“Second time this yr the place the WBO has screwed Jacob Financial institution out of a title shot. First was their rush to judgment in sanctioning Hamzah-Alem Begic mismatch for vacant belt. Now, he will get handed over for a fighter who paid minimal (if not zero) penalties for a optimistic drug check,” Donovan posted on X.
One response beneath Sheeraz’s response captured how some followers are going to interpret his curiosity within the topic.
“lmao buddy tryna search for a means out,” Amin wrote.
There isn’t a proof that Sheeraz is attempting to keep away from Janibek, however the timing is fascinating. Financial institution represented a a lot safer first protection. Janibek presents a much more harmful menace, and all of the sudden the WBO’s decision-making has turn out to be uncomfortable for the champion.
Sheeraz just isn’t ready to search for sympathy. Donovan’s criticism goes past Janibek receiving favorable therapy; his submit notes that Financial institution was wronged when Sheeraz was allowed to battle Alem Begic for the vacant belt.
In different phrases, Sheeraz capitalized when the sanctioning physique skipped Financial institution the primary time. Now that Financial institution has been bypassed in favor of a harmful puncher, the state of affairs seems fully totally different from the champion’s aspect.
The larger challenge is what Janibek can take away from him.
Sheeraz has been shifting towards the profitable finish of the division, the place a battle in opposition to Canelo Alvarez would convey an enormous payday that dwarfs something out there in opposition to Janibek. Shedding the WBO belt earlier than getting there would wreck these plans.
In concept, Sheeraz can rebuild from a loss with cautious matchmaking and work his means again into place for a significant battle. The query is whether or not Canelo will nonetheless be round by the point he will get there.
Canelo misplaced his final battle to Terence Crawford and may have been inactive for greater than a yr when he returns in opposition to WBC tremendous middleweight champion Christian Mbilli. If Canelo loses that battle as nicely, retirement turns into a practical chance slightly than one thing safely off within the distance.
That provides Sheeraz much less room for error than it may appear. A loss to Janibek can ship him by a rebuilding course of whereas the most important payday out there to him strikes nearer to disappearing altogether.
Janibek represents greater than an inconvenient obligatory. He can wreck the whole Canelo plan, and Sheeraz could not have sufficient time to place it again collectively.
That turns the 20-day negotiation window into a vital countdown. Sheeraz needed a world title, and the WBO has delivered the precise sort of obligatory challenger that comes with proudly owning one. If he needs a straightforward route round Janibek, he must look elsewhere.
