Hamzah Sheeraz vs. Edgar Berlanga | DAZN - 12 July 2025

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[Taansend]

Is he wearing a pearl necklace?

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Fight week!!

[golden_labrador]

after his last fight I can't see Sheeraz winning this. hope I'm wrong

[MightyWarrior]

Oh didn’t realise this was up next, pretty intriguing fight, I guess berlanga will be favourite as it’s home territory - unless Turki is bringing in some of his personal favourite ring ambassador judges.

[magnus]

Just realised this is PPV in the UK too.

What with this, Uysk-Dubois and the Itauma card all (DAZN) PPV it's an expensive month or so for boxing fans who don't stream/firestick.

I won't be buying any of them. The decision to make the Moses card PPV is particularly baffling.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Just realised this is PPV in the UK too.

What with this, Uysk-Dubois and the Itauma card all (DAZN) PPV it's an expensive month or so for boxing fans who don't stream/firestick.

I won't be buying any of them. The decision to make the Moses card PPV is particularly baffling.

They doing a similar joint PPV bundle for this and Usyk PPVZ

[Bigdogsnose]

Starting to come around to Sheeraz winning. I think Berlangas not as good as Adames.

Carlos has more to his game than berlanga, sheeraz hopefully learnt a lot.

Sheeraz slight betting favourite now, fairly sure berlanga was odds on when i first saw the odds.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Should have just kept it to himself.

He already said he was gonna do it,

[Ezzard]

Not that excited by this. They have decided that Sheeraz will be a world champ and if he finished on his feet.

Stevenson is drab and uninteresting.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Apparently, we're getting like 4 hours of prelims.

Not sure which fights we're getting.. .

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Sheeraz on what has been the biggest change in his training camp
“Just the sense of calmness, just the sense of surety in the work that I’m doing — the quality of work I’m doing as well, massively different to what I was doing before. Not that it was wrong but I think I’m a lot more tailored and suited to the work I’m doing now under Andy Lee.”

On having a contrasting personality to Berlanga in the build up, who’s been trash talking him a lot
“It’s not hard for me [to keep my cool] because I don’t emotionally get involved in much to be fair. I’m pretty calm and I know as long as that switch comes on fight night he’ll regret what he said.”

On Berlanga believing he’s on another level to him
“If that’s what will get him fired up or if that’s what going to make him believe he’s got a chance of winning Saturday night, so be it.”

On moving up and making weight for this fight
“The cut is not as intense and in one training session I can be on weight, so it’s very refreshing. I think that’s why I’m so at peace, so chilled, because I know I ain’t got to battle with the scales.”

[Rockytony67]

https://x.com/EverythingBoxi2/status/19 ... 6058208276

Does anyone know if the Morrell-Imam Khataev fight is still on? He's under a two-year ban with the International Testing Agency, according to this tweet, although he has boxed in that time, with the news today about Gal Yafai being cheated and taken a beating from a drug cheat, surely Tukki won't allow this fight to go ahead

[Ruthless-RKO]

[Taansend]

https://x.com/EverythingBoxi2/status/19 ... 6058208276

Does anyone know if the Morrell-Imam Khataev fight is still on? He's under a two-year ban with the International Testing Agency, according to this tweet, although he has boxed in that time, with the news today about Gal Yafai being cheated and taken a beating from a drug cheat, surely Tukki won't allow this fight to go ahead

Just watched an interview with Morrell who thinks the fight is still on.

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IMAM KHATAEV'S DELAYED ARRIVAL DOESN'T TROUBLE DAVID MORRELL AMID PED QUESTIONS FROM 2024

NEW YORK — David Morrell Jr. remained unfazed Wednesday when he realized his opponent still hadn’t made it to Manhattan for fight week.

Imam Khataev was in Toronto while Morrell moved around the ring during an open workout to promote “Ring IIII,” a DAZN Pay-Per-View show Saturday night at Louis Armstrong Stadium in nearby Queens. The Ring has learned Kataev’s visa to enter the United States has been approved and he is expected to arrive in Manhattan in time for the final press conference Thursday at Hard Rock New York in Times Square.

The Cuban-born, Miami-based Morrell (11-1, KOs) arrived several days ago to help promote his 10-round light heavyweight fight against Russia’s Kataev (10-0, 9 KOs). He has been confident all along that Khataev’s travel issue would be resolved in time for their fight.

“I don’t know,” Morrell told a group of reporters after he stepped down from the ring. “My team don’t tell me nothing for now. So, I’m ready. I’ve been ready for him. I’m ready for this fight, for him. Whenever he gets here, I don’t care. I’m ready.”

A smiling Morrell made light of the situation by suggesting Khataev’s late arrival is a psychological ploy by the 2021 Olympic bronze medalist.

“It’s OK,” Morrell said. “Maybe it’s the plan for him, for the mind or something. I don’t know what’s happening right now, but it’s OK.”

Morrell didn’t seem concerned, either, about reports that surfaced Wednesday regarding Khataev’s two-year suspension for failing a performance-enhancing drug test in April 2024.

The International Testing Agency confirmed that it suspended Khataev for two years because he tested positive for Clomifene, a banned substance, as part of an out-of-competition exam last year. The ITA conducts tests on behalf of the International Boxing Association.

Khataev, who resides and trains in Sydney, Australia, has boxed professionally four times since he failed that test — once apiece in Perth, Australia, Montreal, Grozny, Russia, and Sydney. That failed test is not expected to impact Khataev’s licensure with the New York State Athletic Commission, the regulatory agency responsible for “Ring III.”

Khataev, 30, and Morrell, 27, have adhered to full Voluntary Anti-Doping Association testing since they agreed to fight on this card. VADA’s involvement has made Morrell confident he’ll encounter a clean fighter on Saturday night.

