If Hamza Shiraz fights for his first world title on February 22, he will not be facing United middleweight champion Zahanibek Aleem Khanoli.
It was revealed today by new WBO president Gustave Olivieri that Queensberry Promotions’ George Warren advised on Shiraz’s behalf that the fighter would ‘must withdraw’ against the WBO champion. It has canceled today’s purse bids and the committee has to reconvene to determine what it will do next.
The Kazakh holds the WBO and IBF titles and is now in his second year as a dual titleholder. Aleem Khanoli, 16-0 (11 KOs), was promoted to full WBO champion in August 2022 after Demetrius Andrade failed to defend his title against the former amateur star. And in October 2023 he defeated Vincenzo Gualtieri in six rounds to become the unified champion.
Fans had hoped to see Shiraz square off against Zenibek. (Getty Images)
Shiraz, 21-0 (17 KOs), will now be removed from the WBO mandatory spot, opening the door for second-ranked contender Denzel Bentley, who fought and lost to Zhanibek in November 2022. On December 7, honors and promoter Frank Warren have promised a world title shot for the winner.
Now the 25-year-old Shiraz is expected to go in a different direction. This leaves the strong possibility that the WBC number one contender will move on to challenge Carlos Adams for his WBC world title in February.
Adams, 24-1 (18 KOs), became WBC champion when Jermall Charlo was stripped of his title in May. He beat Las Vegas-based Dominicans, like Aleem Khanoli two years ago, to full champion status. The 30-year-old made a successful first defense of his green and gold belt with a unanimous decision against Terrell Gaushaw in June at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas as part of the Geronta Davis Frank Martin undercard.
Shiraz came out last time out at Wembley Stadium with another impressive performance to wrest the European title from the hands of Tyler Deeney in just two rounds. Last week Shiraz wrote on social media about his future, “There are a lot of rumors about possible fights. I leave all negotiations to my promoter Frank Warren and my advisors in Spencer Brown and Adil Dutta while I grind in camp. One thing I can say is that in February I will become the world champion, God willing.
Rumors of another bumper Riyadh season card continued to circulate in February. Fighters associated with that history in Riyadh include Daniel DuBois, Hamza Shiraz, Terence Crawford and Virgil Ortiz Jr.
