Carlos Adames ended Hamzah Sheeraz’s 15-fight knockout streak with a split points draw to hold on to his WBC world middleweight title.
Adames (24-1-1, 18 KOs), 30, from Dominican Republic and based in Las Vegas, took a while to get going but in the second half of the fight he was bolder and busier.
However, his strong finish was not enough to get the win as the judges scored it 115-114 to Sheeraz, 118-110 to Adames and 114-114 a draw on the Riyadh Season event in Saudi Arabia.
Sheeraz (21-0-1, 17 KOs), 25, from east London and who trains in California, has looked so destructive in recent years and stopped his previous 15 opponents going into his first world title fight, but he was reticent in throwing the power punches and uppercuts which have served him so well.
The six-foot-three fighter instead utilised his four-inch height and two-inch reach advantages early on, only for Adames to unpick the lock and land power shots in the second half of the fight.
Sheeraz destroyed Tyler Denny in two rounds in his last outing in September, but he made a patient start behind his jab versus Adames.
Sheeraz waited until Round 4 before he started to unleash his right hand with any conviction as the English fighter controlled the fight with his jab.
Adames had more success at close range in Round 6 as Sheeraz stopped moving around the ring, and the champion landed a great arching right hand in Round 8 as he remained in the ascendancy.
Adames made up ground as Sheeraz held back from letting his hands go, and firing his heavy artillery.
Sheeraz was bolder in Round 11 and briefly shook Adames with left hook but the champion finished strongly which looked to have been enough to win him the decision.
