“He’s easy work,” snapped Edgar Berlanga. “That style from London, that doesn’t work over here. We’re gonna get gritty. I’m gonna take him in the trenches.”
The New Yorker Berlanga has been vocal all week about his Saturday fight with Hamzah Sheeraz, and it is a fight that has captured the imagination.
Sheeraz gets another shot to show he’s the real deal in his first fight at super middleweight, but Berlanga is ready to give the Englishman a frosty reception, both in his hometown and in his weight class.
Sheeraz’s most recent fight was a title shot at 160lbs, and he was fortunate to leave Saudi Arabia with a draw against WBC middleweight titleholder Carlos Adames in February. That bout was not without its controversies, but regardless of what happened that night, Sheeraz felt it was time to allow his 6ft 3ins frame another 8lbs to work with.
The Adames roadblock actually came after Sheeraz had been on a tear. He stopped battle-worn Welshman Liam Williams in a round in London, became the first man to beat and halt Austin “Ammo” Williams and then blitzed the often-tricky Tyler Denny in just two rounds.
Now a Riyadh Season ambassador, Sheeraz goes straight into another big fight with Berlanga, who himself has something to prove.
Berlanga parted ways somewhat acrimoniously with Matchroom earlier in the year and in May posted a picture of himself shaking hands with Turki Alalshikh in Times Square. Eddie Hearn was looking on in the middle, and Berlanga captioned the image: “Cut the middle man out and go directly to the source.”
And here Berlanga is, on an Alalshikh card, but it’s not an easy fight. Sure, Sheeraz may have come up short against Adames, and Berlanga – of course – lost a decision to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez last year – but victory over Sheeraz would probably be the best win of Berlanga’s career to date, the same way that victory over Berlanga would be Sheeraz’s.
Berlanga didn’t go beyond the first round in his first 17 fights, but he started to build experience going the distance with the likes of Steve Rolls and Jason Quigley. He did 12 rounds with Quigley and then garnered his Canelo shot with a sixth-round win over another Irishman, Padraig McCrory.
Berlanga seems to have been in a jovial mood this week. He clowned his way through the public workout, and seems to have been a little preoccupied by his spat with Oscar De La Hoya, taking exception to De La Hoya’s previous comments about Berlanga’s loss to Canelo, De La Hoya’s former promotional charge.
Is Berlanga distracted? Is he as good as he thinks he is? The talk of being a legend before he has won a title is undoubtedly premature.
Plenty have mentioned that Berlanga might not be as focused as he needs to be. Does he think Sheeraz poses a serious threat?
There has been talk of De La Hoya here and “King of New York” there. He has called Sheeraz a giraffe and played the “Jurassic Park” theme tune at him at Thursday’s press conference. He hurled lingerie at De La Hoya and swamped the dais with dollar bills.
“Not even against Canelo did he show this energy,” said Sheeraz. “I feel like this is all pressure on him. It’s my time to come in and take him out.”
All the while, stoic Sheeraz has looked bulletproof in the build-up. We’ve seen Andy Lee, his coach, work wonders with heavyweight Joseph Parker and the one-fight transformation of Ben Whittaker (turning a controversial technical draw with Liam Cameron into a one-sided rout). Added to what Paddy Donovan did to Lewis Crocker earlier in the year – albeit before being disqualified – it is one of the most in-form camps in world boxing.
Conversely, should Sheeraz, coming off the taxing Adames fight, have taken a steadier fight rather than a possible top-10 opponent in his new weight class? He’s still only 26, as gifted and talented as he is, so there should not be any rush. Perhaps his brain trust does not see it as a gamble. There has long been the belief in some quarters that Sheeraz is the goods. Maybe they think he will be a step too far for the New Yorker. The Englishman is the betting favorite, and it would have been interesting to hear what Berlanga thinks of that.
Following the weigh in, Berlanga was a +125 underdog, with Sheeraz -155.
Sheeraz’s composure has been reassuring. Berlanga’s apparent lack of focus is a concern. But, hell, what were we saying before Ryan Garcia fought Devin Haney? And, from a more historic view, what did the writers say when a loudmouth Cassius Clay got in the grill of Sonny Liston? Some fighters love the chaos, and thrive off it.
Despite being a junior middleweight as recently as 2021, Sheeraz towers over Berlanga. And although Berlanga might enjoy moments of success, he might find it difficult to get inside Sheeraz’s rangy bombs to do the work he needs to earn a victory.
I’m not convinced this one goes the distance. Sheeraz has a lot to prove after what happened against Adames, and Berlanga has a lot to prove on the night, in the venue. There might come a point when the fireworks Berlanga promised start to fly. Oddsmakers interestingly have similar prices for each fighter to win by stoppage, indicating they are uncertain who will win if it becomes a shootout. But I favor Sheeraz to remain disciplined and do what he needs to. And if he does, he will be pulling for Canelo to beat Terence Crawford in September, knowing his name will be in the Mexican sweepstakes next.
Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, is on The Ring ratings panel and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.
