Hamzah Sheeraz may be the next man up for Canelo Alvarez.
Making his super middleweight debut on Saturday night inside Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York, Sheeraz scored a highlight-reel finish against Edgar Berlanga, putting away ‘The Chosen One’ mere seconds into the fifth round of their main event clash.
The victory made him just the second fighter to defeat Berlanga, and the first to knock him out.
Sheeraz rocked Berlanga with a left hook with 45 seconds to go in the fourth round. Berlanga managed to stay on his feet until a follow-up combination knocked him to the mat. As soon as Berlanga answered the count, Sheeraz continued the onslaught, landing power shots and a handful of hooks that sent Berlanga crashing to the canvas once again.
Berlanga climbed to his feet and survived the fourth round. However, things would come to a crashing halt for the Puerto Rican in the fifth.
Sheeraz came out and immediately connected with a three-punch combination that dropped Berlanga. It was then that referee David Fields decided he had seen enough, calling off the fight 17 seconds into the stanza.
Official Result: Hamzah Sheeraz def. Edgar Berlanga via KO at 0:17 of Round 5.
Immediately following the win, Sheeraz addressed the possibility of facing Canelo next.
“Canelo’s always been a boxing hero of mine, so for mine name to even be mentioned in the same sentence as his, that’s a great achievement,” said Sheeraz. “But if I do get the opportunity to fight him, it won’t be one of those where I try to nick it on points. I will stand in the middle of (the ring) and have it out. Whoever lands first, I suppose they get knocked out.”
