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Hamzah Sheeraz and Jaime Munguia accused of avoiding ‘boxing bogey’

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Hamzah Sheeraz and Jaime Munguia accused of avoiding ‘the bogeyman of boxing’

Now that all super middleweight world titles have been won following Terence Crawford’s retirement, fans are hopeful that unification fights could come soon, but in the eyes of one champion’s promoter, that is unlikely.

Crawford defeated Canelo Alvarez in a legacy-defining fight last September to become the first undisputed three-weight champion since Henry Armstrong in 1938, and “Kill Hank” was the first in boxing history to accomplish the feat.

Having cemented his place among the greats, Crawford hung up his gloves and retired with his undefeated record intact and his respect as a current sports icon.

Boxing had to move on and it did so quickly, with four modern champions holding the super middleweight world title; Christian Mbilli (WBC), Osleys Iglesias (IBF), Jaime Munguia (WBA) and Hamzah Sheeraz (WBO).

In September, Canelo will attempt to become champion again challenges Mbilla for the coveted WBC green and gold belt. The other three main champions do not currently have fights lined up.

Speaking to Boxing News, Iglesias’ promoter Camille Estephan, who also promotes Mbilli, revealed why he thinks the Cuban southerner, who boasts a record of 15-0 with 14 KOs, may have difficulty finding a willing and available challenger.

“People recognize his ability, that’s why they don’t want to fight him. When you look at his last few opponents, he fought Siljagin; when he fought Siljagin, no one wanted to fight Siljagin – a technical fighter from Russia that people don’t know, very good defensively. He was destroyed, literally. By the end of the fight he was blind in one eye, couldn’t breathe and couldn’t hear.

“The previous warrior who fought him [Vladimir] Shishkin, was highly respected, was an emerging fighter who at one point thought he would spotless up the division. He was definitely a very, very forceful fighter, very good defensively as well, he was literally destroyed in the fight against Iglesias. Just look at the images.

“Then you see this guy, [Evgeny] Shvedenko, who drew with Silyagin. He was knocked out in a very scary way, we were very, very worried about him. Every guy he fought, he destroyed. The people who fight him are never the same again.

“We understand the hesitancy of a lot of the top guys. I think he’ll just keep doing it and then the fans will recognize that’s the guy – the guy who’s at the top of the hill.”

Recently at the 41st annual IBF convention in Vietnam, Troy Williamson was invited to negotiate a final eliminator with Diego Pacheco for a title shot, but it appears the Darlington operator will be unable to attend as his long-awaited rematch with Callum Simpson is currently being considered for July.

Continuing, Estephan praised Williamson for his courage, declaring that he is “one of the few people on the planet” who is confident enough to face Iglesias.

“When it comes to Troy Williamson, I hear a lot of different things. I don’t know what his next move will be, but in the case of Iglesias, Troy was ready to fight him, so kudos to him. He’s one of the few people in the world who wants to fight Iglesias.”

With few challengers daring to push for a fight with the undefeated 28-year-old, Estephan admitted that both he and his fighter are looking towards other super middleweight world champions in hopes of securing unification fights. However, this energy was not reciprocated.

“What I can say about Iglesias is that he wants to fight other world champions. He has the IBF and IBO titles, but it looks like Munguia wants nothing to do with Iglesias and Sheeraz, especially. They talk about wanting a unification, but when they hear Iglesias, they forget what a unification is.

“They would rather fight anyone other than Iglesias. He is clearly the bogeyman of boxing.”

“We want Iglesias to defend his title and we want Iglesias to be put in a situation where it will inevitably happen. Sheeraz and Munguia were talking about unifying until they heard about Iglesias, so maybe they will fight each other, but they can run and they can’t hide.”

One potential option for Sheeraz and Munguia is to compete on the Canelo-Mbilli card. Iglesias’ possible addition to the September 12 show means all four 168-pound belts will be up for grabs that night.

Billed as “Mexico vs. the World,” Iglesias would likely need to acquire a Mexican challenger, with the most obvious option being former WBA champion Armando Resendi if Estephan and Turki Alalshikh are indeed planning an Iglesias fight on the undercard.

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Pierce OLeary vs. Mark Chamberlain Live Results: Updates and Highlights

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Pierce O'Leary vs. Mark Chamberlain Live Results: Updates and Highlights

LIVE COVERAGE

World Boxing News provides live results and updates from Dublin as Pierce O’Leary faces Mark Chamberlain at super lightweight.

Queensberry Promotions returns to the 3Arena with an action-packed card headed by the unbeaten Irish star O’Leary, who meets former British champion Chamberlain in the main event.

The undercard also features Gary Cully, Reece Bellotti, Sean McComb, Steven Cairns, Ben Fail and several unbeaten Irish prospects.


Pierce O’Leary vs Mark Chamberlain Results

Times are Local – IST

17:46

Gary Cully stopped Lee Reeves in the tenth round to improve to 20-2.

Cully overcame a fifth-round point deduction for repeatedly losing his gumshield before dropping Reeves twice in the final round to force the stoppage.

The victory marked Cully’s 11th knockout win as a professional.

17:01

Sean McComb returned with a comfortable six-round points victory over Miguel Antin.

McComb won every round on the referee’s scorecard, claiming a 60-54 decision to improve his record to 22-2.

16:31

Machlan Arthur improved to 2-0 with his second straight knockout by stopping Ryan Frost in the fourth round.

Arthur dropped Frost twice in the final session before the referee waved the contest off at 1:05 of round four.


