Sheeraz speaks on Canelo fight.
On Saturday, appearing in the co-main event to Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven, Hamzah Sheeraz smooshed undefeated German challenger Alem Begic in two rounds to become the new WBO super-middleweight champion of the world.
In doing so, he fulfilled the expectation placed upon him from the very start of his career, becoming the newest world champion from Britain and the first British 168-pound champion since Billy Joe Saunders.
With plenty of talented contenders in the division, Sheeraz has a number of options when it comes to who he’ll face in his next fight. However, one foe specifically proves to be of particular interest.
Mexican superstar Canelo Álvarez was a long-time titleholder at super-middleweight before losing his undisputed crown in September to Terence Crawford. He is set to return almost exactly a year later against Christian Mbilli, who picked up the WBC title that Crawford vacated upon his retirement.
Should Canelo (who was ringside for Sheeraz’s title win) get through that assignment, a unification with Sheeraz would be massive, and the Briton has now revealed his thoughts on that showdown in a new interview with Boxing King Media.
Speaking of a post-fight interaction with Turki Alalshikh, Sheeraz stated, “What he said after the fight when I went ringside to him, he goes, ‘Listen, Canelo’s there.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.’ But the fact of the matter is, it’s up to Canelo if he wants to take the fight.
“There’s nothing he hasn’t seen in the sport of boxin’, so I’m not gonna sit here and say, ‘Oh, I pose this for it. I pose that for it.’ It’s just…if I do get the opportunity, just know I’ll be makin’ the most of it.”
When it came to his immediate fight plans, Sheeraz said he would like to fight in Manchester in his next appearance.
Whoever that shall be against, they will certainly be up against it.
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