Frank Warren Sees Begic Bout as Launchpad for Sheeraz’s Super Middleweight Takeover

LIVERPOOL, England — When Terence Crawford walked away from the super-middleweight division after dethroning Canelo Alvarez last September, the landscape was suddenly wide open. Veteran promoter Frank Warren is convinced the man best placed to fill the void is Hamzah Sheeraz, and the forthcoming vacant WBO title fight against Germany’s Alem Begic is, in Warren’s eyes, the perfect launchpad toward undisputed glory.

Sheeraz (22-0-1, 18 KOs) will meet the 38-year-old Begic (29-0-1, 23 KOs) in May after original target Diego Pacheco withdrew from negotiations. The switch has not dampened Warren’s enthusiasm; rather, it has sharpened his focus on what he calls “a very winnable fight” that can propel the 26-year-old Brit into the mainstream.

“Pacheco obviously didn’t want it. He didn’t fancy it,” Warren told The Ring. “So we’ve got the German, Begic. For me it’s a very winnable fight. He wins that, he gets his title, we’ve delivered and then on to bigger and better things.”

The bout will crown a new WBO champion at 168 pounds, one of four belts now in flux after Crawford’s retirement. The WBC has already ordered Sheeraz to face France’s Christian Mbilli for its version, while the WBO fast-tracked negotiations once Pacheco stepped aside. Holding leverage in a fragmented picture, Team Sheeraz chose the WBO route largely for its commercial pull.

“I looked at the American-based box office,” Warren explained. “It had Matchroom, it had us Queensberry. It had all the things that make it work.”

Ranked No. 8 by The Ring, Sheeraz enters the contest buoyed by last summer’s career-defining knockout of Edgar Berlanga in the United States. The emphatic finish, Warren believes, showcased the benefits of Sheeraz no longer boiling down to middleweight.

“He’s a big guy, he’s got a big frame on him,” the promoter said. “I don’t know how he was fighting at middleweight.”

At 6-foot-4 with natural leverage and concussive power, Sheeraz appears tailor-made for 168 pounds. The added comfort has translated into sturdier punch resistance, sustained power deep into championship rounds, and a calmer presence under fire.

A draw with WBC middleweight titlist Carlos Adames a year ago raised questions; the Berlanga conquest answered many of them. Now, against Begic, Sheeraz has the chance to secure a full belt and set up the unification clashes that define eras.

Warren has guided the Ilford product since his days as a towering 154-pound prodigy. With Crawford gone and the division searching for its next standard-bearer, the veteran promoter believes the runway is clear: win the WBO strap, keep the momentum, and target the likes of Mbilli or a rescheduled date with Pacheco.

For Sheeraz, the equation is simple. Beat Begic, and the super-middleweight takeover officially begins.