Hamzah Sheeraz Looks Flat In Narrow Win Over Simon Zachenhuber

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Sheeraz entered the fight as a heavy favorite after demolishing Edgar Berlanga to capture the vacant WBO belt. As an alternative of one other dominant display, he struggled to separate himself from a challenger who many viewed as a manageable first defense.

Using his height and reach, Sheeraz controlled stretches of the competition along with his jab and straight right hand, but he rarely fought with urgency. Long periods passed with little offense as he allowed Zachenhuber to remain inside striking distance. The German continued pressing forward, landed enough punches to stay competitive, and compelled the champion to work much harder than most observers anticipated.

One judge scored the bout even at 114-114, reflecting how competitive lots of the rounds became. While the opposite two officials favored Sheeraz by three and 4 points, there have been few moments when he looked near ending the fight.

The performance brought back memories of Sheeraz’s disappointing draw against Carlos Adames, one other fight by which he appeared hesitant and lacked the aggression expected from a fighter along with his physical benefits. Saturday’s effort was not quite as poor because he did enough to deserve the choice, but it surely bore little resemblance to the sharp, destructive form he displayed against Berlanga.

Questions will follow Sheeraz after this showing. He retained his title, yet he looked lethargic for much of the night and never imposed himself on an opponent he had been widely expected to overwhelm. If larger fights against the division’s leading names are next, he might want to deliver way over he showed in his first title defense.