Adames Retains WBC Title in Draw with Sheeraz
Carlos Adames kept his WBC middleweight title after a 12-round split draw with Hamzah Sheeraz on February 22, 2025, at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh. Sheeraz came in unbeaten and was seeking his first world championship, while Adames made the second defense of the belt he had won in 2023. The judges turned in sharply different cards: 115-114 for Sheeraz, 118-110 for Adames and 114-114. Under boxing’s scoring rules, the even card made the official result a draw, so Adames retained the championship. The World Boxing Council’s report confirms the decision and scores.
The matchup put the Dominican champion’s compact pressure against Sheeraz’s height and reach. Adames worked the body and tried to close distance; the taller challenger used his jab and movement to keep the champion at range. It was a tactical contest that never became the all-out exchange many expected from two hard punchers. Adames had stretches of effective pressure, while Sheeraz landed enough clean counters to keep the rounds competitive. Neither man was able to impose a decisive advantage over the full distance.
The scorecards caused immediate debate because of the eight-point spread between the card favoring Adames and the one favoring Sheeraz. The WBC report noted that Adames landed more body punches and described the draw as a defense of his crown. The Ring’s round-by-round account also emphasized the wide difference between the judges. Sheeraz’s 15-fight knockout streak ended, but he left Riyadh with his first mark other than a win or knockout loss: 21-0-1 at the time. Adames’ record became 24-1-1.
A rematch was discussed after the draw, but the fighters moved in different directions. Adames returned to defend his title against Austin “Ammo” Williams in March 2026, winning a unanimous decision with scores of 118-108, 117-109 and 117-109. The WBC’s account of the bout reported that Adames improved to 25-1-1 and retained the middleweight championship.
Sheeraz moved up to super middleweight after the draw. He stopped Alem Begic in the second round in May 2026 to win the vacant WBO title, then defended it against Simon Zachenhuber in July. In September, the WBO confirmed that Sheeraz had relinquished the belt rather than proceed with a mandatory defense against Janibek Alimkhanuly. The WBO statement records that decision. Their 2025 meeting remains a draw on both fighters’ records, and Adames retained his title that night.
The fight formed part of “The Last Crescendo,” a Riyadh card built around the Beterbiev–Bivol rematch. It shared the program with Stevenson’s defense against Padley and Parker’s bout with Bakole, placing the middleweight title contest among several championship and heavyweight matchups. The Top Rank event page lists Adames-Sheeraz among the official card results. The uneven cards made this draw one of the night’s most discussed outcomes even though neither boxer earned the championship win he wanted.
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Tags: Boxing, Combat Sports
