Terence Crawford Could Buy Time by Fighting Hamzah Sheeraz Next—Before Facing the Dangerous Trio of Mbilli, Iglesias, and Resendiz

Hamzah Sheeraz says he’d like to face Terence Crawford next for his four belts at 168. The unbeaten #2 WBC, #2 WBO-ranked Sheeraz (22-0-1, 18 KOs) states that it would be “an honor” to face Crawford next.

Crawford’s Escape Hatch at 168

Terence could buy himself some time by defending against the flawed, stork-like Sheeraz next, because he’s got three fire-breathing dragons hot on his heels:

• Isleys Iglesias – IBF mandatory
• Christian Mbilli – WBC mandatory
• Jose Armando Resendiz – WBA interim champion

Fighting Sheeraz now would be a winnable fight for Crawford, allowing him to circumvent the above talents temporarily.

Crawford (42-0, 31 KOs) will surely take a year off as usual before he defends his four belts, which makes his job much harder when he fights in 2026. If Crawford sticks to his 12-13 month schedule of fighting only once a year, he’ll be 39 by the time he returns to the ring in September or October next year.

“Who wouldn’t? It would be an honor to share the ring with him, but we’ll see what happens,” said Hamzah Sheeraz to Fight Hub TV when asked if he’d be interested in fighting Terence Crawford for his undisputed 168-lb championship next.

Predictably, Crawford will hold out as long as possible, waiting to see if Canelo Alvarez chooses to take the rematch with him. That’s Bud’s best hope to collect another $50 million. He’s not making that kind of money fighting anyone else, aside from David Benavidez, who he’s already ruled out as an option.

Mount Rushmore Ambitions

If Canelo doesn’t give Crawford the rematch he’s waiting for, Sheeraz is a definite option unless Terence chooses to move down to 160 for ego purposes to try and capture his sixth-division world title. He views that as a path to cement his position among the top four all-time greats on the Mount Rushmore of boxing. It’s a weak, superficial way of weaseling a top spot.

It’s obviously not how the true greats, Sugar Ray Robinson, Henry Armstrmstrong, Muhammad Ali, or Joe Louis would have conducted their careers if they were focused on cementing a spot. They didn’t think that way. They were naturally focused on fighting the best without an ulterior motive.

“I got a call from His Excellency and his team. They’d like for me to fight [Diego] Pacheco in February. I said, ‘No problem. Let’s do it.’ And then a couple of days later, he [Pacheco] announced the fight with [Kevin Lele] Sadjo,” said Sheeraz.

If Sheeraz Is Real, Prove It

Turki Alalshikh should have asked Sheeraz to fight Isleys Iglesias, Christian Mbilli or David Benavidez rather than Diego Pacheco. Those are the real talents, and they would attract a lot of interest.

If Sheeraz as good as Turki thinks, he should have no problems beating those three. However, if he’s a fake, he’ll get blown out of the water by them and shown to be hype job. Some fans already suspect that, after watching his performance against Carlos Adames and noting his inflated resume.

“I’d love that fight,” said Sheeraz when asked if he’d like to face Jaime Munguia next. “He’s been in there with Canelo. It’s similar to Edgar Berlanga in terms of the profile of him.”