HAMZAH SHEERAZ silenced American mouthpiece Edgar Berlanga with a fifth-round stoppage on his Stateside debut.
Sheeraz came into the bout of the back of a controversial draw against WBC middleweight champion
And welcoming him up to super-middleweight Berlanga – once a man who
But more recently, he was dominated over 12 rounds by Mexican superstar .
Sheeraz went one further by stopping Sheeraz one round after his two knockdowns in the fourth.
He is now mandatory for the WBO 168lb title and said: “Canelo is a boxing hero of mine.
“For my name to be mentioned in the same sentence is a great achievement.
“If it does happen I’ll stand in the middle and have it out with him.
“Massive thank you to Andy Lee.
“Them first few rounds I was losing but we had a plan. I told him to trust me and he did, so thank you.
“I swear to you, whoever was in the ring with me today there was no stopping me.”;
Sheeraz, 26, first floored Berlanga, 28, with a left hook after a combination of punches.
The American – with Puerto Rican heritage – made it to his feet but was dropped once more this time a right hand doing the damage.
Brave Berlanga made it out of the round but after a right hand dropped him again the referee waved off the bout.
Sheeraz moves to 22 wins and one draw and must await the next move of Canelo –
