The search for a new opponent for Hamzah Sheeraz proved brief, as the WBO has sanctioned a vacant super middleweight title fight against Germany’s Alem Begic, with the bout between the unbeaten contenders being scheduled for May in Manchester.
Sheeraz had been left without an opponent after Diego Pacheco withdrew from their ordered WBO title clash just hours before a purse bid hearing. Rather than delay the process, WBO officials moved quickly to approve Begic as the replacement, despite questions over ranking merit following recent developments elsewhere in the division.
Those questions were sharpened by Jacob Bank’s dramatic 12th-round knockout of former IBF titlist William Scull in Denmark last weekend. Bank sits just below Sheeraz in the WBO rankings and one place ahead of Begic, while also having captured a regional WBO belt in the process. Even so, the sanctioning body opted to proceed with the Sheeraz–Begic matchup to fill the long-vacant title.
Begic, a 38-year-old Munich-based contender, has not fought since a second-round knockout of Mahdi Safdari last April. The Manchester bout will represent his first world title opportunity and just his second scheduled 12-round fight in more than a decade as a professional, placing him firmly in underdog territory against the fast-rising Englishman.
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