Sheeraz Stops Berlanga in Five, Favorites Stevenson, Matias and Morrell Win by Decision
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
Queens, NY (July 13th, 2025)-– In a six bout card at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York, called ‘The Ring’, on Saturday night, July 12, 2025, Hamzah Sheeraz scored a st so far with a fifth-round knockout of a battered, overmatched Edgar Berlanga.
Sheeraz, 22-0-1 with 18 knockouts, Ilford, Essex, United Kingdom, held a two-inch height advantage at 6’3”, and a two-inch reach advantage at 75 inches. Berlanga made the mistake of standing in front of the taller, more powerful Sheeraz, with held a high tight guard, but mixed his counterpunches with great variety. Berlanga went down twice near of the fourth round. Referee David Fields did not allow the fifth round to engage until eight seconds had passed. Sheeraz quickly knocked down a broken Berlanga to his gloves on the canvas, and the referee immediately ended the contest.
Sheeraz landed 62 of 162 punches, and 38 power shots. Berlanga landed 46 of 119 punches, and 20 power shots. As Berlanga learned, if you are going to stand in front of a qualified taller opponent with superior reach, if you get hit with twice as many power shots as counters that you yourself throw, you are going to get burned. Berlanga should have been sticking and moving, and outmaneuvering Sheeraz. Instead, underestimating Sheeraz, Berlanga tried to figure out the riddle standing in front to force an inside war, and could not outpunch a stronger fearless power hitter. James Kirkland made this mistake at middleweight against Nobihiro Ishida at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in 2011, hitting the canvas three times in the first round, standing in front of a taller opponent with longer reach. Berlanga offered a free target, and it took Sheeraz four rounds to find it. The first three rounds did not offer much. In the fourth, Berlanga tried throwing wide left uppercuts, leaving himself vulnerable for power left hooks, left-right and left-right-left counter combinations from Sheeraz. And so it was. Canelo would fight Sheeraz smarter, and win a more productive technical 12-round contest.
Sheeraz set up a probable bout with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez with this win. The rest of the card went as expected. 24-0 Shakur Stevenson of Houston, Texas, retained the World Boxing Council World Lightweight title in the main event with a 12 round unanimous decision win over 33-0 Mexican challenger William Zepeda Segura in the main event by scores of 119-109, 118-110, and 118-110. 23-2 Subriel Matias of Fajardo, Puerto Rico, the former International Boxing Federation World Super Lightweight champion, won the WBC World Super Lightweight title with a hard fought 12 rounds split decision over 24-0 southpaw world champion Albert Puello, a Dominican fighting out of Las Vegas, Nevada. 12-1 Cuban southpaw David Morrell, fighting out of Minneapolis, Minnesota, came off the canvas in the fifth round and won a violent 10 round split decision over Imam Khataev, a Russian fighting out of Sydney, Australia, with scores of 96-93, 95-94 and 94-95. Khataev appeared to come on strong in the second half of the bout and win it, however two judges went for Morrell.
2-0 southpaw lightweight Reito Tsutsumi of Tokyo, Japan, dropped last-minute substitute 2-8-1 Michael Ruiz of Toms River, New Jersey, twice in the first round, and twice in the second round, for a stoppage win at 28 seconds of round two. Ruiz hit his head on the canvas on the fourth knockdown, abruptly ending the lopsided contest.
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