When is Edgar Berlanga vs. Hamzah Sheeraz?
Edgar Berlanga vs. Hamzah Sheeraz is on Saturday, July 12.
The main broadcast will begin at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (1 a.m. BST). A preliminary undercard will stream starting at 5 p.m. ET (10 p.m. BST).
What channel is Edgar Berlanga vs. Hamzah Sheeraz on?
Edgar Berlanga vs. Hamzah Sheeraz is a pay-per-view streaming on DAZN. The preliminary undercard is available on DAZN for free.
Where is Edgar Berlanga vs. Hamzah Sheeraz?
The fight is taking place at Louis Armstrong Stadium in the Flushing section of Queens, New York..
Who is Edgar Berlanga?
Berlanga, 23-1 (18 KOs), is a 28-year-old fighter of Puerto Rican heritage who is from the Brooklyn borough of New York City. He is a super middleweight who earned headlines for his run of first-round knockouts – starting his career with 16 straight – before showing signs that he was nearing his ceiling. Berlanga then parlayed his record, background, promotional affiliation, and overall marketability into a fight with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez last September.
Berlanga was dropped in the third round, and seemed to recognize that he was outmatched. Soon after, he opted to coast to a wide unanimous decision defeat. Berlanga returned this past March, wrapping up his Matchroom Boxing contract with an absolute mismatch, taking out the undefeated but washed-up Jonathan Gonzalez in the first round.
Now it’s time for Berlanga to step back up again and show just where he belongs among the other contenders at 168lbs.
Who is Hamzah Sheeraz?
Sheeraz, 21-0-1 (17 KOs), is making his super middleweight debut. The 26-year-old from Ilford, England, kicked off his career as a junior middleweight but has spent the past three years at middleweight.
Sheeraz earned recognition as the top contender without a world title at 160lbs. His first shot came this past February against WBC titleholder Carlos Adames on the undercard of the Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol rematch. Adames performed better than Sheeraz, who disclosed a hand injury afterward. In a fight that many believe should have gone Adames’ way, Sheeraz kept his undefeated record intact with a split draw.
Sheeraz believes he’ll be healthier at super middleweight; his 6-foot-3 frame will definitely appreciate the eight pounds of relief. This fight isn’t just Sheeraz’s first in a new weight class, but his first with new trainer Andy Lee.
As much as Berlanga has been derided both before and after the Canelo fight, he represents a good test for just how much Sheeraz has improved in the months since the disappointing outing against Adames.
What other fights are on the undercard of Edgar Berlanga vs. Hamzah Sheeraz?
This show has been marketed as having two main events. In addition to Berlanga-Sheeraz, the other is a lightweight title fight between Shakur Stevenson and William Zepeda.
Stevenson, 23-0 (11 KOs), earned a silver medal in the 2016 Olympics and went on to become a three-division titleholder in the pros; his other belts were at featherweight and junior lightweight. Stevenson captured the WBC belt at 135lbs with a unanimous decision over Edwin De Los Santos in November 2023. That match and a decision over Artem Harutyunyan in July 2024 were both criticized for not being aesthetically pleasing.
Stevenson was supposed to face Floyd Schofield in February on the Beterbiev-Bivol II undercard. When Schofield pulled out on short notice, the 15-0 Josh Padley stepped in. Stevenson dug to Padley’s body repeatedly for three knockdowns and a ninth-round TKO.
Zepeda, 33-0 (27 KOs), was once the top-ranked lightweight contender in the eyes of all four sanctioning bodies. He opted to go the WBC route, fighting Tevin Farmer twice - the latter for the sanctioning bodies interim 135 lbs belt. Zepeda had lots of trouble against Farmer last November, visiting the canvas in the fourth round, eating plenty of flush counterpunches and barely escaping with a split decision. They met again in March, won by Zepeda via majority decision. He seems more vulnerable than ever, and Stevenson has the ability to make this a difficult night for Zepeda.
Also on the pay-per-view: Alberto Puello, 24-0 (10 KOs), will defend his WBC junior welterweight title against former 140lb beltholder Subriel Matias, 22-2 (22 KOs), who has won two straight since dropping his IBF title to Liam Paro in June 2024. In a light heavyweight bout, David Morrell, 11-1 (9 KOs), is back for the first time since his February decision loss to David Benavidez. Morrell’s opponent is Imam Khataev, 10-0 (9 KOs), who earned bronze in the 2021 Olympics and is taking a big step up in level of opposition.
The full list of undercard fights can be seen on BoxRec.
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.
