Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.
Hamzah Sheeraz has provided an injury update, after his bid to snatch WBC middleweight gold from Carlos Adames was shrouded by contentious scoring.
Sheeraz injured his left hand in his bout on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol 2, which went all 12 rounds before being ruled a split draw.
Fans were vocally dismayed by the decision, who overwhelmingly saw Adames as the victor by a significant margin.
This was an opinion held by one of the judges, who scored the fight 118-110 in favour of Adames – but with the two other judges scoring 115-114 for Sheeraz and 114-114 respectively, the clash was deemed a split draw.
While escaping defeat may have softened the blow of missing out on the title for Sheeraz, all is far from perfect in the Brit’s camp coming out of the clash in Riyadh.
Promoter Frank Warren has taken to social media to share an update on Sheeraz’s physical condition in the days post-fight, with the 25-year-old showing off one notable battle scar.
Warren says that the Ilford-born pugilist broke his hand early in the fight against Adames, which has since ballooned in size – something that’s evident for all to see when putting his left and right hands side by side.
The Queensberry head honcho went on to quell any fears that his fighter’s injury will his push for global stardom, writing on X: “Once healed, I have no doubt Hamzah will become a world champion.”
Some may question whether Sheeraz’s early injury could have been the defining factor in his defeat, with Adames’ champion status never truly looking under threat up against the British-Pakistani bruiser – regardless of how close the scorecards made it out to be.
However, we’ve seen many a time fighters pick up hand injuries but still find a way to get over the line, provided they’re talented enough. Take former two-weight world champion Carl Frampton, who admitted that back in 2019, he had to battle through two broken hands to overcome Tyler McCreary.
As such, it would feel like a cop out to say Sheeraz’s downfall stemmed solely with his broken hand – and the boxer himself was quick to nip any talk of excuses in the bud.
“No excuses, I’ve got a hand injury but that’s got nothing to do with the outcome of the fight,” he said post-fight.
“I’m an overachiever. I’m very blessed but we’ll go back to the drawing board and fix those errors.”
Talk of the injury woes being the decisive factor would also be a disservice to Adames.
The champion put on a clinic against Sheeraz, weathering a positive start from the Brit before taking control, outworking his opponent as the fight went the distance. He boasted nearly double the power shots, with Adames registering 90 compared to Sheeraz’s 48.
Despite the judges’ flattering verdict, the wider consensus was that Sheeraz was well beaten. It was a sentiment echoed by Adames after the clash, who said: “In the end, I think I won. It was a really complicated fight, but yeah, I think I won.”
A first loss on Sheeraz’s record would not have been an injustice. But at 25, he has all the time in his career to address those issues as he chases down a first world title.
Another opportunity may be just around the corner, with a split draw opening the door to a rematch with Adames.
However, it may be a wiser choice to go back to the drawing board before re-entering the ring with a fighter who just showed himself to be levels above – because next time, the scorecards may not be so kind.
