Hamzah Sheeraz in line for mega fight after Edgar Berlanga test, Frank Warren predicts
Sheeraz is coming off an unsuccessful first world title challenge against Carlos Adames at middleweight, after he claimed a draw, which many protested he was lucky to get. He has since moved his training camp to Dublin to develop under the sought-after Andy Lee.
Meanwhile, Berlanga made a successful comeback since losing to Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez by knocking out Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz in the first round earlier this year, to set up this grudge match with Sheeraz.
Sheeraz's promoter, Frank Warren, has weighed in on the card and the circumstances surrounding his British fighter's sudden move up to super-middleweight.
Sheeraz, 26, put on an uncharacteristically quiet performance against Adames, and Warren sides with the masses, believing that he 'was fortunate to get the decision'.
But the Hall of Fame Promoter told The Ring that, behind closed doors, his fighter had been struggling with the weight-cut and a hand injury which led to his dampened skills on the night.
This has not affected the Queensberry Boss's confidence in Sheeraz, who will step up to super-middleweight and straight into the ring against a world-title challenger. He said that Sheeraz is a true fighting man, wasting no time in targeting the top of the 168lb division
Warren said to The Ring: 'He's gone straight into the deep end. He's not just fighting a good fighter but fighting him in his backyard. No messing about – [he's] going for it.'
Coming off a lacklustre draw, it would be easy to stack some pressure on Sheeraz to get a win in this fight, or he could find himself in a career purgatory – but Warren doesn't see it this way. He believes the pressure is all on Berlanga.
Warren said: 'I think the pressure is on Berlanga, he's the home fighter, he's got the guy fighting up [in weight]. A lot of people fancy him to win the fight, so the pressure is on him to deliver.'
This fight could have world-title implications for the super-middleweight division as Saudi adviser Turki Alalshikh has offered the winner a shot at Canelo if he comes through his undisputed showdown with Terence Crawford.
Sheeraz's promoter does not want to distract his man by looking too far ahead, but believes it is a good motivator for Sheeraz to put on his best performance to date and dispel any doubt over his pedigree.
The Queensberry founder said: 'He's got to put all that [a potential Canelo fight] in the back of his mind. For the winner of the Berlanga-Hamzah fight, which I believe will be Hamzah, it's a great carrot for him.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
19 minutes ago
- Reuters
Pirates shut out Cardinals for second consecutive game
July 2 - Henry Davis' eighth-inning sacrifice fly scored the game's lone run, lifting the host Pittsburgh Pirates to a 1-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night. The Pirates extended their winning streak to a season-high five games and dealt the Cardinals their second loss in a row following a three-game win streak. St. Louis has been shut out in each of its past four defeats. Before that, the Cardinals had been blanked only three times in their first 80 games. Pittsburgh entered play Tuesday having scored 37 runs over the past four games, but the Pirates were held scoreless for seven innings by Cardinals starter Andre Pallante. The right-hander yielded only one hit -- a fourth-inning single by Andrew McCutchen. Pallante issued two walks and struck out three. The Pirates' offense woke up in the eighth against reliever Phil Maton (1-3). Ke'Bryan Hayes led off with a single to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. Pinch hitter Adam Frazier followed with a bloop ground-rule double that bounced just inside the right field line and out of play, putting runners on second and third. Davis then sent a fly ball to center field, deep enough to drive in the decisive run. Great defensive plays by the Pirates kept the Cardinals from scoring multiple times, including a play at the plate that preserved Pittsburgh's lead in the ninth. With runners on second and third and one out, Victor Scott II hit a grounder to first baseman Spencer Horwitz, who threw on target to the plate to Davis, who then tagged out Jose Fermin. Closer David Bednar then locked up his 12th save by striking out Brendan Donovan. Pirates ace Paul Skenes, Caleb Ferguson, Isaac Mattson (2-0) and Bednar combined for the shutout -- Pittsburgh's ninth of the season. It was the first time the Pirates shut out the Cardinals in back-to-back games since 2012. Skenes pitched five innings, allowing five hits, walking one and striking out five on 88 pitches. Pittsburgh left fielder Tommy Pham threw out Willson Contreras at the plate after a single by Pedro Pages to keep the game scoreless in the fourth inning. Contreras had reached base when he was hit on the left hand by a Skenes fastball. He was removed from the game before the bottom of the fourth. The Pirates won the series opener 7-0 on Monday, their fourth straight win by at least seven runs, the franchise's longest streak since 1925. --Field Level Media
Reuters
20 minutes ago
- Reuters
Red Sox and Reds suspended by rain after three innings
