IF Hamzah Sheeraz is to combat for his first world title on February 22 it is not going to be in opposition to unified middleweight champion Zhanibek Alimkhanuly.
It was revealed right now by new WBO President Gustavo Olivieri that Queensberry Promotions’ George Warren suggested, on behalf of Sheeraz, that the fighter ‘will withdraw the obligatory’ in opposition to the WBO champion. This cancelled right now’s purse bids and the Committee is to reconvene to find out what they are going to do subsequent.
The Kazakh holds the WBO and IBF titles and is now into his second 12 months as a twin titlist. Alimkhanuly was promoted to full WBO champion in August 2022 after Demetrius Andrade didn’t defend his title in opposition to the previous world newbie champion. And in October 2023 he grew to become unified champion beating Vincenzo Gualtieri in six rounds.
Followers had hoped to see Sheeraz sq. off in opposition to Zhanibek. (Getty Photographs)
Sheeraz held the WBO obligatory spot and is presently quantity 4 with the IBF. It’s now anticipated that the 25-year-old will go in a special path. This leaves the robust chance that the WBC primary contender will transfer ahead to problem Carlos Adames for his WBC world title in February.
Adames, 24-1 (18 KOs), grew to become WBC champion when Jermall Charlo was stripped of his title in Could. This promoted the Las Vegas-based Dominican, like Alimkhanuly two years in the past, to full champion standing. The 30-year-old made a profitable first defence of his inexperienced and gold belt with a unanimous resolution win over Terrell Gausha in June on the MGM Grand in Las Vegas as a part of the Gervonta Davis-Frank Martin undercard.
Sheeraz was final out at Wembley Stadium ripping the European title from the fingers of Tyler Denny in simply two rounds in one other dominant efficiency. Final week Sheeraz wrote on social media about his future, “Plenty of rumours about potential fights. I depart all negotiations to my promoter Frank Warren and my advisors in Spencer Brown and Adil Ditta whereas I grind away in camp. One factor I can say is come February I will likely be a world champion In Sha Allah.”
Rumours of one other bumper Riyadh Season card in February proceed to drift round. Fighters linked to that date in Riyadh embody Daniel Dubois, Hamzah Sheeraz, Terence Crawford and Vergil Ortiz Jr.
