"You have to knock him out to win."
Hamzah Sheeraz and Carlos Adames boxed to a highly contentious draw on February 22, 2025, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The pair fought on the stacked card headlined by the rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol for the undisputed light-heavyweight title.
Despite being the challenger, Sheeraz was touted as the favourite to win and become the new WBC middleweight champion.
Sheeraz boxed well early on, landing sharp straight shots as Adames lunged in.
But as the fight wore on, Sheeraz fought more cautiously, allowing Adames to turn the tide.
Adames hunted Sheeraz down and landed clean shots to win the sixth round and then made Sheeraz wince when he connected with a massive overhand right in the eighth.
Promoter Frank Warren fumed as he walked over to Sheeraz’s corner at the end of round nine and yelled at his fighter to throw the uppercut.
Sheeraz’s best punch of the fight was a thudding right hand. However, it did not land until the 11th round and his corner then demanded:
“You have to knock him out to win.”
Adames ended the fight on top and at the final bell, Hamzah Sheeraz cut a frustrated and deflated figure.
Sheeraz also appeared to suffer a broken hand during the fight.
Adames landed 90 power punches to Sheeraz’s 48 and it seemed that the British Pakistani fighter would suffer his first loss.
However, the judges controversially scored the fight a split draw, meaning Sheeraz’s unbeaten record remains intact.
One judge scored it 115-114 for Sheeraz, another had it 118-110 for Adames, while the third gave 114-114.
A DRAW! ?
Carlos Adames and Hamzah Sheeraz could not be separated, do you agree with the Judges? ?#BeterbievBivol2 | #RiyadhSeason | Sky Sports Box Office pic.twitter.com/abZIxvTpwb
— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) February 22, 2025
The scorecards sparked outrage among fans, who flooded social media to protest.
One wrote: “OMG I’m sorry but Sheeraz got wasted here that’s a robbery can’t be a draw for s***.”
Another tweeted: “F*** right off!!!! No way a split draw. Sheeraz lost by about 6 rounds. Jesus.”
A third added: “What a f***** scandal – Hamzah Sheeraz split draw??”
Meanwhile, somebody else posted: “Adames has been robbed.”
Former WBA featherweight champion Barry McGuigan said: “That is just crazy.
“115-114 to Hamzah Sheeraz. How in the Mother of God did he come to that?”
“How can the other guy have had it even?
“Sit down and explain it to me because you win fights by being aggressive and landing punches, not by sitting there and getting hit by combinations.
“That score is bonkers.”
The result extends Hamzah Sheeraz’s record to 21 wins and one draw.
He told Sky Sports afterwards: “I’m an overachiever. I’m very blessed but we’ll go back to the drawing board and fix those errors.
“No excuses, I’ve got a hand injury but that’s got nothing to do with the outcome of the fight.”
The draw means Adames retains his world title and a rematch between the pair is expected.
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