Although Canelo Alvarez himself has opened the door to a 2026 stadium showdown with Hamzah Sheeraz, the Englishman won't describe Saturday’s fight with Edgar Berlanga as a steppingstone towards it.

In February, the rangey puncher from Ilford lost his immaculate record when he laboured to a split decision against Carlos Adames which he later admitted felt more like a defeat.

He had been widely expected to beat Adames to claim the WBC middleweight title with most predictions suggesting that Sheeraz would extend his 15-fight knockout streak. Fights with Chris Eubank Jr and Canelo had been mooted once he got past Adames, 31.

Sheeraz (21-0-1, 17 KOs) has conceded that even he had begun to take his eye off Adames and picture what might be beyond that. Despite the prospect of fighting for the undisputed super middleweight title if he beats Berlanga, he is fully focused on the here and now.

“It's only because I learned from my last fight,” Sheeraz said. “Before my last fight, everyone was talking about it. Eubank Jr. this, Eubank Jr. that and you end up eventually believing it.

“You end up eventually feeling like it’s going to happen regardless. So yeah, I've definitely learned from my previous experience and now I understand that the buck actually does stop with Berlanga for now.

“Yes you can ideally have a plan in your head and you can ideally have fighters you want to fight, but I made a mistake in my last fight and I've learned from that. I've learned a lot from that.

“The focus now is obviously on Berlanga. He's a serious fighter, but hopefully, God willing, I'll put on a great performance then the world is my oyster.”

When asked if he feels like the showdown with Berlanga feels like something of a semifinal, the last fight before a huge world title opportunity, Sheeraz disagreed.

“To be fair, this is the massive step,” he said. “Not the next fight, but this one. It’s the massive one for me so it’s not even a case of thinking about what comes after.

“I am solely focused on this one and nothing else.”

Even Turki Alalshikh, the head of Riyadh Season and chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority, has suggested that Sheeraz might book a fight with Alvarez should he win Saturday.

And the Mexican will fancy his chances of beating the Brit with his record against UK fighters currently standing at 8-0.