Sheeraz Dumps WBO Super Middleweight Belt Rather Than Face Janibek
Hamzah Sheeraz vacated his WBO super middleweight title days after Queensberry won the purse bid for a mandatory defense against Janibek Alimkhanuly.
Hamzah Sheeraz has vacated his WBO super middleweight title rather than defend it against mandatory challenger Janibek Alimkhanuly, per the WBO and reporting from Bad Left Hook and Boxing News 24.
The move came just two days after Queensberry Promotions won a purse bid for the fight with a $1,001,809 offer, narrowly beating Top Rank's $820,000 bid. Sheeraz and his team informed the WBO of their decision shortly after, and the sanctioning body made it official on Thursday.
Sheeraz, who holds a 24-0-1 record with 19 knockouts, won the belt by beating previously undefeated William Scull. But facing Janibek, a former middleweight titleholder known for surgical accuracy and dangerous southpaw power, was apparently a different proposition entirely.
The modest purse bid figures suggest limited commercial appeal for the matchup, but that hardly explains walking away from a world title. Boxing News 24 framed the decision bluntly: Sheeraz chose financial security and easier opponents over a genuine threat.
Edgar Berlanga did not hold back in his reaction. "This dude talking about money, that's why he vacated the belt," Berlanga said. "But in reality, that's all he's worth."
The WBO Championship Committee is expected to issue its ruling on the division on September 21. Sheeraz may now pursue domestic matchups, with Chris Eubank Jr. mentioned as a potential opponent. Janibek, meanwhile, gets his title shot one way or another.
Sheeraz vacating a world title two days after the purse bid rather than fight Janibek is a bad look, and no amount of talk about money fixes it. Twenty-four and oh with 19 knockouts, a belt you won off an undefeated guy, and you hand it back because the mandatory is a surgical southpaw with power. That is not a business decision. That is picking your spots.
To be fair, the purse bid numbers were modest. A million dollars total for a world title fight tells you the market was not there. But champions defend belts, and if the money was the problem, the answer was negotiate, not walk. Berlanga's line about that being all he is worth was harsh and it landed.
Janibek wins here no matter what. He gets his shot at a vacant belt, likely against Pacheco or Bank, and Sheeraz goes off to chase Eubank Jr. and domestic paydays. One guy wanted the fight. Only one of them is going to get a title out of it.
