Although WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames (24-1-1, 18 KOs) clearly defeated Hamzah Sheeraz (21-0-1, 17 KOs), the judges were split on who won, with the last judge calling it even making the fight a draw.
The scores were 115-114 (Sheeraz), 118-110 (Adames) and 114-114. It’s a disappointing decision as the feeling at the arena was that Adames had scored the victory, but with the champion being the “B-side,” it’s no surprise that he did not come out with the victory. According to CompuBox, Sheeraz out-landed Adames 34-20 over the first four rounds, while Adames out-landed Sheeraz 123-101 over the next eight rounds.
In the first round, Adames was the aggressor as he had Sheeraz fighting off the back foot. Adames came inside, leading with his left jab while Sheeraz tried to counter him with a left hook. Both men missed some big punches but they equally had a good opening round. Adames changed the levels of his offense, which made Sheeraz very hesitant to throw his punches. Adames used good feints and movement to avoid anything big, but he was caught by Sheeraz’s left jab when coming inside.
In the third round, Sheeraz dictated the pace with his left jab, as Adames was moving a ton but not throwing too many punches. Sheeraz had his right glove up to his cheek, waiting to throw his right hand, but the opportunity did not present itself until the third. Sheeraz boxed beautifully off the back foot in the fourth round as his left jab kept Adames outside mid-range. Adames could not find a way to get inside.
Adames found Sheeraz’s body in the fifth round as he landed left and right hooks, which slowed down his opponent’s offense. Sheeraz had difficulty putting punches together as Adames’ body attack caused him to reset throughout the round. The sixth round was dominated by Adames, who threw a ton of combinations while Sheeraz was covered up by a high guard. Adames did what he wanted to do, and Sheeraz had no offense to fire back.
Rounds seven through ten were all Adames, as Sheeraz could not get his offense going. Adames was pumping the left jab and throwing four-punch combinations, which had Sheeraz stumped. Sheeraz woke up in round eleven as he landed a right uppercut that temporarily stunned Adames. Although Sheeraz had Adames stunned multiple times throughout the round, he did not follow it up and let Adames off the hook. Adames closed the fight like the champion he is, but it wasn’t enough for the judges to award him the decision.
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