- Caleb Plant publicly puts Hamzah Sheeraz on his list — wants the British contender at 168 to rebuild his own position
- Sheeraz fights Alem Begic for the vacant WBO super middleweight title at the Pyramids of Giza on May 23
- Beat Begic, and Sheeraz is in pole position for Canelo Alvarez in Riyadh in September — Plant doesn't fit anywhere near that calendar
Right Then — Plant Wants In
Right then. Caleb Plant sat in front of a microphone this week and told the boxing press he wants Hamzah Sheeraz next. Make no mistake — this isn't a man at the top of the division dictating terms. Plant has lost his last two meaningful fights and his place at 168 right now is "veteran name with a recognizable resume", not "active contender". He needs Sheeraz more than Sheeraz needs him.
That's the bit Plant either hasn't worked out or is choosing to gloss over. Calling out Sheeraz a fortnight before the Brit fights for a vacant world title at the Pyramids of Giza is, with respect, terrible timing. Sheeraz isn't going to mention Plant's name in fight week. Sheeraz isn't going to mention Plant's name a week after fight week. The next thing on his calendar — if he wins, and let's not beat around the bush, he should — is the September negotiation that puts him across from Canelo Alvarez.
Where Sheeraz Actually Sits
Look, you have to understand where the Brit is in his trajectory. He's 23-1 with one draw, ranked No.7 by The Ring at 168 last summer, and Eddie Hearn has made it clear that the Begic fight on May 23 in Giza is the gateway to the biggest UK super middleweight payday since Joshua-Klitschko. Beat Begic and Sheeraz is suddenly the frontrunner for Canelo's September Riyadh date — by money, by promotion, by network leverage. Jaime Munguia and Christian Mbilli are in the queue too, but Sheeraz's narrative is the one Turki Alalshikh has been backing.
Plant doesn't fit anywhere on that map. He doesn't have a belt. He doesn't have a recent statement win. He doesn't have leverage with the people writing the cheques. The Plant call-out is a man trying to get back into a conversation he was last properly in three years ago — and that's an honest assessment, not a swipe. Plant has plenty of fight left in him. But he's reaching at the wrong target.
Why Sheeraz Wouldn't Take It Anyway
Even putting the Canelo opportunity to one side, the Plant fight is a stylistic and financial losing proposition for Sheeraz. Plant is a slick southpaw boxer whose best work has come from his brain rather than his fists, and he'll make any fight ugly enough to drag the casual viewer's interest down. That's exactly what Sheeraz doesn't want at this stage of his career. He wants the highlight-reel KO over a name that travels in the US — Munguia, Mbilli, Canelo himself.
Plant beats neither of those. Plant lost to Armando Resendiz last year — the same Resendiz who Munguia just dominated 120-108 on Cinco de Mayo weekend. Sheeraz beating Plant in late 2026 doesn't move the needle. It costs Sheeraz a fortune in alternative cost — a Canelo September date, in particular — and gains him almost nothing in division standing.
Plant's Real Path Back
If Plant wants a meaningful fight back into the 168 picture, the names that make sense are domestic American — Edgar Berlanga, Austin Williams level of opposition. A win there gets him the visibility to fight a top-five contender. From there he might work his way back to challenging for a strap. But the call-out aimed at Sheeraz — at the same week as the WBO vacant title fight — feels less like a serious negotiation and more like a man hoping a YouTube clip puts him back on someone's radar.
Brutal? Maybe. Accurate? I think so. The British and American public is too smart for the call-out routine if the maths doesn't add up, and the maths here is a long way from adding up.
The Prediction
Plant doesn't get Sheeraz. The Brit beats Begic at the Pyramids on May 23, lifts the vacant WBO belt, then signs to fight Canelo in Riyadh in September — and that fight is the storyline that defines British super middleweight boxing for the next twelve months. Plant rebuilds with a domestic American fight in the autumn, then maybe gets a top-ten 168 contender in 2027.
Right call-out. Wrong fortnight. The Sheeraz train has somewhere bigger to go.