Hamzah Sheeraz may have just punched his ticket to face boxing’s biggest star, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.
Making his super middleweight debut, Britain’s Sheeraz stopped Edgar Berlanga in five rounds on Saturday night at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York. In doing so, he became just the second fighter to defeat Puerto Rico’s Berlanga, and the first to beat him by knockout — something “Canelo” couldn’t do when the undisputed champ beat Berlanga this past September.
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Sheeraz (22-0-1, 18 KOs) rocked Berlanga with a left hook with 45 seconds to go in the fourth round, however Berlanga (23-2, 18 KOs) managed to stay on his feet until a three-punch follow-up forced him to the canvas. As soon as Berlanga rose to his feet, Sheeraz continued to unload power punches on him and found more hooks around the guard that knocked Berlanga down again.
Berlanga again climbed to his feet and saw out Round 4. In Round 5, however, another three-punch combination sent Berlanga to the floor again — and this time, referee David Fields saw no need to administer the 10-count.
Boxing financier Turki Alalshikh previously named Sheeraz — an ambassador for Alalshikh’s Riyadh Season efforts — alongside Chris Eubank Jr. as the front-runners to face Alvarez in 2026 after Alvarez’s blockbuster Sept. 13 undisputed title fight with fellow pound-for-pound great Terence Crawford.
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Considering the manner of his victory over Berlanga, the man from Ilford, Essex, can rest assured that he has significantly increased his chances of landing what would be the biggest fight of his career next year.
In the night’s co-feature, Shakur Stevenson retained his WBC lightweight title with a wide unanimous decision victory over William Zepeda.
Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs) has been subject to significant criticism in the past for moving too much and producing unexciting fights, but on Saturday, he changed things up. Stevenson traded with Zepeda (33-1, 27 KOs) and came off landing the more meaningful punches throughout their 12-round fight.
It was the polar opposite of what we’ve seen in previous Stevenson fights. He held his feet, sat down on shots, and consistently hurt his opponent. It was by far the most exciting fight of the three-division champion’s illustrious career.
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Elsewhere on the card, Subriel Matias’ pressure and volume-punching proved to be enough to dethrone Alberto Puello of his WBC super lightweight title after a controversial majority decision went his way.
Matias (23-2, 22 KOs) will now defend his title against the mandatory challenger, Britain’s unbeaten Dalton Smith, on the Nov. 22 undercard of David Benavidez vs. Anthony Yarde in Riyadh, Alalshikh announced in the ring afterward. Because of the controversial decision, Puello (24-1, 10 KOs) will likely face the winner of Smith vs. Matias.
Rounding out the card, David Morrell got off the floor to win a contentious split decision over Imam Khataev in their light heavyweight slugfest.
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Khataev (10-1, 9 KOs) started fast, landing hard shots on Morrell’s chin and overwhelming him with volume. Morrell (12-1, 9 KOs), however, recovered from a fifth-round knockdown to take a clean sweep in the second half of the contest.
Check out full Sheeraz vs. Berlanga results and highlights below, as well as Uncrowned’s play-by-play of the entire main card.
Main card
Super middleweight: Hamzah Sheeraz def. Edgar Berlanga via fifth-round KO | Watch video
WBC super lightweight title: Subriel Matias def. Alberto Puello via majority decision (114-114, 115-113, 115-113)
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Light heavyweight: David Morrell def. Imam Khataev via split decision (94-95, 96-93, 95-94)
Featherweight: Reito Tsutsumi def. Michael Ruiz via second-round TKO
