Hamzah Sheeraz isn’t paying much attention to criticism surrounding his latest title defense against Simon Zachenhuber. The newly crowned WBO super middleweight champion believes staying active is more important than trying to satisfy every opinion. If he defeats Zachenhuber on Saturday in Jeddah, Sheeraz believes a unification bout or a mandatory defense against Jacob Bank will follow.
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Critics have questioned the selection of Zachenhuber, viewing him as the second consecutive soft opponent of Sheeraz’s title reign following his victory over little-known Alem Begic in May.
“When I took the Berlanga fight, it was, ‘It’s too much too soon.’ Now I’ve got the opportunity to stay busy and stay active, it’s like they want you to take continuous back-to-back 50/50s or hard fights. Which I don’t mind, to be fair. I don’t mind. Listen, my world title fight was meant to be against Diego Pacheco, and I’ve said it so many times. He didn’t want it. So you fight the next in line and I fought the next in line,” said Sheeraz to Ring Magazine.
“I’m sure after this there’ll be a big one. I’ll hopefully get a unification, God willing I win, or my mandatory Jacob Bank will be ordered, and that’s a good fight as well. As long as I keep winning, these big fights. I’m due to have a big one.”
A mandatory defense against Bank would likely draw criticism similar to the reaction that followed Sheeraz’s title victory over Begic. Some fans view Bank as another favorable challenger, even though a mandatory defense would satisfy the WBO’s requirements before Sheeraz pursues one of the division’s other titleholders.
Sheeraz’s priority remains Zachenhuber. A victory would move him one step closer to the larger fights he believes are waiting later this year.
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Last Updated on 2026/07/23 at 1:22 PM
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