But he has a good reason why he looked incredibly lethargic in a majority-decision win over Simon Zachenhuber on July 25 at Jeddah Superdome in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Sheeraz underwent surgery on his right hand after his victory against Germany’s Zachenhuber.

“I had picked up a little injury during the fight,” Sheeraz told Ariel Helwani during an interview that was posted recently to his YouTube channel. “I didn’t make it a thing after because I didn’t want to. Just getting on with it, now we’re recovering. I think it was in the second or third round.

“I hit him in a funny place, right at the top of his head, and felt it straight away. But from the positives, I got through 12 rounds with a little injury, back onto bigger and better things hopefully. We’re on the road to recovery as we speak now. I think I’ll be active end of November, early December.”

Sheeraz’s next bout could be a big one, albeit against an opponent he’s reluctant to fight. The Ring’s No. 9-ranked super middleweight was ordered by the WBO to defend his crown against former IBF/WBO middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly, who recently decided to move up in weight. The two sides have until September 3 to reach an agreement, or a purse bid will be scheduled.

Sheeraz (24-0-1, 19 KOs) recently criticized the WBO for placing Alimkhanuly (17-0, 12 KOs) in such a position. The 33-year-old southpaw from Zhilandy, Kazakhstan, was suspended for one year for failing a pre-fight drug test heading into his unification bout against WBA 160-pound belt holder Erislandy Lara in December 2025. Meldonium, a banned substance, was found in both his A and B samples submitted to the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association.

The IBF opted to strip Alimkhanuly outright, while the WBO was more lenient, allowing him to remain champion while he served his ban. However, the sanctioning body stated that Alimkhanuly’s suspension ended on July 10, due to him “complying with specific conditions.”

Sheeraz is angered by the entire process. He doesn’t believe Alimkhanuly should be rewarded with a title shot after failing a drug test. He is now huddling up with his team to figure out his options.

While he analyzes his next move, he’s still optimistic for a big fight.

Although he has always remained professional and focused on who’s in front of him, he admits that sometimes it’s difficult staying locked in on someone who essentially has no chance at beating him. He was a 25-1 favorite to beat Zachenhuber (29-2, 18 KOs).

Sheeraz hopes his next fight will be a challenging one, similar to the split draw for which he settled against WBC middleweight champ Carlos Adames (25-1-1, 18 KOs), or the fifth-round knockout he scored against Edgar Berlanga (24-2, 19 KOs).

“Adames and Berlanga are big names, fighters that get you up for it,” Sheeraz said. “Then you’re on the other end of things where you’re expected to go in there and just blast these guys out. Hopefully the next one is a big one, lessons learned and experience banked.”