Remaining Bouts

• Pierce O’Leary vs Mark Chamberlain – IBO World Super Lightweight Title (12)

• Royston Barney-Smith vs Reece Bellotti – Vacant IBO Inter-Continental Super Featherweight Title (10)

• Gary Cully vs Lee Reeves – Super Lightweight (10)

• Steven Cairns vs Senan Kelly – Super Lightweight (10)

• Ben Fail vs Craig O’Brien – Super Welterweight (10)

• Bobbi Flood vs Tariq Davis – Super Welterweight (6)

• Adam Olaniyan vs Jonathan Claudio Sauco – Heavyweight (4)

• John Joe Carrigan vs Sean Murray – Super Welterweight (4)

• Sami Hamed vs Bela Istvan Orban – Super Welterweight (4)


Queensberry

Preview

Pierce O’Leary tops a major night of boxing in Dublin as the unbeaten Irishman takes on Mark Chamberlain for the IBO World super lightweight title.

O’Leary enters the contest looking to continue his rise through the rankings against the experienced Chamberlain, who aims to return to winning ways after a draw in his third outing since suffering the lone defeat of his professional career.

The chief support sees Royston Barney-Smith meet Reece Bellotti for the vacant IBO Inter-Continental super featherweight title.

Gary Cully also returns in an intriguing domestic clash with fellow unbeaten Irishman Lee Reeves, while Steven Cairns faces Senan Kelly in another all-Irish encounter.

Sean McComb, Ben Fail, Bobbi Flood, Adam Olaniyan, Machlan Arthur, John Joe Carrigan and Sami Hamed also feature on the Queensberry Promotions card.

Updates will be added below as the action unfolds in Dublin, with more live coverage on World Boxing News.


About the Author

Phil Jay is the Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News (WBN), a BWAA-acknowledged boxing news website founded in 2010. A veteran boxing reporter with 16 years of experience, he has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives, and reported ringside from major events. His work is published worldwide through WBN and distributed on platforms including Apple News.

Read Phil Jay’s full bio and latest stories.

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Barry McGuigan: Ryan Garcia Faces a Dangerman in Conor Benn at 147 lbs

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Barry McGuigan: Ryan Garcia Faces a "Dangerman" in Conor Benn at 147 lbs

Hall of Famer Barry McGuigan has named one half of the main event between Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn as the “dangerman” at 147lbs.

The two welterweights will collide at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on September 12, with Garcia making a first defence of his WBC world title.

He claimed the belt by dethroning Mario Barrios with a unanimous decision victory in February, which followed his surprising points loss to Rolando Romero in May 2025.

Interestingly enough, this defeat came shortly after his year-long doping ban, which he served on account of testing positive for ostarine ahead of his majority decision victory over Devin Haney.

The result of their showdown was then ruled a no-contest, with Garcia subsequently moving up to welterweight after failing to keep below the 140lb limit.

It now seems the 27-year-old is competing at a more natural weight while Benn, who tested positive for clomifene in 2022, has not made 147lbs since his second-round finish over Chris van Heerden that same year.

Speaking with talkSPORTIrish boxing icon McGuigan suggested that this – as well as the 29-year-old’s technical flaws – could prove a major factor against Garcia.

“[Benn’s] got that genetic code from his dad, and he’s got that explosiveness and everything else. But he is predictable – you can see when he’s going to throw.

“You ask yourself: is Garcia just a little bit too sharp for him? A little bit too cute. I think Garcia’s finally found the weight he’s most suitable [for]. I think he’s a dangerman at 147[lbs].

“Maybe Conor Benn has left it a little too late to make 147[lbs] again. I think that could be his Achilles’ heel. I make Garcia a slight favourite but would never write off Conor Benn – he’s got that fighting heart.”

Benn comes off a unanimous decision victory over Regis Prograis in April, which followed his two middleweight encounters with Chris Eubank Jr last year.

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Devin Haney Updates Fight Strategy After Keyshawn Davis Withdraws from Title Shot

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"Devin Haney Updates Fight Strategy After Keyshawn Davis Withdraws from Title Shot"

Devin Haney’s immediate future has been thrown into uncertainty after Keyshawn Davis pulled out of their mandated contest on Friday.

The pair had been ordered to collide for Haney’s WBO world title, with Davis having been named as the sanctioning body’s mandatory challenger at 147lbs.

Multiple reports then suggested that the 27-year-old was offered $3m by Top Rank, his promoter, only for ‘The Businessman’ to reject what would have been a career-high payday.

Subsequently, their bout went to a purse bit hearing, where Top Rank trumped Teofimo Lopez’s Takeover Promotions with a sum of $8,550,000.

This therefore gave Bob Arum’s outfit the promotional rights and, as per the usual 75/25 split in favour of the defending champion, Davis would have been entitled to a share of $2,137,500.

Since Thursday’s auction, though, Davis has excluded himself from the fight and left Haney without an obvious opponent for his first welterweight title defence.

Taking to social mediaWBO president Gustavo Olivieri explained that his organisation must now provide their champion with a solution.

“The WBO hereby confirms receipt of written notice from counsel on behalf of Keyshawn Davis advising that he will NOT accept the 25% purse split adjudicated pursuant to the official WBO purse bid proceedings and, accordingly, will NOT participate in the WBO welterweight mandatory championship contest against Devin Haney.

“In light of the foregoing, the WBO Championship Committee and Ratings Committee will convene to proceed in accordance with the WBO world championship rules and regulations. The applicable ruling will be rendered and published in due course.”

At this stage, it remains to be seen whether Haney will be immediately ordered to face a new mandatory challenger or, given the situation, have the opportunity to make a voluntary defence.

Either way, the 27-year-old has not fought since dethroning Brian Norman Jr in November and is surely eager to return to action.

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