What to Know
- Super middleweight Hamzah Sheeraz relinquished his WBO belt rather than face Janibek Alimkhanuly. Alimkhanuly and Jacob Bank have been ordered to negotiate a fight for the vacant title.
- The WBA has ordered a trio of mandatory matchups led by Jack Caterall and Teofimo Lopez.
- Who will Vergil Ortiz Jr. face in his anticipated return on the Benavidez vs Cieslak undercard?
During a slowdown in the boxing schedule, boxing news focuses on matchups coming in late 2026 and early 2027, and the matchups falling apart.
Hamzah Sheeraz Drops His Title – What’s Up With This?
After the winning purse bid from Queensberry Promotions secured a title defense between WBO World Super Middleweight champion Hamzah Sheeraz and challenger Zhanibek Alimkhanuly, the fight collapsed when Sheeraz declined the fight and vacated his title.
Sheeraz of Essex, England (24-0-1, 19 KOs) has offered no reason for the decision so far. Criticism poured in because it’s boxing, and it’s a slow news week. However, he was reportedly unhappy with his $751K and change share of the purse bid for the fight.
Alimkhanuly of Kazakhstan (17-0, 12 KOs), who is based in Oxnard, California, is returning after a suspension for a positive drug test. He is moving up a division from middleweight. Alimkhanuly was happy to move forward for his $250K cut.
The WBO has now ordered Alimkhanuly to face Jacob Bank of Denmark (18-0, 11 KOs).Bank won an eight-round shutout decision on the Sheeraz vs Zachenhuber undercard in Jeddah in July and impressed many people who didn’t know much about him.
Why would Sheeraz willingly give up a title, something boxers work toward their entire careers?
First, bear this in mind: Once a champion, always a champion. When a boxer wins a title, that designation stays on their resume forever.
Many pundits believe the title is further legitimized with a defense (or two or more). Then there are degrees of obtaining a title. Being elevated from an interim title (an “email champion”) carries less weight. Winning a vacant title is the next step up in the hierarchy. Taking it off the current champion is the gold standard.
Titles also become currency. Beltholders get more offers and better offers because the belt is a powerful bargaining chip. If a fighter doesn’t have a built-in fan base that puts butts in seats or a massive social media footprint, he or she needs that belt.
Finally, it helps to have a wealthy patron who likes you and who is willing to sponsor your fights. In today’s world, that patron is Turki Alalshikh with his access to the Saudi General Entertainment fund. It’s no secret that Alalshikh is a Hamzah Sheeraz fan. Four of Sheeraz’s last six bouts were Saudi-funded cards with elevated earnings.
When you get used to those big paychecks against overmatched opponents, taking a serious pay cut doesn’t feel good. With due respect to Alem Begic and Simon Zachenhuber, those weren’t difficult fights for Sheeraz.
Sheeraz has one fight left on his contract with Queensberry Promotions. He has stated publicly he intends to become a free agent once his final bout with Queensberry is completed. Sheeraz has proven that he’s interested primarily in the prize part of “prizefighting.” He’s watched his former opponent Edgar Berlanga make the move to Zuffa Boxing after Berlanga lost to Sheeraz for bigger paydays. Don’t be surprised if Sheeraz follows him.
WBA Tells Teofimo Lopez to Hold My Beer
The World Boxing Association (WBA) ordered three mandatory challengers for its champions in the junior bantamweight, welterweight, and super middleweight divisions.
At junior bantamweight, champion David Jimenez of Costa Rica (18-1, 12 KOs) has been ordered to face mandatory challenger John “Scrappy” Ramirez of Los Angeles (14-1, 9 KOs) in a rematch of their 2024 fight, won by Jimenez for Ramirez’ only loss. Jimenez won the interim title in that fight and was elevated when Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez moved up a division.
The popular Coachella Valley native Ramirez is on a four-fight win streak, and there should be no barriers to the Golden Boy Boxing fighter getting a second shot at Jimenez.
His Golden Boy stablemate Bektemir Melikuziev (17-1, 11 KOs) has been designated the mandatory challenger for current super middleweight champion Jaime Munguia of Mexico. Munguia is penciled in to appear on the Canelo Alvarez vs Christian Mbilli card on October 31, but does not have an opponent named yet. Melikuziev is a native of Uzbekistan and part of the large Uzbek stable of fighters in Indio, California training with Joel Diaz. The WBA has given the promoters (Zanfer and TGB for Munguia) 30 days to make a deal, or it will order a purse bid.
The order generating the most talk is the WBA ordering a mandatory defense by welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez Jr. against its regular title holder Jack Catterall of England. Catterall was originally ordered to face Rolly Romero, but Romero was allowed an optional defense against Lopez Jr. When Rolly lost to Teo, the mandatory order was transferred to Lopez Jr.
Lopez Jr. of Brooklyn (23-2, 13 KOs), now based in Las Vegas, either wasn’t aware or was just playing along when he responded that he’d accept Ryan Garcia’s challenge after his victory over Conor Benn. Now Lopez Jr. and his team need to decide whether to make a deal with Catterall, go to purse bid, or drop the belt. The third option isn’t going to happen.
Lopez Jr. and his manager Keith Connolly have 30 days to make the call. They may try to negotiate a step aside deal with Catterall. Given how hard he’s pressed for this fight and the reality that the clock is ticking on the 33-year-old British fighter’s career, it’s not likely. Catterall has also made his feelings plain on social media in the past few days. But we all know money talks.
Catterall (33-2, 14 KOs), 33, a southpaw from England, was on the same page when the idea was broached, posting to social media, “Absolutely fucking no chance.”
The WBA has also sent a letter to David Benavidez Jr. to ask which division he will maintain his titles. He is both the WBC World Light Heavyweight champion and WBA regular title holder, and the unified WBA/WBO cruiserweight champion.
It would be a shocker if Benavidez dropped back down to light heavyweight. Benavidez delivered a powerhouse performance against Gilberto Ramirez in May. Benavidez is looking at a unification fight in December against WBC champion Michal Cieslak.
Ryan Garcia’s Return to the Ring
With an immediate fight with Teofimo Lopez Jr. facing challenges, Garcia may look for another opponent for a “stay busy” fight he wants in December. Depending on who you believe, Garcia has either one or two more fights under his Golden Boy Boxing contract. He would love to knock one out under his obligation to Oscar De La Hoya.
His Golden Boy stablemate Alexis Rocha had a solid win over former world champion Jose Ramirez. Rocha would accept a title challenge without a doubt, and he wouldn’t demand an excessive purse. A name not publicly on the table that makes some sense is Mexican Olympian Raul Curiel.
Curiel missed weight for his anticipated rematch with Rocha, so he won’t be first in line. But he would set up a Mexican vs Mexican-American matchup.
Sandoval vs Collazo Fight Off
The title fight between unified minimumweight champion Oscar Collazo of Puerto Rico (15-0, 12 KOs) and WBC World Light Flyweight champion Ricardo Sandoval of Rialto, California (27-2, 18 KOs), set for the October 10 undercard of Scholfield vs Bahdi in Chicago, has been canceled. Collazo suffered a rib injury during training. Collazo was moving up to challenge Sandoval, who has been out of the ring since July 2025.
Collazo apologized to Ricardo Sandoval and his team and said he hopes both sides can agree on a new date for the fight.
“This is only a change of date, not the end of the road,” said Collazo.
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist with more than four dozen awards for both written and video coverage from the Boxing Writers Association of America, Society of Professional Journalists, and San Diego Press Club, where she is the past president. She is the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the BWAA. She is the Boxing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.
