Hamzah Sheeraz might need one more win before moving to the front of the line.

Sheeraz (22-0-1, 18 KOs) barely broke a sweat against Edgar Berlanga earlier this month, notching a fifth-round knockout win against the former super middleweight title challenger to headline the "Ring III" pay-per-view show from New York's Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Before the Brit's triumphant 168-pound debut, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman announced their showdown would be a final eliminator.

Some were under the impression that this meant Sheeraz would now become the mandatory challenger for titleholder Canelo Alvarez, a belief reinforced by Riyadh Season head Turki Alalshikh who declared Canelo-Sheeraz made sense next in early 2026.

Alvarez is preparing for his upcoming Terence Crawford showdown on Sept. 13 at Las Vegas' Allegiant Stadium. While the 6ft 3in contender had been led to believe his career-best win was enough to grab a shot at the winner of their megafight, Sulaiman recently revealed that Sheeraz's stoppage win actually placed him in line to face someone else.

"We had a final elimination with Sheeraz against Berlanga, and Sheeraz won, so he earned the right to fight [Christian] Mbilli," Sulaiman told Matt of Brunch Boxing.

Montreal-based French contender Christian Mbilli grabbed the interim WBC super middleweight crown last month against Maciej Sulecki, wasting no time en route to a first-round finish.

There's a long queue waiting for their world title shot and Sulaiman is attempting to juggle matters as far as the WBC are concerned.

Although he views Mbilli and Sheeraz worthy challengers, to clear up the logjam, there's an eagerness for them to box and make a more deserving contender undeniable — much like was the case when they proposed Mbilli-Diego Pacheco earlier this year, albeit to no avail.

"We want to build a tremendous fight to have a mandatory challenger for the undisputed."