Hours after contrasting victories for Joshua Buatsi and Hamzah Sheeraz on the Joshua-Dubois undercard at a sellout Wembley show on September 21, I spoke to former WBO super-featherweight world champion-turned-analyst Barry Jones for his thoughts on both unbeaten boxers as well as previewing this weekend’s undisputed light-heavyweight showdown in Saudi Arabia.
Sheeraz’s standout showing proves he’s ready
- Hamzah Sheeraz (21-0, 17 KOs) continues to rise in prominence after blasting beyond now-former European champion Tyler Denny in the chief support bout for Daniel Dubois’ stunning R5 KO win over Anthony Joshua
- 25-year-old is ranked #1 by two of the four major sanctioning bodies, so could possibly face WBO world middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly or WBC titleholder Carlos Adames in early 2025
- Following a UD12 win over friend and former sparring partner Dan Azeez in February, Joshua Buatsi won the WBO world interim light-heavyweight title with a split decision victory against an in-form Willy Hutchinson
WEMBLEY STADIUM, LONDON — If the post-fight press conference felt slightly morbid, then the runway heading out of Wembley was buzzing with a series of people still stunned by what they had just seen. Anthony Joshua was blasted off his feet in what proved a career-best showing for younger compatriot Daniel Dubois.
Some two hours later, I caught up with former WBO super-featherweight world champion Barry Jones, now a freelance analyst and commentator for a series of different platforms including DAZN and the BBC, for his thoughts on what he’d witnessed during the evening’s earlier events in two divisions needing clarity.
Read his thoughts below…
Mosope: Everyone’s talking about Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua after that fight, understandably so, but let’s segue to something else… some big things happened on that undercard, tell me what should be next for Hamzah Sheeraz?
Barry: I think a world title shot! he’s European champion now and beat the champ [Tyler Denny] in conclusive fashion. Ammo Williams too, who was on the verge of world honours… he’s done everything right, did a job on [unbeaten Ukrainian] Dmytro Mytrofanov quite comfortably in Poland last August. He’s ready now.
[WBC champion] Carlos Adames maybe, because of his range and composure, power… Hamzah’s a southpaw who boxes out of the orthodox stance. His power hand is his left and that’s his jab, which does all the damage. He looks very good, demolished a tough cookie in Denny with a standout performance.
MO: In terms of next opponents, Chris Eubank Jr… Adames, maybe even unified champion Janibek Alimkhanuly, there’s been a lot said about an in-house fight with Denzel Bentley – maybe that’s come a year too late – what would you..?
BJ: Yeah, I don’t think Bentley’s a fight they want. No disrespect to Denzel, he’s a great fighter and boxed for a world title but has to catch him up now, funny how it works in cycles. The Eubank fight won’t happen because it’s not financially worth the risk for Chris, he wants huge money so unless that’s there… won’t take it.
On this topic, also read
AUG. 2024 – Bentley wants Sheeraz-Denny winner as six boxers give return updates
NOV 2022: Bentley-Sheeraz: Both leave door open for possible future showdown
I think Hamzah beats him to be honest, his range, size and youth. It’s gotta be an eliminator now or world title fight, the world’s his oyster now. How long can he stay at middleweight? Super-middleweight isn’t the best [division], there’s loads of great matchups for him against Jaime Munguia and Edgar Berlanga, really good fights.
Buatsi still has more gears to go through
MO: Buatsi had Hutchinson hurt multiple times but didn’t get the finish and some on commentary were saying this is emblematic of how he is as a boxer, didn’t get the finish he wanted, wins gut checks but doesn’t do enough to wow people. Thoughts?
BJ: I understand that, it was a good performance in a hard fight. Hutchinson was on form, confident and showed his toughness, got hit with some big shots, Buatsi tried to stop him and it wasn’t like previously where he’s been really methodical.
There’s still more gears he needs to go through, more within him so that criticism will stay there but you don’t want to take risks. He’s with Virgil Hunter, I’m not sure what people want because once he went there, was always going to be more considerate.
Andre Ward never took risks, was naturally tough and dirty, got in close and… he took no risks, probably would’ve earned more money if he wasn’t that way. Virgil isn’t going to encourage a gung-ho performance but he needs a little bit of that, Hutchinson got under his skin but not enough. A good fight to watch.
MO: Obviously he said he wants the Beterbiev-Bivol winner next, having won interim gold now. I spoke to WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman last month and he told me David Benavidez would probably get that opportunity, so perhaps Buatsi will have to wait again. If it’s not the winner of undisputed, what’s next?
BJ: After October 12, at least one title will fragment from the four. It’s not great for the sport but you’ve got to target that. Benavidez is an absolute nightmare for anybody even as a super-middleweight moving up, you’ve just got to take your opportunity.
Buatsi won’t beat Bivol or Beterbiev in my opinion – depending on the undisputed fight result, they might not want to continue afterwards – or there’s probably a rematch clause in there, JB’s in a good position now after success in another must-win bout.
MO: Last but certainly not least – Beterbiev-Bivol, how do you see that one going?
BJ: Well. It’s a nervous pick but I still fancy Bivol to get the job done. I’m not confident about that prediction because we’ve seen he can be hit and if Beterbiev can hit you, you can be hurt. I still think Dmitry’s judgment of distance is fantastic, that movement might help get him over the line in a really close, scary fight for him.
Picture source: Getty Images, all quotes procured by me
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