Benavidez Sr: “Honor To Fight Sheeraz

Coach Jose Benavidez Sr. says it would “be an honor” for his son, David Benavidez, to fight Hamzah Sheeraz. Jose Sr. states that a fight between Sheeraz (22-0-1, 18 KOs) and ‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez would be an exciting one for the fans.

What impressed Benavidez Sr. about Sheeraz?

Benavidez Sr. was impressed with Sheeraz’s fifth-round knockout of Edgar Berlanga last Saturday night in Queens, New York. He says that with his size, hand speed, and power, he could fight at heavyweight. Hamzah wouldn’t have to do that to face Benavidez. Sheeraz would only need to move up one division to 175, and he could challenge for Benavidez’s WBC light heavyweight title.

“It would be an honor to fight Sheeraz. He’s a great person. He showed tonight that he deserves to fight anybody,” said Jose Benavidez Sr. to KGTV when asked if he’d be interested in Hamzah Sheeraz fighting his son, ‘The Mexican Monster’ David Benavidez.

Sheeraz and his promoter, Frank Warren, would be taking a massive risk if they chose to fight Benavidez rather than sit and wait for a fight against Canelo next February. If Sheeraz wants to impress the fans, showing them he’s for real, fighting ‘The Mexican Monster,’ Benavidez, would be the way to do it.

“To us, that would be a great fight. He’s a good fighter. He showed that today. It would be an exciting fight. So, any day if Turki makes that fight happen, no problem,” said Benavidez Sr.

When is Sheeraz vs. Canelo?

Turki Alalshikh isn’t going to match Hamzah Sheeraz against Benavidez. He knows better. He wants him to fight Canelo Alvarez in February 2026. Those plans may change if Alvarez loses to Terence Crawford in September. But for now, that’s the idea he wants.

It’s got to be disappointing for the super middleweight contenders who have been waiting their turn to challenge for a world title against Canelo. Sheeraz will jump ahead of them after just one fight in the 168-lb division after beating one many fans label the ‘hype job’, Berlanga. To make it sporting, Sheeraz should have to run a mini gauntlet of these fighters to earn a title shot against Canelo:

1. Osley Iglesias
2. Christian Mbilli
3. Jose Armando Resendiz
4. Diego Pacheco

“When he was fighting, it reminded me a little bit of Sebastian Fundora. He’s super tall. He could fight at heavyweight. He could fight in a lot of divisions,” said Jose Sr. about Hamzah. “You saw today how he adjusted and how disciplined he is, and how much power he possesses with both hands. It’ll be very interesting to the people.”

Sheeraz is a more dangerous version of Sebastian Fundora. He’s an amped up version with superior hand speed and power. If you were to add those elements to Fundora’s game, you’d have Sheeraz.

Why Berlanga lost to Sheeraz

“Edgar had a big opportunity to go get big fights. Maybe he underestimated Sheeraz,” said Benavidez Sr. on what went wrong for Edgar Berlanga in his loss to Sheeraz.

The only chance Berlanga had of beating a fighter with Sheeraz’s hand speed and power was to jump on him in the first round. He failed to do that and was ultimately destroyed in the fifth. He failed to do his homework. It may have been a failure of nerves on Berlanga’s part. He knew what he had to do to win, but his courage abandoned him.