Many of the fans at the Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia were there to cheer on Hamzah Sheeraz. It is probably safe to say many of them left dissatisfied. Sheeraz battled WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames to a split draw (115-114 Sheeraz, 118-110 Adames & 114-114).
Sheeraz produced an up-and-down performance against Adames. He looked unsure of himself at times and unwilling to open up to chase the KOs he’s become known for during his rise to this title opportunity.
After the fight, Sheeraz’s team said their fighter might have suffered a broken hand during the fight—which could potentially explain his decreased aggression.
Adames deserves the credit for Sheeraz’s underwhelming performance. The proud Cuban champion was wildly disrespected coming into the fight. Many expected him to become Sheeraz’s 18th KO victim.
The champion didn’t come to the fight to comply. Many believe he deserved the decision and was robbed. The punch stats suggest they are correct.
Adames out-landed Sheeraz 143-135 in total punches and widely beat the challenger in power shots, 90-48.
The “R” word is thrown around far too freely after fights with close scorecards. That’s the case. There were several people in the boxing community making their feelings known after the judges’ scorecards were read.
It’s tough to score close rounds. It oftentimes comes down to what a judge favors: activity, aggression, or accuracy. Ideally, a judge will take all three into consideration along with the effectiveness of the punches. At the end of the day, a draw wasn’t the worst decision.
On my scorecard, Adames deserved the decision, seven rounds to five, but I can live with a draw, as should the rest of the boxing community.
The rest of the card has been entertaining with an epic fight to open the main card. Callum Smith’s unanimous decision win over Joshua Buatsi is still the best scrap of the night. Both men had their moments, but Smith deserved the decision win.
Smith vs. David Benavidez or perhaps even a matchup against David Morrell seems like an excellent fight too.
Agit Kabayel scored the only stoppage win of the evening through the first four rounds. Kabayel dismantled Zhilei Zhang with a sixth-round KO. Zhang scored a knockdown in the fifth round, but he had emptied the tank by that time.
Kabayel destroyed him with body shots to end the evening. Sign us up for Kabayel vs. Anthony Joshua.
Vergil Ortiz Jr. put on a career-best performance as he out-fought Israil Madrimov en route to a unanimous decision victory. Ortiz is ready to challenge for a legitimate world title following that performance.
Here’s a look at the results for the event up to this point:
- Callum Smith def. Joshua Buatsi via unanimous decision
- Agit Kabayel def. Zhilei Zhang via sixth-round KO
- Vergil Ortiz Jr def. Israil Madrimov via unanimous decision (117-111, 115-113)
- Carlos Adames vs. Hamzah Sheeraz – split draw
- Shakur Stevenson def. Josh Padley via ninth-round TKO
