Hamzah Sheeraz will fight Carlos Adames for his WBC middleweight title in Saudi Arabia on February 22nd, 2025.
Salvador Rodriguez has confirmed that #1 WBC Sheeraz (21-0, 17 KOs) will take on the tough, heavy-handed Adames (24-1, 18 KOs) in February.
Sheeraz, 25, chose to pull out of a WBO-ordered fight against IBF and WBO champion Janibek Alimkhanuly. You can read between the lines why Hamzah chose not to take that fight. Adames is the easier option, but still far from a sure thing.
Sheeraz was staggered in the first round of his fight against Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams on June 1st in Riyadh and was lucky that the American didn’t finish him off. If Adames, 30, puts Sheeraz in similar trouble, he’ll end it because he’s experienced. Ammo lacked the ring IQ to knock out Hamzah.
It’s not a shock that Sheeraz’s management has chosen Adames rather than Janibek to fight. At 160, Adames is viewed as the weakest link among the champs. If Sheeraz can become a world champion, he can make a lot of money fighting in the UK or in Riyadh.
It wouldn’t matter that Hamzah wasn’t the best or even the second-best middleweight champion. He would make money hand over fist in the UK and Saudi Arabia, matched against beatable guys like the ones he’s been facing to create his perfect 21-0 record.
Adames has recent wins over these fighters:
– Terrell Gausha
– Julian Williams
– Juan Macias Montiel
– Sergiy Derevyanchenko
That’s a pretty average bunch of fighters, but Adames still beat them. The middleweight division is as weak as water right now. It’s hard to believe how far it’s gone downhill since the days Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin ruled the weight class.
“I am told that, now yes, [Carlos] Adames vs. Hamzah Sheeraz is coming for February 2025 in Saudi Arabia for the middleweight Championship WBC. An announcement is expected very soon,” said Salvador Rodriguez on X.
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