Hamzah Sheeraz claims that his decision to go in the direction of WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames instead of IBF and WBO champ Janibek Alimkhanuly isn’t because he was ducking him.
Sheerez (21-0, 17 KOs) says he was a mandatory for the WBC belt since his 11th round knockout victory over Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams on June 1st. So, it made sense financially to go in the direction of challenging for the WBC 160-lb belt against champion Carlos Adames rather than Janibek for his two belts.
Adames The Weakest Link?
Boxing fans believe the 25-year-old Hamzah purposely swerved Janibek (16-0, 11 KOs), because he’s considered the #1 fighter in the weight class, whereas Carlos Adames is viewed as the weakest link among the champions. It’s hard not to draw that conclusion because Hamzah could have fought Janibek or WBA champion Erislandy Lara, and those would have both been fights that would have been seen as the underdog.
Janibek would have been a nightmare for Sheeraz, who was hurt in his fight against Ammo Williams. That performance showed that Hamzah is not the fighter that his fans in the UK believe him to be. He’s vulnerable. Hence, going toward the weakest link, Adames is an obvious move to keep Sheerez from being exposed as a hype job, which is how many fans consider him.
Sheeraz Denies Ducking
“It was Frank’s call, and I was #1 mandatory with the WBA after the Ammo Williams fight. I was meant to fight Carlos Adames way back, way before, and he had a fight scheduled. He had to get that over with, and I had to take the Tyler Denny fight just to stay active,” said Hamzah Sheeraz to BoxNation about why he chose to take the fight against WBA middleweight champion Carlos Adames rather than the much more dangerous one against IBF and WBO champ Janibek Alimkhanuly.
“This was always in the equation. We got mandated after for the WBO belt. This was in the works way before I got mandated for [the WBO belt held by Janibek]. It [fighting Adames for his WBC belt] was already going to be done regardless of what happened.
“I’ve been [WBC] mandatory since the Ammo Williams fight [on June 1st, 2024], but it was a final eliminator. Because it wasn’t publicized as much, I think people think it didn’t happen. But that was the deal with that.”
It would have looked better on Sheeraz’s part if he had insisted on fighting Janibek or Lara rather than Adames because it seems so obvious that he’s purposefully choosing a guy that is viewed as a paper champion. If Sheeraz hadn’t been matched against such soft competition during his seven-year career, there wouldn’t be that belief, but he has. He’s been matched in a way that screams fragile hype job.
Janibek Begging For The Fight?
“It’s silly. I don’t think any fighter ducks each other. It all comes down to business,” said Hamzah. “It all comes down to what makes sense financially, and that is the truth. In my case, it was what I was mandated for [to fight for the WBC belt] before I got mandated for anything else. All the haters on Twitter are getting excited.
“It’s just silly. It comes from the position where he’s [Janibek] because he’s got to beg. He’s got to try and force these fights. He’s a great fighter, but he’s not a massive name. So, he’s got to do these things and make himself look a bit silly,” said Sheeraz.
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