Hamzah Sheeraz was initially supposed to face Diego Pacheco for the vacant WBO world title, but has since been presented with a vastly different assignment at 168lbs.
The four major super-middleweight belts became vacant towards the end of last year, immediately after Terence Crawford announced his retirement as a three-division undisputed champion.
Since then, both Christian Mbilli and Jose Armando Resendiz have been elevated from ‘interim’ to full champion by the WBC and WBA, respectively, while the IBF and WBO titles remain up for grabs.
As the WBO’s two leading contenders, it was widely expected that Sheeraz and Pacheco would square off for the vacant belt later this year.
Pacheco, however, has since ruled himself out of the contest, meaning that Sheeraz will now face a different unbeaten opponent in May.
The 26-year-old comes off a fifth-round stoppage victory over Edgar Berlanga in July, which followed his unsuccessful title challenge against Carlos Adames earlier last year.
And while many felt that Sheeraz was fortunate to escape with a draw against Adames, the WBC middleweight champion, he now seems a far more rejuvenated contender after moving up in weight.
Instead of colliding with Pacheco, though, the Ilford man has been presented with a WBO title opportunity against Alem Begic, a 38-year-old German who is yet to prove himself at world level.
Speaking with Ring Magazine, Sheeraz’s promoter, Frank Warren, has explained his version of the story.
“Pacheco obviously didn’t want it – he didn’t fancy it – so we’ve got the German, Begic. That’s a real good fight for him [Sheeraz]. For me, it’s a very winnable fight. He wins that, he gets his title, we’ve delivered and then on to bigger and better things.
“I chose to go there [the WBO route] because I fancy the Pacheco fight. I looked at the box office, the American-based box office. It had Matchroom, it had us [Queensberry]. It had all the things that make it work. I was surprised [the fights didn’t get made].”
Pacheco would have almost certainly made for a more intriguing fight against Sheeraz, who many believe has landed himself an straightforward night’s work with Begic.
