There’s a new No. 1 contender in the WBC’s super middleweight rankings: Hamzah Sheeraz.
That’s not a surprise, given that Sheeraz’s five-round destruction of Edgar Berlanga last month was an elimination bout. But the WBC’s latest ratings update, released on August 8, affirmed that Sheeraz, a 26-year-old from Ilford, England, is moving toward the front of the line for a title shot at 168lbs.
Going into their fight, Sheeraz was positioned at No. 6 despite never having fought at super middleweight before, while Berlanga was No. 5 following his one-sided loss to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in September 2024 and an easy win over an unbeaten but shot version of Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz in March.
However, boxing being boxing, there’s actually another fighter ahead of Sheeraz in that line for an opportunity to face the winner of the upcoming fight between undisputed champion Alvarez and Terence Crawford.
That’s because the WBC has an interim titleholder, Christian Mbilli.
In June, Mbilli picked up that interim belt two weeks before Sheeraz-Berlanga, putting away Maciej Sulecki in less than a round and moving to 29-0 (24 KOs).
But the winner of Canelo-Crawford doesn’t necessarily have to face Mbilli next. They could vacate the belt in favor of facing someone else. Or they could seek to hold on to the WBC title by offering Mbilli a step-aside fee. The WBC could also grant the winner a waiver, postponing the mandatory defense in favor of lucrative sanctioning fees for another match.
No matter his position in the rankings, Sheeraz may still be seen as a viable option for the Canelo-Crawford winner, assuming that their September 13 bout isn’t followed by an immediate rematch. Or the WBC could mandate a fight between Mbilli and Sheeraz, be it for Mbilli’s interim belt or, if the Canelo-Crawford winner vacates, for the primary title.
Either way, Sheeraz is awaiting his second chance at a world title. His first chance brought that lone blemish on his record of 22-0-1 (18 KOs). In February, Sheeraz was fortunate to escape with a draw against WBC middleweight titleholder Carlos Adames. Sheeraz subsequently moved up in weight, changed trainers and made that big splash in July against Berlanga.
The fighter Sheeraz replaced at No. 1 was Jermall Charlo, the former junior middleweight and middleweight titleholder who returned May 31 from an 18-month layoff. Charlo’s victory over the unrated Thomas “Cornflake” Lamanna was somehow enough to get him into the No. 2 slot. Charlo subsequently moved up one position higher when Mbilli went from No. 1 to the interim titleholder.
The August rankings now have Charlo at No. 3.
Surprisingly, re-entering the rankings at No. 2 is Jaime Munguia, who had been rated third as of June but was completely out of the rankings in July due to a positive test for a banned performance-enhancing drug, revealed after his May rematch win over Bruno Surace.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
