HAMZAH SHEERAZ silenced American mouthpiece Edgar Berlanga with a fifth-round stoppage on his Stateside debut.
Sheeraz came into the bout of the back of a controversial draw against WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames in February.
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And welcoming him up to super-middleweight Berlanga – once a man who scored 16 straight first-round knockouts.
But more recently, he was dominated over 12 rounds by Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez.
Sheeraz went one further by stopping Sheeraz one round after his two knockdowns in the fourth.
He is now mandatory for the WBO 168lb title and said: “Canelo is a boxing hero of mine.
“For my name to be mentioned in the same sentence is a great achievement.
“If it does happen I’ll stand in the middle and have it out with him.
“Massive thank you to Andy Lee.
“Them first few rounds I was losing but we had a plan. I told him to trust me and he did, so thank you.
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“I swear to you, whoever was in the ring with me today there was no stopping me.”
Sheeraz, 26, first floored Berlanga, 28, with a left hook after a combination of punches.
The American – with Puerto Rican heritage – made it to his feet but was dropped once more this time a right hand doing the damage.
Brave Berlanga made it out of the round but after a right hand dropped him again the referee waved off the bout.
Sheeraz moves to 22 wins and one draw and must await the next move of Canelo – who faces Terence Crawford on September 13.
