Hamzah Sheeraz was made to settle for a majority decision victory over Simon Zachenhuber on Saturday in Saudi Arabia to defend his WBO super middleweight championship.
Despite failing to produce fireworks, Sheeraz insisted he would be ringside on Oct. 31 to watch Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez challenge for Christian Mbilli's WBC belt.
Sheeraz opened the door to "any of the champions" or Jacob Bank but confirmed he would keep a close eye on Canelo's next fight.
"I am a champion in the division. I'm sure people are champing at the bit after [my] performance," he said after going 12 rounds and hearing 115-113, 116-112, 114-114 on the scorecards.
"I got the win, that's all that matters. I could make a million excuses. I'll be better in the next fight.
"I need a step up now, someone who will mentally present a challenge. I was switching off at times, I was too comfortable when I didn't have a threat in front of me."
Sheeraz took his time to ease into his title defence, having a good look at Zachenhuber in the opening round.
But the Brit gradually upped the pace and it became clear he was levels above his challenger, who faded as the bout went on.
Sheeraz (24-0-1, 19 KOs) hurt Zachenhuber (29-2, 18 KOs) in Round 5 but, to his credit, the German showed his toughness by sticking around.
Sheeraz never upped the ante enough to overwhelm Zachenhuber. Although he was winning the rounds and never in much danger, he also didn't show the full repertoire of his own abilities.
"Just let it come," trainer Andy Lee told Sheeraz who insisted he was "just soaking it all up" after Round 8.
But despite Lee's wish for more combinations, Sheeraz was still unable to do enough to force Zachenhuber's challenge to end early. He raised an eyebrow with surprise when one judged rule it a draw.
