Sheeraz withdraws from Alimkhanuly negotiations, could face Adames in February
The winner of Denzel Bentley vs Brad Pauls will be in line to replace Hamzah Sheeraz in the WBO rankings
WBO president Gustavo Oliveiri announced today that top-ranked middleweight contender Hamzah Sheeraz has withdrawn from his ordered title shot against Janibek Alimkhanuly just before the purse bid.
Per Jake Donovan, Sheeraz (21-0, 17 KO) will “most likely” parlay his number-one spot with the WBC into a February 22nd shot at Carlos Adames (24-1, 18 KO) in Riyadh. It’s not as good a matchup as the Alimkhanuly (16-0, 11 KO) fight, but it’s solid enough. Adames, though he’s struggled to consistently wow in the ring, is still among the best of a top-heavy division.
As others have pointed out, this is a calculated move on Warren’s part. The winner of no. 2 Denzel Bentley vs no. 4 Brad Pauls next month will almost certainly replace Sheeraz as the WBO mandatory, meaning Queensberry can still have one of their own challenge Alimkhanuly while setting the stage for a future three-belt unification fight with Sheeraz if the latter beats “Bronco.”
The IBF has yet to declare a new mandatory after Andrei Mikhailovich fell short, so theoretically the timing would be perfect for Alimkhanuly and Sheeraz to meet in the middle of next year. Fingers crossed.