Journalist Thomas Hauser reveals that Hamzah Sheeraz’s performance in his 12-round split draw against WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames last Saturday night in Riyadh “upset a lot of plans” for him to face unified 168-lb champ Canelo Alvarez in September 2026.
After the fight, Hamzah’s promoter said he’d suffered a hand injury, which he felt may have contributed to his off-performance. However, Adames was dominating from the opening seconds of the first round.
Hype Exposed
Sheerez’s management had chosen Adames (24-1-1, 18 KOs), who many boxing fans saw as the weakest link among the three champions at 160. However, he looked afraid from the get-go. There are no other champions that Sheeraz can be matched against for him to win a title to validate him in the eyes of the public and create interest for a fight with Canelo in September 2026. Sheerez looks like a textbook example of a hype job.
Adames dominated the rail-thin 6’3″ Hamzah, outworking him and seemingly winning a one-sided fight. However, the judges scored it as a draw, saving Sheerez (21-0-1, 17 KOs) from what many fans saw as a loss.
The scores
– 115-114: Sheerez
– 118-110: Adames
– 114-114
Because of the one-sided nature of the Adames-Sheeraz fight, it would be a mistake for Hamzah’s promoter to set up a rematch because he’ll likely lose. I had the champion, Adames, winning 10-2 in a completely one-sided fight. You could tell from watching the contest that Sheeraz would never beat this guy, no matter how many times they fought. He’s not at that level talent-wise.
“I was disappointed with the way Sheeraz fought, and it upset a lot of plans. As I understand it, the idea was Canelo, who has a four-fight deal with the Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority, is supposed to fight [IBF 168-lb champion] William Scull this May and then Terence Crawford in September,” said Thomas Hauser to Secondsout, talking about Hamzah Sheeraz’s very controversial 12 round draw against WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames last Saturday night upsetting plans for a fight between Sheeraz and Canelo Alvarez in 2026.
“Then in Cinco de Mayo weekend in 2026, it’s likely that he [Canelo] will fight the winner of [Conor] Benn and [Chris] Eubank Jr. And then if everything goes as plans, he’d have a big fight on Mexican Independence Day in 2026 against Sheeraz.
“I would assume that Turki, who is a big Sheeraz fan, would hope that Canelo would be older by then and Sheeraz will be better. Sheeraz just didn’t fight well [against Adames]. Maybe his hand was broken. I don’t know if it was or not. There have been fighters that have fought with broken hands. He did not look good. He looked intimidated.
Early Warning Signs
It’s probably not a good idea for Sheeraz’s management to set up a rematch between him and Adames because the chances are high that he’ll have the same problems. Adames is too talented for Sheerez, who was exposed as not what fans had thought. The warming signs were already there that Hamzah was a hype job when he was hurt last June by fringe contender Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams.
If Ammo had any talent, he’d have finished Sheeraz off, as he was out on his feet in the early rounds of that fight. After that match, Hamzah’s management fed him a weak British-level fighter, Tyler Denny, who looked good against this low-level fighter. It was just camouflage to cover up Sheeraz ‘s vulnerability.
“This was somebody a lot of people had been led to believe, ‘This guy is a beast. He is really good. This is the real thing, and he didn’t look like it against Adames, who was a step-up fight for both men. Adames stepped up, and Sheeraz didn’t. We’ll see if he regroups and comes back strong in the future,” said Hauser.
Last Updated on 02/24/2025
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