In tonight’s Ring III event, Edgar Berlanga fights Hamzah Sheeraz in a toss-up clash in the headliner on this DAZN PPV card in Queens, New York. The slick Jerry-esque WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson makes a defense against WBC interim champ William Zepeda in the chief support bout. It’s a fight that Shakur (23-0,11 KOs) will need to show more offense than he has in the past to come out victorious.
The event kicks off at 6:00 p.m. ET / 3:00 p.m. PT on DAZN pay-per-view. The event price is $59.99. The ring walks are approximately 9:55 p.m. ET for the main event bout between Berlanga (23-1, 18 KOs) and Sheeraz (21-0-1, 17 KOs).
Queens DAZN PPV Fight Card
– Edgar Berlanga vs. Hamzah Sheeraz – WBC 168-lb title eliminator
Co-feature bout
– Shakur Stevenson vs. William Zepeda – For Shakur’s WBC 135-lb belt
Undercard
– Alberto Puello vs. Subriel Matias – For Puello’s WBC 140-lb title
– David Morrell vs. Imam Khataev – light heavyweight
– Reito Tsutsumi vs. Isiah Rodrigues – Super featherweight
– Mohammed Alakel vs. Placido Hoff – Lightweight
Morrell vs. Khataev: Steal Show
Former two-division world champion David Morrell’s bout against the unbeaten, highly touted former amateur star Imam Khataev (10-0, 9 KOs) could steal the show from the other fights on tonight’s card. This is a battle between two big punchers that could be a war. Khataev is viewed as being similar to Artur Beterbiev with his power and pressure style of fighting.
The Cuban Morrell is a fighter who can mimic any style, changing from being a pure boxer to a destroyer. We saw glimpses of that when Morrell transformed his style during his fight against David Benavidez last February, knocking him down and lighting him up with hard shots in the final three rounds.
Turki Alalshikh chose to place the Berlanga-Sheeraz in the headliner of tonight’s event, counting on Berlanga’s New York fanbase to turn out in big numbers. Thus far, it’s not worked well, as the ticket sales have lagged.
Stevenson vs. Zepeda: Lightweight Clash
Some believe that Shakur Stevenson’s fight against William Zepeda should have been placed in the main event, as Stevenson is more popular, a belt-holder, and is taking on the Mexican knockout artist Zepeda in a boxer vs. puncher match-up.