Sheeraz Accepts Alimkhanuly Defense If Money's Right

Hamzah Sheeraz will defend his WBO middleweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">super middleweight title against Janibek Alimkhanuly if the purse bid meets his number.

The unbeaten champion told Ring's Rick Reeno on the Mr. Verzace Podcast that he's accepted the mandatory defense despite earlier objections to the WBO's ruling. "We'll fight, we accept the fight. Let's crack on," Sheeraz said, per Ring Magazine. "We're prize fighters, we fight for the right amount of money."

Purse Bid Set For Wednesday With $300,000 Floor

The WBO ordered the fight after naming Alimkhanuly the mandatory challenger at 168 pounds, a designation that drew heat from Sheeraz's camp. Alimkhanuly moved up from middleweight in July after testing positive for meldonium before a unification bout with Erislandy Lara late last year. The IBF stripped him of his middleweight belt following the failed test and subsequent one-year suspension, though the WBO allowed him to retain his title and later lifted his suspension when he changed weight classes.

Sheeraz hasn't received an offer from DAZN, Queensberry, or Top Rank, so the bout moves to a purse bid scheduled for Wednesday with a $300,000 minimum. The 25-year-old British fighter, who scraped past Simon Zachenhuber by majority decision in July, expects the figure to fall short of what he considers the biggest assignment of his career. "I believe it's going to come to a point where the money is gonna be considerably low," he said. "It could be a good offer, I'm praying it is and then it's simple, the fight goes ahead. But I have a funny feeling that it won't be."

Sheeraz carries a 24-0-1 record with 19 knockouts. Alimkhanuly is 17-0 with 12 stoppages. The purse bid takes place September 16.

Source: ringmagazine.com