Hamzah Sheeraz is no longer a world champion. The Brit vacated his WBO super middleweight title on Friday after officially withdrawing from his ordered fight with Janibek Alimkhanuly.
The WBO ordered Sheeraz to face the former unified middleweight champion Alimkhanuly in August, and after the pair couldn’t agree to terms, purse bids were set.
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Queensberry Promotions ultimately won the purse bids, bidding $1,001,809. The split would’ve entitled Sheeraz to $751,356.75 for the fight, but that ultimately wasn’t enough to entice him to proceed.
Alimkhanuly may now be ordered to face the division’s next highest-rated contender, Diego Pacheco. Pacheco, however, is planning a Nov. 14 fight that would air on TNT and thus he may be declared unavailable.
Sheeraz has been earning seven-figure purses on Riyadh Season and Ring Magazine shows and thus wasn’t satisfied with his purse to face Alimkhanuly.
Sheeraz won his title with a second-round knockout of Alem Begic. He was last in action in July, winning a majority decision over Simon Zachenhuber.
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With just one fight left on his Queensberry deal, and it being Queensberry who won the bids, Sheeraz may be looking elsewhere for his next promotional deal.
“[Zuffa Boxing is] definitely an avenue I’ll explore,” Sheeraz told Uncrowned in August of his impending free agency. “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.”
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