Eddie Hearn Voices Concern for Hamzah Sheeraz, Predicting a Difficult Super Middleweight Debut Against the Formidable Edgar Berlanga

Eddie Hearn foresees a bad night for Hamzah Sheeraz when he takes on Edgar Berlanga in his debut at super middleweight on July 12th on DAZN PPV in New York City. Hearn, who used to promote Berlanga (23-1, 18 KOs), says he’ll “win” the fight against Sheeraz (21-1-1, 17 KOs).

Berlanga’s Size Advantage

Berlanga’s huge size for a super middleweight and power are why Hearn picks him to defeat Sheeraz. In Berlanga’s loss to unified 168-lb champion Canelo Alvarez on September 14, 2024, he reportedly rehydrated to 193 lbs. He looked massive inside the ring against Alvarez like a cruiserweight. In Edgar’s previous fight against Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz, he looked even bigger.

Sheeraz looked bad in his last fight, being given a controversial 12-round draw against WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames on February 22nd in Riyadh. Many boxing fans thought he deserved to lose.

Hamzah also looked vulnerable in his fight with Austin Williams last year on June 1st in Riyadh. He won the fight by an 11th-round knockout, but was staggered early by Austin. Surprisingly, Turki Alalshikh hasn’t given up on Sheeraz and is putting him in the main event against Berlanga on the July 12th card in New York.

If Sheeraz loses this fight, it’s going to be increasingly more difficult for Turki to keep including him in his career other than on prelims. That’s where he should be fighting at because he’s never beaten anyone good. I don’t consider Austin Williams a good middleweight.

Doubts for Sheeraz

“It’s a good fight for Edgar. I think it’s a bad fight for Hamazah Sheeraz moving up to super middleweight for the first time. Edgar is a big super middleweight and he can really punch, and he’ll win that fight,” said promoter Eddie Hearn to Boxing Social, giving his thoughts on Hamzah Sheeraz moving up from 160 to 168 to fight Edgar Berlanga in his first contest in the division on July 12th in New York City.

“But look, Hamzah is rolling the dice. Shakur against Zepeda, Morrell, Puello against Matias is a really good fight as well. Another great night,” said Hearn.