Sheeraz Still Wants Canelo After Vacating WBO Title

Hamzah Sheeraz still has Canelo Alvarez in his sights after walking away from his WBO super middleweight title rather than defend it against Janibek Alimkhanuly.

Sheeraz was in Riyadh on Saturday night when Alvarez beat Christian Mbilli by unanimous decision to reclaim the WBC belt at 168 pounds. According to The Ring's Mike Coppinger, the London fighter told him after the bout that he's focused on landing the Mexican star — not on the mandatory he just passed up. "Why not test myself against the best?" Sheeraz said. "I'm in this game to be the best and to put myself in there with someone like the likes of Canelo. That's stuff you can only dream of."

Sheeraz Vacated Rather Than Face Janibek

The WBO ordered Sheeraz to meet Alimkhanuly, the former unified middleweight champion and dangerous southpaw, but Sheeraz opted to vacate instead. He saw the risk-reward ledger differently for the Kazakh than he does for Alvarez, who ranks No. 1 at super middleweight in The Ring's ratings. Sheeraz sits at No. 9.

Alvarez is expected to return in the first quarter of 2027 and has multiple options ahead of him. Sheeraz believes the fight is close to done. "Every day I'm waking up and training harder and harder," he said. "It's starting to become a reality."

Source: ringmagazine.com