There was a point where Hamzah Sheeraz had three different title fight options from which to choose.
The latest ruling pushes that choice closer to one.
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman confirmed that the ordered super middleweight title fight between Sheeraz and Christian Mbilli is no longer in play. The matter was due to appear before a purse bid hearing due to lack of movement in the negotiation process. It is now scrubbed from the calendar altogether.
“The WBC hereby cancels the ruling of the order Mbilli vs Sheeraz,” Sulaiman announced on Tuesday. “Consequently, the purse bid scheduled for [Wednesday] is cancelled.”
Mbilli, 29-0-1 (24 KOs) – a Cameroonian Frenchman based in Montreal – is still the sanctioning body’s interim 168lbs titlist and first in line for a shot at the full version of the belt.
It is believed that the WBC will move forward with a rematch between Mbilli and Guatemala’s Lester Martinez, 19-0-1 (16 KOs). The two fought to a draw in their terrific 10-round action fight last September 13 at Allegiant Stadium, home to the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders.
Fittingly, the bout served in supporting capacity to Terence Crawford’s historic win over undisputed 168lbs champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Crawford opted to call it a career just three months later, thereby parting ways with all of the titles he collected that night.
The WBC belt was already up for grabs prior to Crawford’s decision. The sanctioning body confirmed during its annual convention late last November that the unbeaten five-division champ was relieved of his reign for failure to honor the sanctioning fee agreement.
At the time, it was decided that Mbilli and Sheeraz would be first in line to fill the void, with Martinez on deck to face the winner.
Sheeraz was also called upon by the WBO to next face Diego Pacheco, 25-0 (18 KOs) for its vacant 168lbs title. A third avenue was provided to face Osleys Iglesias, 14-0 (13 KOs) for the IBF belt.
The latter option was immediately dismissed, as Sheeraz’s team declined the IBF invitation to enter negotiations with the Cuban knockout artist.
Spencer Brown, Sheeraz’s manager, teased the possibility of the Mbilli fight for the WBC title as very much on the table. However, the claim turned out to be a red herring, as the clear play all along seemed to be for the WBO belt.
The timing of an ordered Mbilli-Martinez rematch comes as the first meeting was voted as the sanctioning body’s best fight of 2025. It resulted in the lone blemish on the records of both boxers; neither has since fought.
Martinez was previously teased to return to the ring in March, though such plans were floated at the time when Mbilli-Sheeraz was still on the table. It is now very likely he will proceed directly towards a second fight with Mbilli and a first shot at a major title.
