Boxing
British star still keen on Canelo showdown despite Terence Crawford loss
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Hamzah Sheeraz is still open to fighting Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez despite his loss to Terence Crawford on Saturday night.
Brit Sheeraz has been linked to a fight with Canelo, with boxing’s matchmaker Turki Alalshikh keen on setting up a contest between the two super middleweights.
Canelo had long ruled as top dog at 168lbs, only to lose his undisputed status to Terence Crawford via unanimous decision in Las Vegas.
Sheeraz, who challenged for the WBC world title at middleweight in February, desires another opportunity to fight for a major belt, but the 26-year-old believes a fight with Canelo could still be on the cards.
Speaking to The Ring , Sheeraz explained: “I could still fight Canelo. I don’t know if he would fight as soon as February, though. Not that it’s that soon, but I think coming off a loss it might be too soon.
“I’d just like a shot at the titles, no matter who’s got them. Crawford has got them at the minute.”
Crawford’s own future is up in the air, with the three-division undisputed champion mentioning a possible drop down to 160lbs, a weight class he skipped to move up to super middleweight for the Canelo contest.
There is speculation that ‘Bud’ may simply choose to vacate his belts without making a defence, just as he did after becoming undisputed at welterweight against Errol Spence Jr .
That could pave the way for Sheeraz to fight for a world title, with the Briton currently the mandatory challenger for the WBC. Christian Mbilli, who drew with Lester Martinez on the undercard of Canelo-Crawford, holds the interim version of the world title, and would likely be upgraded to full champion - and ordered to fight Sheeraz.
“If (Crawford) stays at the weight, I’ll fight him,” Sheeraz continued.
“If he vacates, then I’m mandatory for the WBC, so we’ll see what happens. But I just want a crack at the titles.
“I don’t see him going down, because there are no big fights for him in the lower division, at 160lbs. Even at 154lbs, you can rule that out. I think I’d be one of the bigger fights for him. It all makes sense for him - he’s the king of the sport at the moment.”
Asked if he could see Crawford, who turns 38 in a matter of weeks, retiring, Sheeraz responded: “I wouldn’t blame him at all. But I feel like now he is in a position where I guess it comes down to how content you are as an individual. But if you really wanted to capitalise from a business perspective, this is when you put the pedal to the metal.
“In terms of business, you just crack on and fight the best money fights out there at the moment.”
CRIS ESQUEDA/GOLDEN BOY
The toppling of Canelo at the summit of the super middleweight division represents a massive change in a weight class dominated by the Mexican over the last five years.
If Crawford does decide to leave the division, all four belts would quickly be up for grabs - with Sheeraz predicting the landscape to change drastically.
“Million percent we are seeing the shift of power,” he added.
“If Crawford vacates, all the belts go free again, and it opens up the division massively. Then you get the new crop of fighters winning the titles, unifying.”
Sheeraz was also asked about a fight with Diego Pacheco , another unbeaten fighter ranked highly by the WBC, as well as other sanctioning bodies.
Pacheco’s promoter Eddie Hearn called upon the WBO to order a fight between the pair back in July, labelling them as “the future of the 168lb division".
The Brit cooly replied: “Why not? I think it makes sense for a title or a title defence. But I don’t see him being at the weight for too long, because he is a big lad. So we’ll see what happens.”
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