Frank Warren ‘very, very disappointed’ after Hamzah Sheeraz vacates WBO title

Frank Warren has criticised Hamzah Sheeraz’s decision to vacate the WBO super-middleweight title rather than defend it against mandatory challenger Janibek Alimkhanuly.

Queensberry Promotions won the purse bid for the fight with an offer of $1,001,809, which would have paid Sheeraz approximately $751,000 under the WBO’s 75-25 split. The promoter put forward November 28 and December 5 as possible dates, with London, Birmingham and New York among the proposed locations, but later informed the sanctioning body in writing that Sheeraz would relinquish the belt.

“It’s very, very disappointing,” Warren told IFL. “It was a purse bid. We bid the highest amount of money for it, and vacating a belt based upon what?”

Asked what explanation he had received, Warren said: “That’s all I heard. There isn’t a reason. There’s no rationale to that. You’re champion, defend your belt. You won it against probably the easiest guy in the top bloody 50 in the world to fight for a world title. That was a result, and we manoeuvred him and worked hard to get him in that position, and now he doesn’t want to do it. So it’s very, very disappointing.”

Sheeraz, 24-0-1 (19 KOs), won the vacant WBO title by stopping Alem Begic in the second round on May 23. He retained it with a majority decision over Simon Zachenhuber on July 25 despite injuring his hand early in the fight and had been targeting another appearance in late November or early December.

Before the purse bid, Sheeraz had indicated that he was willing to face Alimkhanuly if the financial terms reflected what he considered the scale of the assignment.

“We’ll fight, we accept the fight. Let’s crack on,” Sheeraz told The Ring’s Mr Verzace Podcast. “I believe it’s going to come to a point where the money is gonna be considerably low for the biggest fight of my career. To me, it doesn’t really make sense. Especially being a champion as well. 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. We’ll see what happens.”

Sheeraz had also questioned the WBO’s decision to install Alimkhanuly as its leading contender at 168lbs following the Kazakh’s anti-doping case and move up from middleweight.

Alimkhanuly tested positive for meldonium before a scheduled December 2025 unification fight with Erislandy Lara. The contest was cancelled, the IBF stripped Alimkhanuly of its title and he received a backdated one-year suspension.

Alimkhanuly denied wrongdoing. The WBO retained him as its middleweight champion and later said his suspension had been “terminated” from July 10 after he satisfied its conditions.

He was subsequently elevated to No. 1 in the WBO’s super-middleweight rankings after Saul “Canelo” Alvarez was removed when he opted to face WBC champion Christian Mbilli. The WBO ordered Sheeraz-Alimkhanuly on August 14.

Warren suggested Sheeraz had been influenced by outside advice, although he did not identify the person to whom he was referring.

“When you look at it, he obviously listens to people,” Warren said. “I know who he listens to for his advice on that, and the fellow who’s telling him all this stuff, what he knows about boxing you could write on a pinhead. It’s just stupid.”

Spencer Brown, who runs Gold Star Promotions and is closely involved with Riyadh Season boxing, has become a prominent boxing adviser around Sheeraz. Adil Ditta has held a longer-standing role as a mentor and business adviser, assisting with contracts and the structure of the fighter’s team. Warren, who has previously had a good relationship with Brown, did not clarify whether his remarks were directed at either man.

Vacating the belt does not immediately end Sheeraz’s relationship with Queensberry. The unbeaten 27-year-old has said he has one fight remaining on his promotional agreement and has discussed considering other opportunities, including Zuffa Boxing, while leaving open the possibility of extending his deal with Warren’s company.

“But you know what? It is what it is,” Warren said. “We’ve still got a contract with him, so that’s where we are.”

Alimkhanuly, 17-0 (12 KOs), has not fought since stopping Anauel Ngamissengue in April 2025. His manager, Egis Klimas, disclosed Sheeraz’s decision before the WBO announcement and accused the Briton of being afraid of Alimkhanuly, continuing a public dispute that began after the purse bid.

The WBO has ordered Janibek Alimkhanuly to face Jacob Bank for the vacant middleweight title, setting the division’s next championship fight, while Sheeraz and Queensberry must still address the final fight on his promotional contract.