Promoter Eddie Hearn says Hamzah Sheeraz’s best hope for beating super middleweight contender Edgar Berlanga is to drag him into the second half in their clash on July 12th on DAZN PPV.
Sheeraz (21-0-1, 17 KOs) is making his debut at 168 against the slugger Berlanga (23-1, 18 KOs) next month in their 12-round headliner on Turki Alalshikh’s event at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York.
Sheeraz Debut 168 Challenge
“I feel like Hamzah Sheeraz moving up to 168 is really going to help him. Hamzah has a very good ring IQ,” said Eddie Hearn to DAZN Boxing, previewing next month’s super middleweight fight between Edgar Berlanga and Hamzah Sheeraz in Queens, New York.
Moving up to 168 is going to make Sheeraz’s life even more difficult because he no longer will have the size and power advantage that he possessed at 160 against the ham-and-eggers that his promoter had been matching him against in his early days.
“Is it a risky fight for the first fight at 168? Very [for Sheeraz]. Edgar is very heavy-handed, he’s very explosive, and what Edgar does, if he’s confident enough, is throw with you. He’s happy to exchange with you. Hamzah can punch as well,” said Hearn.
Sheeraz’s power might be the only thing that can save him in this fight because if he doesn’t exchange with Berlanga, he’s going to be reduced to meteor dust. This fight has an early knockout written all over it.
“What my worry is, Edgar has quite fast hands in the exchange, and I think Hamzah has got to be quite careful early in the fight, not to just get carried away in the moment and just unravel, lose his shape, and just exchange with Edgar because Edgar has got a lot of power.”
If Hamzah doesn’t exchange with Berlanga early to gain his respect, he’s going to get knocked out right away. Against a big puncher like Edgar, you’ve got no choice because he’s a knockout artist who goes for the kill right away.
Berlanga’s Sky-High Confidence
“I think Edgar’s confidence right now is sky-high. He fought against Canelo Alvarez,” said Hearn. “I thought he could have done a lot more in that fight, but I think he’s also got the confidence to go, ‘I felt the power. I felt the experience.”
The way that Berlanga fought in the late rounds against Canelo, and his first-round knockout win over Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz on March 15th, did a lot for his confidence. Sheeraz has chosen the wrong time for him to be fighting Berlanga.
“You saw in his next fight with an easy opponent [Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz]. I think you’ve got to make Edgar the favorite in that fight, but Hamzah Sheeraz has every shot if he can get the right game plan with [new trainer] Andy Lee, who also trained Jason Quigley, who fought Edgar Belanga a couple of fights ago [in 2023],” said Hearn. “He had success in that fight [Note: Berlanga dropped Quigley four times].
I have no clue what Hearn is talking about here. Quigley had zero success against Berlanga in that fight in 2023. Berlanga dropped Quigley in rounds 3, 5, and twice in round 12. The only thing positive that Jason did in that fight was survive and take a lot of heavy punishment. Other than that, it was all Berlanga.
“So, it’s a great matchup. If you have a pick in New York, with momentum, you probably go with Edgar Berlanga, but Hamzah Sheeraz is very live in that fight,” said Hearn. “Edgar is aggressive early. If you could go out cold and get caught early by Edgar Berlanga, you’re in trouble. For me, once it goes past five or six rounds, Hamzah might become the favorite in that fight.”
Berlanga is dangerous even in the later rounds. He doesn’t lose power as his fights progress. We saw that in his fight against Canelo Alvarez last September, when Edgar landed his best shots in the 12th round, coming alive and looking outstanding at the end. He was fresh and even more dangerous in that round than at the start of the fight.
Hamzah Lacks Elite Experience
“The danger for Hamzah Sheeraz is early exchanges, getting caught cold by a big puncher. Yeah, I think Hamzah lacks experience at that level. In his last fight for the [WBC middleweight] world title, he didn’t really show up [against champion Carlos Adames on February 22nd],” said Hearn. “I know he hurt his hand in the fight. I think 160 must have been killing him as well.”
Hearn doesn’t point out that Hamzah deserved a loss in that fight in Riyadh and was saved by the judging crew, who gave him a 12-round draw. I watched the fight and had it for Adames 11-1. It was a complete mismatch. Sheeraz reminded some fans of Amir Khan with his weak punch resistance and the way he would wilt when pressured.
“Just the experience of fighting against world-class opposition. Hamzah is a composed man, I think if he can put a great performance in, he has a shot,” said Hearn.
It’s not looking good for Sheeraz going up against Berlanga in his first fight at 168 after arguably losing to Carlos Adames last February. Like Hearn points out, Sheeraz’s best hope is to drag Berlanga into the second half of the contest, and then hope that he gasses out enough to get a stoppage. I don’t see it happening, but that’s the only shot I can see for Sheeraz winning.
Last Updated on 06/04/2025
