Ring IV Results: Sheeraz KO's Berlanga; Stevenson, Matias, & Morrell Win

In the first-ever boxing event at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York, Hamzah Sheeraz came away with a statement win, stopping New York native Edgar Berlanga, while Shakur Stevenson put on a showcase of skill while retaining his WBC World Lightweight Championship against William Zepeda, co-headlining Ring Magazine III Saturday night on DAZN PPV.

Hamzah Sheeraz (21-0-1, 17 KOs) delivered the biggest win of his career, stepping up into the super middleweight division and entering Berlanga’s (23-2, 18 KOs) hometown, with a fifth-round TKO victory. After a feeling-out period over the first two rounds, Sheeraz began to find his range over the shorter Berlanga and showed he was comfortable in his new weight class. He sent the self-proclaimed King of New York to the canvas twice in the fourth round, first with a ferocious three-punch combination upstairs and shortly after with a stiff right cross. Berlanga made it to the end of the round, but Sheeraz only needed 17 seconds in the fifth to put him away for good. (See video HERE)

“Whoever was in the ring with me tonight, there was no stopping me,” Sheeraz said at the end of the night. “After my last fight (against Carlos Adames), the amount of abuse I got on social media and in person—I understand it's part of boxing—but it made me a hungrier fighter.”

Sheeraz worked with a new trainer for this bout, former middleweight champion Andy Lee, who he credited with aiding him in tonight's win. “A massive thank you to Andy Lee, a man who put his faith and trust in me. In the first few rounds, I was losing them. I told him I can hunt this guy down and he believed me. Not many coaches do that, so Andy, thank you very much.”

Speaking in the ring, Lee heaped praise on his pupil while letting the world know that more is still to come. “We’re only just scratching the surface. There's so much potential left in this guy. It’s scary how far he can go. Take notice, there's a new star in the world of boxing.”

With the triumph, Sheeraz becomes the mandatory challenger for the WBC World Super Middleweight title currently held by the legend, Canelo Alvarez.

“Canelo has always been a boxing hero of mine, so even for my name to be mentioned in the same sentence as his is a great achievement in and of itself,” said Sheeraz. “If I do get the opportunity to fight him, it won't be one of those where I try to nick him on points. I will stand in the middle with him and have it out. Whoever lands first, I suppose, will knock out the other.”

In the first bout of the evening’s double-main event, WBC World Lightweight Champion Shakur Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs) defended his title in a masterful unanimous decision over interim belt holder William Zepeda (33-1, 27 KOs), with two judges scoring the fight 118-110 and the other 119-109. Despite talk of a “Tom and Jerry”-style fight taking over social media in the days before the event, Stevenson showcased his elite skills against an opponent who kept coming forward and landed the most punches ever on the Newark native. Fighting in his backyard, Stevenson dug deep and returned the fire to Zepeda, landing 199 power punches.

“It wasn't the performance I was looking for, because I was trying to prove a point. I was trying to fight, so I took more punishment than usual. At the end of the day, I do whatever it takes to get the job done,” Stevenson remarked following the bout. “I’ve got that dog in me. I’m not no puppy. I’m not a poodle. I’m a tough guy. I’ve got dog in me.” (See video HERE)

Zepeda came out with his trademark rapid-fire punch output, throwing 979 total over the 12 rounds while trying to control the ring. Stevenson was able to escape with limited damage from the exchanges before returning the action to the center of the ring, where he unleashed combinations that slowed down his opponent.

“That was one of the toughest fighters at 135 lbs. I want a lot of people to get in the ring with him and see how tough he is. He pushed me to another level,” Stevenson said of Zepeda. “I had to go in my bag. He just kept coming. He tried to pin me against the ropes so I had to switch it up and not sit against the ropes too long.”

When asked who may be next on his list, Stevenson welcomed all challengers while noting he plans to keep leveling up his game. “Whoever. I want to go back to the drawing board, work on my game a little bit. Get physically stronger and when I come back, I’ll be even better.”

A new champion was crowned in the first of tonight’s two title fights as Subriel Matias (23-2, 22 KOs) took the undefeated record and WBC World Super Lightweight Championship from Alberto Puello (24-1, 10 KOs) by majority decision with scores of 114-114 and 115-113 twice. In another thrilling chapter in the history of Puerto Rico vs. Dominican Republic, the Puerto Rican Matias’ constant pressure and focused body attack forced Puello to his backfoot throughout the entire fight. With his victory, Matias is now a two-time champion at 140 lbs (see video HERE).

“When I lost (to Liam Paro) in 2024, a lot of people laughed at me, but I told them I would come back and be a world champion once again and here it is.”

Puello spent the fight attempting to use his counterpunching ability and intelligence to outmaneuver the charging Matias. The now former champion landed 12 more blows overall (267-255), but Matias scored over 100 shots to the body and had the advantage in power punches landed (210-205).

Immediately following the contest, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, owner of Ring Magazine and Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, entered the ring with Dalton Smith and announced that Matias would be defending his newly won title against the Brit on November 22 in Saudi Arabia at Night of Champions, the upcoming Ring Magazine IV fight card as part of Riyadh Season.

Addressing His Excellency and his next opponent, Matias simply said, “You want exciting fighters. I’m here.”

A battle of top-10 Ring Magazine-ranked light heavyweights brought the crowd in Queens to their feet early in the evening, as David Morrell (12-1, 9 KOs) returned to the win column with a tight, split decision victory over Imam Khataev (10-1, 9 KOs). At the end of the 10-round slugfest, two judges scored the bout for Morrell, 96-93 and 95-94, and one for Khataev, 95-94. (See video HERE)

“I’m excited. I’m ready for the next opportunity. I’m here. Tell everybody I’m back. I feel great,” Morrell said in the ring immediately following the bout, celebrating his first win following a decision loss to WBC Light Heavyweight Champion David Benavidez at the start of the year.

A former WBA (Regular) titleholder at super middleweight and light heavyweight, Morrell controlled the action early with his accuracy and shots to the body. But Khataev, the 2020 Olympic Bronze Medalist for Russia, landed powerful blows that visibly hurt Morrell and adapted well to whatever the Cuban threw at him. Towards the end of round 5, Khataev landed a looping overhand right that sent Morrell to the canvas for the first time in his professional career. He answered the bell, however, and later, in the final rounds, fought with a visible urgency against the tiring Khataev that ultimately proved to be the difference on the judges' scorecards.

When asked about the potential of a rematch with Khataev, Morrell welcomed the challenge. “Why not? It was a great fight. I don’t say no to a rematch. If the people say they want a rematch and they liked the fight, I don’t say no to anybody. I’m ready. I don’t care.”

Kicking off the pay-per-view card, Japanese boxing prodigy and Ring Ambassador Reito Tsutsumi (2-0, 1 KO) returned to New York City for his second professional fight and made short work of Michael Ruiz (2-8-1, 0 KO) with a second-round TKO in featherweight action. (See video HERE)

Looking to put on an impressive performance, Tsutsumi came out aggressive with a barrage of body shots and scored two knockdowns in the first round with right hands to his opponent’s midsection. Ruiz managed to make it to the end of the first round, but Tsutsumi needed little time in the second to put him away with a straight left hand. Tsutsumi landed an astounding 58% (39-67) of his punches while only taking two total shots from Ruiz.