July 2 - Continuing rain in the Boston area suspended Tuesday's game between the Boston Red Sox and visiting Cincinnati Reds in the top of the fourth inning. The Red Sox held a 2-1 lead on the strength of a pair of first-inning runs. The game will resume at 2:30 p.m. ET Wednesday before the regularly scheduled series finale at 7:10. The Red Sox needed just two batters to take the lead against Cincinnati's Brady Singer. Jarren Duran and Roman Anthony cracked back-to-back doubles for the first run. After Anthony moved to third on Abraham Toro's fly ball, Narvaez made it 2-0 with an RBI single through the right side. Boston starter Richard Fitts worked around a leadoff walk to retire the next six Reds he faced before the visitors halved their deficit. Will Benson and Christian Encarnacion-Strand began the third with consecutive singles, then Benson worked his way home on TJ Friedl's sacrifice bunt Matt McLain's RBI groundout. After allowing two runs and three hits in the first, Singer threw two hitless innings and finished with four strikeouts and two walks to show for his three innings of work. Fitts did not allow a hit outside of Cincinnati's run-scoring frame. He posted one strikeout and one walk in three innings. --Field Level Media
The Guardian
26 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Gonzalo García downs Juventus to send Real Madrid to Club World Cup quarters
Kylian Mbappé at last made his debut at this Club World Cup as the competition enters the knockout phase, coming on to face Juventus two weeks and four games after he was hospitalised with a stomach virus that saw him lose five kilos. But while the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami chanted the Frenchman's name, roaring as he made his way to the halfway line, and stood to hand him an ovation when he entered the fray, the excitement overflowing, it was the kid heading in the other direction for whom Rita Hayworth is family but most of them had not heard of a month ago, who had taken Real Madrid into the quarter-final. For all the focus on the most famous names, for all that this month, this experimental event, needs them, every tournament has its revelation: this World Cup has a 21-year-old madrileño. 'I knew this competition was the opportunity of my life,' Gonzalo García said after he again showed that it is one he is determined, and equipped, to take hold of. The Real Madrid academy striker, who had never started a game before arriving in the United States, scored his third goal here with a superb thumping header from a delicious Trent Alexander-Arnold delivery, doing what no one else could over 90 minutes here: beating the Juventus goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio. A family of rugby players, bullfighters, and perhaps the most famous actor there ever was – García's grandfather was Heyworth's cousin – has a footballer too, and he looks like being some player. Good enough, says the Spain Under-17s coach, Hernán Pérez, to be Madrid's striker for a decade to come. With the permission of Mbappé, of course. Xabi Alonso likes him, that's for sure, even if he admitted that he never expected three goals from him, and García has been superb stateside. On a wet but mercifully lightning-free afternoon in Miami where a Madrid team that are progressing well kept hitting a wall, he was decisive once more, setting up a meeting with Borussia Dortmund – hi Jude, hi Jobe – or Monterrey – hi, Sergio Ramos – in the next round. In the end, Madrid deserved it, far the better side, Alonso praising his team's ability to understand 'when to speed up, when to slow down, how to control the game'. That said, it did take a while to gain control and the early moments of illumination came mostly from another kid, Juventus's Kenan Yildiz, who combined often with Andrea Cambiaso and Randal Kolo Muani. The 20-year-old – left footed, small, socks half down, backside low – has been described by Kolo Muani as 'magic' and there were moments he left his mark here. He played a key part in what might have been the opener after six minutes, combining with Kolo Muani on a move that began way back by the Juventus penalty area and reached Madrid's. There, alone before Thibaut Courtois, Kolo Muani scooped over him but fractionally over the bar too. Next a neat turn saw Yildiz's shot deflected wide, there was the time he slipped the ball between Alexander-Arnold's legs, and smart footwork later took him away from the former Liverpool defender and Antonio Rüdiger for Cambiaso to cross. From another Cambiaso delivery, Francisco Conceição headed Juve's second chance at Courtois. Madrid, playing with three central defenders, had control if not a huge amount of incision in those early phases. As the half went on though, openings appeared and increasingly often. In the middle of it all, Fede Valverde, as ever, was everywhere firing off shots. By the time he was withdrawn, exhausted, to applause in the 89th minute, the Uruguayan had racked up seven. 'He makes life easier,' Alonso said. From one of them in the first half, Di Gregorio dived full length to save and the keeper would have a busy afternoon, sticking out a leg when Valverde got deep into the area and pulled back soon after. Next Arda Guler, growing into this in the playmaker role that looks increasingly like becoming his permanent place, lifted over his marker and almost got the ball across. Just before the break, Alexander-Arnold did, but his delivery raced right though the six-yard box. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion The second half began with Jude Bellingham setting up Valverde's volley, which skidded and spun just wide. And although Antonio Rüdiger and Courtois kicked each other as they swiped at a clearance, Alonso's side got on top, soon dominating entirely. Trent fired over, Manuel Locatelli blocked Vinícius Júnior, and Bellingham and Dean Huijsen drew saves from Di Gregorio. Then the goal came, Alexander-Arnold's lovely soft-shoed cross meeting García's leap. Turning his neck, he thudded past Di Gregorio who could not fling up his arms fast enough. Madrid kept coming but the Italian pushed away Valverde's overhead kick and stuck out a leg to stop Guler's shot after Vinícius and Mbappé had opened up Juventus. When he reached Aurélien Tchouaméni's late low drive, it took him into double figures but there was no reward. The one time he was beaten was enough, Madrid's revelation there again.
