The wait is nearly over for the high-stakes super middleweight clash between Edgar Berlanga and Hamzah Sheeraz.

Berlanga (23-1, 18 KOs) and Sheeraz (21-0-1, 17 KOs) will meet in a 12-round WBC super middleweight title eliminator on Saturday at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York. The winner will undoubtedly be in line for a huge fight, as His Excellency Turki Alalshikh has named Sheeraz as a potential opponent for undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez. Berlanga’s manager, Keith Connolly, asserted that his fighter will nab a big name if he gets his hand raised.

Sheeraz, 26, enters the bout off a controversial split draw against WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames. Berlanga, 28, landed the 17th first-round knockout of his career in his last fight against Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz.

The overwhelming consensus for the fight can go either way and is as close to a pick’em as it gets. Here are previews and predictions from commentators, fighters and trainers for Berlanga vs Sheeraz:

As a natural purist of boxing, I love these kind of fights because I feel like you get the best version of each guy because they try harder. Neither guy has been a world champion yet. So I feel like we’re going to get a lot of effort from both guys. Both guys are going to be willing to do a little bit more just to get the victory.

[Berlanga] never gets a stoppage against a stubborn guy that don't want to be stopped. That's a big deal. People can say what they want about Ammo Williams, but he's a young, confident, strong fighter who's fighting him hard and [Sheeraz] had to turn him back. Berlanga gets in front of guys like that and just allows them to go the distance.

This is just a guess because it's a very tough fight to pick. I feel like Berlanga is more athletic, but I feel like Sheeraz can win the fight by late stoppage, between eight and 11.

Berlanga for sure. Berlanga is a big dog. I’ve seen him work. He trains in Plant City [Florida]. I’ve watched him train. He might be a little shorter, but he’s bigger.

Berlanga. He’s a knockout puncher. I’ve been seeing a whole bunch of trash talk, but I don’t think [Sheeraz] can fare up against Berlanga, even though I think he’s a good boxer and stronger.

I feel like Sheeraz is just a better fighter. But I feel like moving up to 168, Berlanga is a big guy, man. He's a big, thick, strong dude. I don't think he's this one-punch knockout guy like everybody thought at one time, but he's a big, strong guy. He's capable. He's got a good foundation. He's got a good coach. I really do think it's one of those, who is going to show up and execute their game plan the best that night? I feel like both guys are capable of winning.

It’s 50-50, man. If you were going to hold a gun to my head and I had to close my eyes and pick, I would say Sheeraz by unanimous decision. I wouldn’t want to bet on it.

I think [Sheeraz will be] a more complete guy. You’re going to see a guy who fights still using his height, sharp shooter, a good puncher, knows how to fight long and tall, but you’re going to see a more confident fighter.

[Sheeraz is] going to have to control the outside. He’s going to have to stay away from being in too tight with the bigger, stronger guy. He’s going to have to make him pay a price for trying to make up real estate on him. He’s going to have to be on his P’s and Q’s all night and he’s going to have to be a lot better than he was against Adames. I believe he will be. I believe in this kid. I like Berlanga, too, but I believe in this kid.

I think Hamzah is going to win. I think he’s going to outbox Edgar Berlanga. I think that he’s long, strong and a good boxer. I think he is going to style and profile on the kid and it’s a bad matchup for Edgar Berlanga.

I got Berlanga. Sometimes skills pay the bills, but physical strength is a thing in boxing, too. Punching power is a thing in boxing, too. I think that’s the difference in this fight for Berlanga.

I’m torn. I just think this is such a great fight. Sheeraz needs to improve drastically on that last performance. The hesitation early on can’t be there this time. It’ll allow Berlanga to get into his stride, find his range and unload. The move up in weight will have Hamzah feeling much more secure in himself, I’m sure. Establishing his jab and range early is a must.

Both fighters, I don’t feel, have a great win on their record. This is a real pick ‘em fight, but the experience of going the rounds with Canelo could give Berlanga the slight edge in terms of who feels more comfortable in there on this stage. First fight with a new coach, Hamzah can’t doubt anything and has to get it right or he gets done. I’d make Berlanga the slight favorite. First fight at the weight and first with a new coach could be a touch too much.

It's probably a distance fight. If there was going to be a knockout in it, I think we'd probably be looking to Berlanga to produce it, because he's the bigger fighter.

I think it's more likely to go the distance. As far as a decision and who gets what, I don't know. It’s 50-50 to me. Both men have so many questions to answer. I think it's hard to take a stand and say, ‘Oh, this is going to happen, and that's going to happen.’ This is one of those fights where I think we might be surprised on many levels.

There are very, very few fighters in the world from whom you can learn as much by facing off against them as is the case with Canelo. So, you have to hope for Berlanga’s sake that he paid attention, that he recognized all of the differences between himself and his background and Canelo, and that he brings a higher level of craft and sophistication into the ring against Sheeraz.

Sheeraz is a taller British counterpuncher. He probably hasn't faced anyone who's even remotely analogous to somebody like Canelo Alvarez. So the critical marker going into the fight is OK, Berlanga got the expected loss against Alvarez. What did he learn? Sheeraz wants to go in and use his height and counterpunching ability against a guy who, in the past, has been a full-on attacker without nuance. Does Berlanga now have other elements in his game to go with his straight-ahead power, and if so, he might have advantages against Sheeraz, but it's an interesting matchup because we're going to learn more about both of them.