The post-Crawford reconstruction of the super middleweight division is slowly getting into gear, as the WBO has ordered Hamzah Sheeraz to face Diego Pacheco for their now-vacant title. The pair have 20 days to negotiate.
It’s an appealing fight between two of the division’s taller members, but odds are it’s dead in the water. Sheeraz (22-0-1, 18 KO), who bounced back from his ugly loss to Carlos Adames by smashing Edgar Berlanga in July, also has a WBC title shot against Christian Mbilli on the table that will likely prove easier to make. Sheeraz vs Pacheco (25-0, 18 KO) would require Matchroom and Queensberry to either make nice or duke it out in a purse bid, while Mbilli’s management (Top Rank and Eye of the Tiger) has a historically solid relationship with Frank Warren.
As of last week, Sheeraz sits at no. 3 in the rankings behind the on-hiatus Canelo Alvarez at no. 1 and Pacheco at no. 2. At no. 4 is Denmark’s Jacob Bank (17-0, 9 KO), a 24-year-old who knocked out Tyron Zeuge in September and is scheduled to fight our old pal William Scull next month in his hometown of Kolding.