“I wanna fight,” Morrell said. “I pray to God that everything is [approved]. I wanna fight him. I wanna fight Saturday night.”

Morrell is a 6-1 favorite to defeat Kataev, according to DraftKings, on a stacked card DAZN will distribute in the United States ($59.99; 5 p.m. ET) and the United Kingdom (£24.99; 10 p.m. BST).

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Jim Lampley to commentate Berlanga-Sheeraz card in New York

Jim Lampley is back on commentary for Saturday’s Ring show in New York.

The former HBO commentator Lampley will be calling the shots at the Louis Armstrong tennis stadium in the Flushing Meadow section of Queens when Hamzah Sheeraz moves up to super middleweight to face Edgar Berlanga and WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson takes on William Zepeda.

Lampley, a 2014 International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee, returned to boxing as blow-by-blow announcer for the previous Ring show at Times Square in May, on a bill that saw Ryan Garcia lose to Rolly Romero, Devin Haney win a tepid contest against Jose Ramirez, while Teofimo Lopez defeated Arnold Barboza.

Lampley was a guest on The Joe Rogan Podcast this week, talking about his decorated career in boxing, and he said he hoped to get the call for the September Netflix show in Las Vegas topped by Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford, which heralds the return of his former HBO broadcast colleague Max Kellerman to boxing.

Lampley revealed a recent conversation with his 94-year-old former HBO cohort Larry Merchant to Rogan, talking all things Canelo-Crawford and, comparing the fight to Marvin Hagler-Sugar Ray Leonard, Merchant told Lampley that Crawford could win.

“Same equation; get in, get out, get in, get out. Over and over and over,” said Lampley.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Reborn under Andy Lee, Hamzah Sheeraz is ready to take on America

When you have your promoter and arguably the most powerful man in boxing come to your corner and shout at you during a fight, you know things aren't going well.

Hamzah Sheeraz was largely expected to get past Carlos Adames in February and win the WBC middleweight title. He had been touted as Britain's next big star and one of the jewels in the crown of allegedly's stable.

But, as the fight progressed, it was clear Sheeraz was struggling. So much so, he had Warren and Turki Alalshikh barking instructions at him in late in the fight.

"I ran round to the corner and said, 'listen, you don't win these next three rounds, you've lost it,'" Warren recalled to media ahead of Sheeraz's return to the ring on Saturday.

It ended in a draw. No belt, no crowning moment.

It was later revealed that Sheeraz sustained a broken hand in the fight and was seriously struggling to make the 160-pound weight limit before it. Regardless, wholesale changes followed.

A timely move up to super middleweight, where he takes on Edgar Berlanga in New York this week [4 a.m. Sunday BST] was the first step. He also changed his team, relocating to Ireland to train with Andy Lee, arguably the best in the business right now.

Whether the draw with Adames was a wake-up call or just a bad night at the office, Sheeraz is back this weekend and looking to make a statement; out to prove he is still Britain's next big star by announcing himself in America.

"You couldn't ask for a better fight to kind of come out to the U.S fans for, do you know what I mean?" Sheeraz told media ahead of the Ring III card at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

"You couldn't ask for a better fight and someone who's got a loud mouth talks a lot of smack. It just brings a lot more attention to the fight as well. So, all I've got to do is go in there, perform and it makes my job easier."

Before the Adames fight, Sheeraz had passed every test with flying colours and had a 15-fight knockout streak behind him.

His talent is obvious.

The link-up with Lee is about taking him to the next level, as well as a change of scenery. The 26-year-old says the move to Dublin, a far cry from his previous base of Los Angeles, has been "amazing."

"It's been brilliant, it's been refreshing, refreshing because I was over in LA for about four or five years and things started to get very repetitive," Sheeraz explains. "Once things start being repetitive, you can fall into bad habits and bad rhythms and yeah, the change of scenery and Dublin itself, it's been amazing.

"Normally, when you go to new coaches, some things feel forced, certain conversations feel forced. He's a very, very, very sure and confident man because, you know what he's done, he has been there and done it."

Lee's track record as a coach, as well as his success as a world champion boxer himself, speaks for itself.

He has turned the career of heavyweight Joseph Parker around and, more recently, linked up with Ben Whittaker after his first fight against Liam Cameron ended in a controversial draw.

After a few weeks working with Lee, Whittaker won the rematch with a clinical Round 2 knockout.

Just as Whittaker did, Sheeraz came across a moment when he needed to switch things up, and Berlanga will prove an excellent test on his return.

"You find out things about yourself that you need to change or you need to calm down or you need to improve to be a genuine contender at world level," he says.

"So hopefully come [the fight] I'll put in the performance of my career and I can look back at that fight as a blessing in disguise."

Warren will want a less eventful night for himself, but knows how big the challenge will be in New York.

"He's gone straight in the deep end. It's a tough fight," Warren says.

"He's in with Berlanga who fancies himself. He's an on top, bully type of fighter, [Sheeraz] is in his back yard. He has to go out here, be the boss, and put him in his place and I think he can do that."

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[Controversial]

I have a feeling Berlanga stops him

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[golden_labrador]

I have a feeling Berlanga stops him

me too. Sheeraz must be feeling the pressure too as he's got the absolute top dogs in boxing right behind him, expecting, planning his run to glory. but he might not actually be good enough on the world stage. hope I'm wrong though

[Controversial]

I have a feeling Berlanga stops him

me too. Sheeraz must be feeling the pressure too as he's got the absolute top dogs in boxing right behind him, expecting, planning his run to glory. but he might not actually be good enough on the world stage. hope I'm wrong though

Yeah I hope he wins but he looked very one dimensional against Adames and couldn’t seem to adjust to fighting another way.