puello and former titleholder Subriel Matias, and the return of light heavyweight David Morrell against unbeaten Imam Khataev.
On Monday’s episode of ProBox TV’s “BS Today,” analysts Chris Algieri and Paulie Malignaggi debated the alignment, with former welterweight titleholder Malignaggi initially contending, “You insult [Stevenson] a little bit” with the co-main status.
Stevenson, 23-0 (11 KOs), and top-ranked contender Zepeda, 33-0 (27 KOs) have been negotiating to fight since last year, and after some social media squabbling toward Saudi Arabia’s boxing financier Turki Alalshikh over his earnings, Stevenson agreed to the fight last week.
On Saturday, Alalshikh’s company announced the fuller card, headed by Berlanga, 23-1 (18 KOs), meeting recent Sheeraz, 21-0-1 (17 KOs). Berlanga was defeated by Canelo Alvarez by unanimous decision in September while Sheeraz fought WBC middleweight titleholder Carlos Adames to a disputed draw on February 22 in Saudi Arabia.
Berlanga appeals to New York’s dedicated Puerto Rican boxing crowd, and Matias is also from Puerto Rico.
“Certain ethnicities bring the audience, and with Sheeraz coming up in weight, fighting a big-name guy, I’m not mad about this fight,” Algieri said on the show. “Berlanga in the main event makes sense.”
Malignaggi, who mentioned he’s heard rumbling that the bout may be staged in New York City’s Central Park, said staging the bout on the weekend of New York’s famed Puerto Rican Day Parade in June made more sense for a Berlanga headlining bout.
“Turki has a bias for Sheeraz. We saw that in the corner [when Alalshikh urged Sheeraz on during the late rounds of the Adames bout]. Maybe he’s just trying to push Sheeraz,” Malignaggi said.
But Algieri said with Berlanga and Matias on the card, the two competitive bouts that sandwich Stevenson-Zepeda provide the card with quality depth.
While Algieri argued that “Puello is a tough nut to crack, that Matias can be befuddled by footwork,” Malignaggi countered: “Matias knocks him out, I tell you right now.”
The pair agreed Zepeda’s difficulty in his past two bouts against former junior lightweight titleholder Tevin Farmer has zapped some of the luster from the Stevenson matchup.
“We’ve noticed with Zepeda there may be a ceiling, there’s a bit of kryptonite with a certain kind of [boxing] style,” Malignaggi said. “Since the Farmer fights, Zepeda comes stumbling into the fight. Maybe that’s why it’s not a main event. Shakur may be too good for his own good.”
After talking himself into it, Malignaggi said, “We’re legitimizing Berlanga-Sheeraz as the main event.”
That said, both fighters are somewhat reeling from their recent losses – Berlanga returned for a walkover, first-round knockout victory in March – and each “needs to perform now,” Malignaggi said.
Berlanga is up against the perception he’s been comforted financially by fighting Alvarez while Sheeraz is battling the perception he’s not as good as the hype that accompanied him to the Adames bout. He’s recently switched trainers, joining Andy Lee.
“[Berlanga] touched the brass ring, and he likes it,” Algieri said. “A loss for Berlanga is debilitating. Berlanga loses, and it’s, ‘He’s soft, sleeping in silk sheets.’ [...] The rebuild is tougher.”
Malignaggi said Sheeraz is desperate, too, coming off what he classified as “mentally, a bad performance […] you decided not to have the balls that night.
Debating who should headline is “a worthwhile conversation point. There’s so many question marks, you can’t wait to see this [Berlanga-Sheeraz] fight between two hungry fighters. I’ve convinced myself.”
We'll see how good he is against Morrell who I think is a very good fighter.