Hamzah Sheeraz is on the verge of entering the most exciting chapter of his professional career — free agency.
Sheeraz, the WBO super middleweight champion, confirmed Tuesday on Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show” that he has one fight left on his existing deal with career-long promoter Frank Warren’s Queensberry.
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“I’ve got one fight left with [Queensberry],” Sheeraz confirmed. “We’ve had a great relationship, and we’ll see what happens. We’ll see what the options are.”
Sheeraz told Uncrowned that he will look to enter free agency after completing the final fight of his Queensberry deal and find out what the best promotional opportunity is for the next chapter in his career.
“For sure [I want to explore my options and see what else is out there],” Sheeraz said. “I mean, why not? Ultimately, I want to do what’s best for my career, what’s best for me, what I feel is best for me. That could mean staying with Queensberry.”
The Brit is an ambassador for Riyadh Season and has had a good relationship with Turki Alalshikh since the Saudi Arabian fight financier entered the sport almost three years ago. In fact, Sheeraz’s past six bouts with Queensberry have taken place on Alalshikh-funded cards.
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Zuffa Boxing is a joint venture between Saudi Arabia’s Sela and TKO Group, which has led some to speculate that Sheeraz could be the latest Brit to defect to Zuffa. Sheeraz did not rule out the possibility.
“[Zuffa Boxing is] definitely an avenue I’ll explore,” Sheeraz said. “I can’t say that I’ll 100% go with them because, like I said, I’m still in contract with Queensberry and I could still end up being with them. If and when I am [a free agent], [Zuffa is] definitely an option I’ll explore.”
Sheeraz and Zuffa Boxing already have one thing in common: a disillusionment with boxing’s sanctioning bodies — or in Sheeraz’s case, one sanctioning body: the WBO.
Recently, Sheeraz was ordered by the WBO to defend his super middleweight title against Janibek Alimkhanuly, the ex-unified middleweight king. Just this past December, Alimkhanuly tested positive for a banned substance and was subsequently issued a one-year ban by the sanctioning body.
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Fast-forward just nine months, and the WBO has already named Alimkhanuly as the mandatory challenger for Sheeraz’s title. Sheeraz — and boxing fans around the world — have been left dumbfounded by the ruling.
“I think it’s a joke,” Sheeraz reacted. “I think what the WBO have done here is disgraceful to the sport of boxing. What they’re essentially doing is rewarding someone who has [tested positive], so to me, it doesn’t make sense.
“On top of all of that, not just rewarding him for being popped, but [doing so] while he’s banned, while he’s still serving a ban. It does not make sense. … I just think it’s bad for the sport of boxing, giving these guys the platforms and almost saying, ‘Yeah, don’t worry, it’s OK. We’ll just crack on as normal and act like nothing’s happened.'”
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Boxing has an unfortunate history of rewarding fighters who have tested positive for banned substances with big fights. Most recently, Ryan Garcia was still serving his one-year ban for ostarine when it was announced that he would challenge Rolando “Rolly” Romero for the WBA welterweight title in 2025.
Hamzah Sheeraz is not happy with the sanctioning body he represents as champion.
(Richard Pelham via Getty Images)
Sheeraz is understandably frustrated Alimkhanuly has been rewarded with a shot at his WBO belt, and hinted it could be a result of Alimkhanuly’s promoter, Top Rank, and their well-documented favorable standing with the WBO.
“What the WBO have done here — to me, it’s corrupt,” Sheeraz continued. “And I’ll say it as it is, I feel like it’s all based off relationships. These moves being made are all based off personal relationships or whatever it may be because it’s come out of nowhere and is extremely not right for the sport of boxing.
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“The WBO doing what they’ve done with me just goes to prove [Zuffa Boxing’s] point [about the sanctioning bodies].”
Sheeraz broke his left hand in his most recent fight with Simon Zachenhuber in July. He has undergone surgery and is hoping to recover from the procedure in time for a ring return at the end of 2026. Whether that comes against Alimkhanuly, though, remains to be seen.
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