Introduction to the Big Night of Boxing
There’s a big night of boxing in New York on Saturday night. Britain’s Hamzah Sheeraz attempts to make a real statement on his super middleweight debut against Edgar Berlanga in New York on Saturday night, live on DAZN. Sheeraz could easily have opted for an easier tune-up as he steps up to 168lb for the first time but, instead, he takes on the heavy-handed Berlanga in what is pretty much a 50-50 fight according to the layers.
Hamzah Sheeraz vs Edgar Berlanga
Sheeraz is a best price of 4/5 to put the disappointment of his draw with Carlos Adames in February behind him with a victory this weekend, although Berlanga, a 5/4 chance, may have something to say about that in his home town. It wasn’t a good night last time for Sheeraz, who never got going against Adames and was lucky to escape with a draw in his first world title fight. Adames was too slick and knew a bit too much for a lacklustre Sheeraz, but the latter may have had real excuses in struggling to make 160lb and breaking his hand early doors.
Prior to that performance, Sheeraz (21-0-1) was on a real roll and blasting through good opposition. Liam Williams and Tyler Denny were stopped in one and two rounds respectively, while in between those blowouts the Slough native stopped the previously unbeaten Austin ‘Ammo’ Wiliams in style late in their middleweight battle. So, if his excuses were genuine, we could see a rejuvenated Sheeraz now up in weight, especially with Andy Lee now in his corner. Lee is arguably the most in-form coach in the world right now and it would be no surprise to see a notable improvement in his new charge this weekend.
Berlanga developed a fearsome reputation as a puncher by stopping all his first 16 opponents in the opening round, but he was less potent as he stepped up in class, and five points wins followed. After a sixth-round stoppage of Jason Quigley, Berlanga got the golden ticket of a fight with ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, but he seemed happy just to survive against the Mexican superstar and was dropped en route to losing a wide decision. Many questioned his desire that night and, after a one-round stoppage against an overmatched opponent in March, Berlanga has plenty to prove as he steps back up in class here.
Analysis of the Fight
So, too, does Sheeraz, which makes this contest between two big punchers so intriguing. Yes, Berlanga can bang and if he is going to win, it will most likely be by stoppage at 11/4. However, he can be a little flat-footed and isn’t the quickest, so I fancy Sheeraz to be too sharp for him. Getting his huge 6’3” frame down to middleweight must have been a real struggle for Sheeraz, so I will give him a pass for his last effort. Also, Berlanga isn’t as technically good and doesn’t move his head as well as Adames, so Sheeraz can look much better here.
The visitor is longer than Berlanga and should be much quicker, which can enable him to win the battle of the jabs and, from there, he can start to land his heavy right hand. You can get 12/5 for Sheeraz to win by decision and Berlanga may know enough to last the distance, but I think he will be getting hit too hard and too often for him to do so. I like the 33/10 for Sheeraz to win inside the distance and announce himself as a serious player at super middleweight.
Late Show for Stevenson
Topping the bill at the Louis Armstrong Stadium is SHAKUR STEVENSON’s defence of his lightweight title versus William Zapeda in an all-southpaw contest. There is no doubt that Stevenson (23-0) is one of the most skilled fighters in the world, but the three-weight world champion has been accused of being boring and too safety first since stepping up to 135lb. Two points win brought plenty of criticism before he stopped (TKO9) Doncaster’s Josh Padley, who was out of his depth, in February.
However, Zapeda’s (33-0) all-action style could force Stevenson to fight, and I think we may see the best of the champion in this one. Zapeda’s price of 15/2 would have been much shorter prior to his last two outings, as he was running through decent opponents like Maxi Hughes (RTD4) and Giovanni Cabrera (KO3) in style. However, then came a pair of fights with former super featherweight champion Tevin Farmer that he was expected to win comfortably, but he was lucky to escape with a split decision first time around and then laboured to a majority decision victory in the rematch.
That suggested Zapeda may have found his level, and that he may not like fighting southpaws, so he is hard to fancy on that evidence, especially as that form took a serious knock when Farmer was stopped inside a round by Floyd Schofield a fortnight ago. Zapeda has a good engine and throws plenty of leather but doesn’t have the skills of Stevenson and could be made to miss and made to pay all night long by a counter-punching champion.
Conclusion of the Big Fight
Stevenson should justify his odds of 1/9 and doing so on the scorecards is the most likely outcome. However, that is only 8/15 and there are reasons to suggest it could be worth taking a chance on the 5/1 about him winning in the second half of the contest. Firstly, Zapeda’s style can bring out the best and most spiteful version of Stevenson – the version we saw at feather and super featherweight. Secondly, Zapeda faded against Farmer last time out and he was knocked down in the final round, although the referee somehow ruled it a slip. This is likely to be competitive in the opening few rounds but once Zapeda begins to slow down, it could be target practice for Stevenson and he may be able to force a stoppage late on.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the big night of boxing in New York is shaping up to be an exciting event with two intriguing fights. Hamzah Sheeraz is looking to make a statement in his super middleweight debut against Edgar Berlanga, while Shakur Stevenson is defending his lightweight title against William Zapeda. Both fights have the potential to be highly entertaining, and fans should be in for a treat. With Sheeraz’s power and Stevenson’s skill, it’s likely that both fighters will come out on top, but it’s not going to be an easy ride for either of them.
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