Hamzah Sheeraz is approaching a pivotal career moment on July 12. His manager, Spencer Brown, believes this upcoming fight could elevate him to the status of a superstar.
Sheeraz is making the move from middleweight to super-middleweight for a showdown against New York native Edgar Berlanga. The bout is scheduled to take place at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York, in less than five weeks. Pressure is mounting on Sheeraz, particularly after a less-than-impressive performance in his previous outing. Four months ago, Sheeraz challenged Carlos Adames for the WBC middleweight world title. Adames largely controlled the contest and was arguably unfortunate that the fight in Riyadh ended in a draw, allowing him to retain his belt.
A convincing victory on July 12 is crucial for Sheeraz to re-establish his credentials for challenging for world titles and could potentially open the door to life-changing fights.
Regarding the matchup with Berlanga, Brown commented, “This is a very difficult challenge for Hamzah. It’s a major fight. Turki Alalshikh has provided him with a truly tough opponent, but if he succeeds, we understand the outcome – he will become a global superstar, facing all the prominent names.”
Prior to the Adames contest, there was considerable speculation about a potential all-British fight against Chris Eubank Jr. Brown confirmed that Sheeraz`s team is still keen on this possibility.
“I believe we want the fight,” Brown stated, “but it depends on whether Chris does. He recently had a tough bout with Conor Benn. Super-middleweight is a more natural weight for him. I think it would be a huge domestic clash.”
Whether Eubank Jr. tunes in to watch on July 12 is uncertain, but Sheeraz understands that a defeat to Berlanga could significantly harm his prospects of ever fighting the 35-year-old.
A potential rematch between Eubank and Benn might materialise later this year, and Brown anticipates updates on this situation shortly.
“I spoke with Conor recently,” Brown added, “and they indicated they are working on it. I believe the rematch clause was activated. It will likely take some time to finalise. Eddie Hearn and the other promoters will get involved, and hopefully, we see that fight again, as the first one was incredible. Ultimately, it also depends on Turki Alalshikh and his plans, as he is overseeing everything. I think progress is being made, and we should have an answer soon.”
