Hamzah Sheeraz blasts through Berlanga, sets sights on Canelo

Hamzah Sheeraz has taken a massive step towards the biggest fight of his career, a potential 2026 clash with boxing superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.

Fighting for the first time at super middleweight, the British boxer stunned fans on Saturday night by stopping Edgar Berlanga in just five rounds at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York.

Sheeraz’s dominant performance made him the first man to knock out Berlanga, something even Canelo couldn’t manage when he beat the Puerto Rican fighter last year.

ABSOLUTELY BRUTAL 😳

All the angles of @sheeraz_hamzah’s fifth round stoppage of Edgar Berlanga 👀#BerlangaSheeraz x #StevensonZepeda | @ringmagazine pic.twitter.com/bxPrEp0bbx

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) July 13, 2025

Sheeraz (22-0-1, 18 KOs) shook Berlanga (23-2, 18 KOs) late in Round 4 with a heavy left hook, then dropped him with a follow-up flurry.

Though Berlanga got back up, Sheeraz didn’t let him off the hook, knocking him down again before the end of the round.

In the fifth, another clean combination sent Berlanga to the canvas for a third time  and this time, the referee waved it off without a count.

Read More: Fresh legal trouble for Jon “Bones” Jones as new charges surface

The win puts Sheeraz in prime position for a mega-fight.

Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh previously named Sheeraz and Chris Eubank Jr. as top contenders to face Canelo after his September 2025 undisputed fight with Terence Crawford.

With Saturday’s impressive knockout, the 25-year-old from Ilford, Essex has strengthened his case.

Sheeraz’s power, accuracy, and relentless pressure were on full display, showing he belongs among boxing’s elite.

If the Canelo fight is made in 2026, it would mark the biggest moment in Sheeraz’s career and a chance to write his name into boxing history.

In other news, former UFC champion Jon Jones is once again in legal trouble, as new charges have been filed against him in connection with an alleged hit and run incident that took place in Albuquerque earlier this year.

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The case stems from an hit and run incident on 21 February 2025, where Jones was accused of leaving the scene of a crash involving a damaged vehicle and a partially clothed woman who claimed he had been driving while intoxicated.