A clash between two super middleweight contenders has been ordered to fill one of the vacancies left behind by Terence Crawford’s retirement.
Now that Crawford has officially vacated his WBO title, the organization has called upon Diego Pacheco and Hamzah Sheeraz to fight for the belt.
The WBO made the announcement on December 22 and sent a letter to their respective promoters – Pacheco is with Matchroom Boxing while Sheeraz is signed to Queensberry Promotions – dated December 20.
The fighters and their teams have been ordered to negotiate in hopes of reaching an agreement. If they haven’t reached an agreement within 20 days, then the bout will be sent to a purse bid. The minimum bid for Pacheco vs. Sheeraz is $300,000.
The No. 1-ranked fighter in the WBO’s super middleweight rankings is Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Canelo not being part of the WBO’s order suggests his level of availability in competing for the vacant belts that used to belong to him before Crawford seized his undisputed championship in September. Canelo did undergo elbow surgery in October and was already not expected to return to the ring until the second or third quarters of 2026.
In the WBO’s newest rankings update – which was released December 22 and recognizes results through December 15 – No. 2 is Pacheco and No. 3 is Sheeraz. The two traded spots from where they were the previous month.
Pacheco, 25-0 (18 KOs), a 24-year-old American, is coming off a unanimous decision victory earlier this month over another unbeaten contender, the 26-0 Kevin Lele Sadjo. However, it was the third consecutive disappointing performance in 2025 for Pacheco, including wins over Steven Nelson and Trevor McCumby.
Sheeraz, 22-0-1 (18 KOs), is a 26-year-old from England. He also failed to impress in February, when he fought through an injury en route to a controversial draw with middleweight titleholder Carlos Adames. But then Sheeraz made up for that in July, when he moved up to 168lbs and demolished Edgar Berlanga in five rounds.
After Canelo, Pacheco and Sheeraz in the WBO’s rankings are Jacob Bank at No. 4, followed by Alem Begic, Simon Zhachenhuber, Paulinus Ndjolonimu, Callum Simpson, Jaime Munguia, Lester Martinez, Bektemir Melikuziev, Osleys Iglesias, Edgar Berlanga, Bruno Surace and Ali Akhmedov.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
