“I’m open to a rematch. If he wants a rematch at 160 or 168, I will always be ready to give him that rematch because he knows, and his team knows that after everything, I beat him. I clearly won that first fight,” said Adames to InsideRingShow.
Adames (25-1-1, 18 KOs) has held that position since the February 2025 bout in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where many fans felt he did enough to win despite the contest ending in a 12-round split draw. The result created debate immediately, but the two fighters never returned to settle it in the ring.
Instead of going straight into a second fight with Adames, Sheeraz moved on to headline a New York card in July 2025 against Edgar Berlanga. He now appears set for another major opportunity, with a fight for the vacant WBO super middleweight title against Alem Begic on May 23 in Egypt as part of the Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven undercard.
Adames, meanwhile, sounds like a man who still wants the chance to remove all doubt. He is willing to give Sheeraz another shot, but he is also making it known that, in his view, the first meeting was already settled.
For a fighter whose biggest career hurdle ended in a stalemate many thought he lost, Sheeraz’s climb has been remarkably smooth.
While Sheeraz got the stoppage last July against Edgar Berlanga, many saw it as a matchup designed to make him look like a world-beater against a guy who has been living off the momentum of his early-career KO streak for years.
Now Sheeraz is jumping into a fight for a vacant WBO title against Alem Begic. Taking nothing away from Begic’s undefeated record, he’s 38 years old and largely unknown to the wider boxing world. It’s the textbook definition of opportunistic matchmaking to grab a belt in a second division.
Placing him on the Usyk-Verhoeven card on May 23 gives him massive global visibility, further cementing the narrative that he’s an elite star before he’s actually cleared his most difficult hurdle.
Adames, meanwhile, continues to be the most avoided man in and around the middleweight division. He did his part by returning to the ring in March 2026 and putting on a clinical performance against Austin “Ammo” Williams in Orlando. He proved he’s still the top dog at 160, yet he’s the one having to beg for the big-name fights.
If Sheeraz picks up the WBO title at 168 on May 23, he’ll have even less incentive to look backward. He’ll have a belt, a new weight class, and the promotional backing to keep moving toward massive paydays like a potential Canelo clash.
Adames is left in a tough position. He’s a high-risk, low-reward opponent for the golden boys like Sheeraz. He’s forced to watch fighters with thinner resumes leapfrog him for titles and high-paying undercards.
The injury excuse from their fight in 2025 has effectively been used as a shield to avoid the immediate sequel. It’s a boxing story of the protected talent vs. the dangerous champion.
Adames has every right to be vocal, but in an era where titles are often collected through strategic matchmaking rather than clearing out the division, a return to the ring with Sheeraz seems like a dream that’s drifting further away.
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