Frank Warren declared Hamzah Sheeraz the new king of New York after his emphatic 5th-round knockout win over hometown favourite Edgar Berlanga in their 'Ring III' headliner on Saturday night.

Sheeraz (22-0-1, 18 KOs) banished any lingering ill feelings after a 12-round split draw with WBC middleweight world champion Carlos Adames (24-1-1, 18 KOs) on February 22.

That night he boxed on with a broken left hand suffered in the fifth round and was naturally reluctant to throw with his usual volume in the second-half of their tense encounter. Couple that and an impassioned ringside plea from HE Turki Alalshikh, as well as some suspect corner work and it's easy to see why he was a lightning rod for criticism in the aftermath.

Nonetheless after a six-week spell away from the spotlight, he returned to announce a big change in his team: Andy Lee replacing longtime coach Ricky Funez as new head trainer with the 26-year-old describing the previous experience in Riyadh as a blessing in disguise.

Moving up to super middleweight after three years' campaigning at 160-pounds, the Riyadh Season ambassador didn't want a warm-up fight and told The Ring's Louis Hart of his willingness to face Berlanga in an intriguing welcome to the weight class. Less than a week later, their matchup was confirmed.

After showing appreciation for a Dubai medical clinic who expedited his recovery process - citing it as 50% faster than the usual recuperation timeline - Sheeraz was back training under Lee's tutelage in Dublin, Ireland as their camp began in mid-May.

Sheeraz's struggles squeezing his frame down in the weight class below only became apparent to his promoter and Queensberry chief Warren, in the aftermath of his anticlimactic Adames display. 

Sheeraz had told The Ring he'd stay in the division for proposed matchups against unified champion Janibek Alimkhanuly (17-0, 12 KOs) and an all-British battle with Brighton star Chris Eubank Jr (35-3, 23 KOs), though his off-night in the Saudi capital forced an inevitable pivot. Just like his battle to make 154-pounds, it shouldn't have made this far.

Puerto Rico's Berlanga, who made his professional debut as a middleweight in 2016, has been a fully-fledged 168-pounder since 2020. Yet the 6ft 3in Brit was noticeably bigger in the ring and made his presence felt against a bullish opponent wary of the Ilford man's physical gifts but unable to adapt accordingly once he made real-time adjustments.

During the post-fight press conference, the victor said as much. 

"Respect to Edgar, don't think he expected me to fight in close. I heard him in the second or third round, when he saw me change the gameplan I heard him say 'ah s---' and that's where the fight was one for me, in that moment, I knew I had the mental edge. 

"It was just about landing and you've got to remember he's a big guy, walks around at 210lbs or whatever it is, dropping down to that [168lbs] is not healthy at all, you're not going to have cardio, I've been there doing that at 160. It's all about experience, once you pick up those little things in boxing, you can implement them in your game, that's what I did."

Warren was then asked by another British promoter, GBM Sports boss Izzy Asif, about the loyalty shown on both sides of their partnership and a potential look into what's next.

"It's been a development, a lot of people were banging on about the last fight, didn't know he was having weight problems otherwise I would've stopped it from happening! We dealt with it straight away, as a man he went straight to the deep end - no dipping his toe into the water - went in with a real recognised opponent who went the distance with Canelo.

"I want to see the Vegas fight [Canelo-Crawford] in September, all the organisations are going to put him in at No. 1 on the strength of this performance. He's not a runner, he comes to fight - big heart and a big puncher - never seen him in a dull fight when he's at his best and he's a joy to work with."

After two big fights four-and-a-half months apart, Sheeraz stressed a desire for another fight between now and 2026, whether Canelo features in his future plans or not.

Adames has been vocal on social media calling for a rematch to settle unfinished business at super middleweight, while there are a whole host of fresh matchups that can be made elsewhere to challenge him before potentially sharing the ring with one of his sporting idols.

His manager, Spencer Brown, told Boxing King Media on Sunday of a few potential options they'll look to pursue for that pre-Christmas slot.

He named Matchroom-backed Diego Pacheco (23-0, 18 KOs) and Danish sparring partner Jacob Bank (16-0, 8 KOs) as possibilities - both have fights booked - though European champion Callum Simpson (18-0, 13 KOs) in a British homecoming seems the most feasible.