Hamzah Sheeraz has issued a challenge to Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.
A 26-year-old fighter, Sheeraz has built a respectable resume rising through the ranks in Britain, before a run in which he defeated Austin Williams, shared a draw with Carlos Adames in a WBC middleweight world title fight, and then rebounded with a fifth-round knockout win over Edgar Berlanga at 168 pounds. He returns to the ring on May 23 to fight for the vacant WBO super middleweight strap against Alem Begis as part of the Pyramids of Giza card that Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven are headlining.
Since Canelo’s loss to Terence Crawford, and ‘Bud’s’ later retirement which freed up the world titles, there are a number of younger fighters coming up who are hungry to claim a belt of their own. Sheeraz is one. But there are others in that company, too, like Diego Pacheco, Christian Mbilli, and Oesleys Iglesias.
And, if Canelo wants to remind the world of his greatness, he should take on one of the younger guard before he retires forever.
“You’ve got these young guns coming through, like myself,” he told The Ring.
“I think it’s time for him to give us the opportunity against him to prove ourselves and take over that number one spot.”
“We’re all gunning for it and, hopefully, I do get an opportunity one day.”
With 68 fights to his name, and world title wins across four weight divisions, Canelo is one of the most decorated fighters still competing in the sport today.
But he has, of late, faced criticisms over a level competition he’s taken on since a run from 2021 to 2022 when he fought Caleb Plant, Dmitrii Bivol, and Gennadiy Golovkin. Since then, he’s refused to fight David Benavidez, and has take on apparent lay-ups like Jaime Munguia, Berlanga, and William Scull, instead.
For Sheeraz, it’s time Canelo returned to taking on live challenges like himself, instead.
