25 years young, EBU champion and knockout qualities like Artur Beterbiev or Gervonta Davis: Hamzah Sheeraz is a beacon of hope not only in Great Britain. Can the up-and-comer bring new brilliance to the middleweight division?
When European champion Tyler Denny and young star Hamzah Sheeraz faced each other in the ring on the undercard of Joshua vs. Dubois on September 21, it was an unexpectedly quick reunion for the champ. A few months earlier, he was still in Sheeraz’s camp as a sparring partner to prepare him for the fight against American Austin “Ammo” Williams on June 1, which his British compatriot won with a T.K.O. in round eleven. So in September it will be the defending champion, of all people, who goes into the fight as the underdog. The predictions should prove correct: The 33-year-old champ has little to oppose the up-and-comer, who is eight years younger. Denny is knocked down so hard by Sheeraz in the second round that the referee calls a T.K.O. victory for the youngster.
At a time when many British boxing stars such as Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Chris Eubank Jr. are making a name for themselves through missed opportunities, dubious choice of opponent and mixed performances, the boxing nation could do with a new hero. Hamzah Sheeraz has come along at the right time, making his compatriots in the audience and on the commentary microphone cheer. His record is impressive: 21 wins, 17 of them early. This becomes even more impressive on closer inspection: Sheeraz’s four points victories came in his first six professional fights, when he was still going four or six rounds. Since then, he has knocked every opponent out of the ring early.
Electrician instead of boxer
The son of a Pakistani father and an Indian mother was born in London on May 25, 1999. He was born with sporting talent: Hamzah’s father Kamran played professional cricket for Gloucestershire, his paternal grandfather and his uncle Imran were boxers. “My uncle won several national titles as an amateur (in the UK; editor’s note) and got me into boxing when I was eight years old,” the young star tells the BBC.
As an amateur, Sheeraz made it to the final of the national youth championships three times, but a great career was not in the cards for him. He was often not put up for major tournaments, so he lost faith in the sport and turned his back on the “sweet science” for a year to learn a trade as an electrician. His trainer at the time, Lenny Butcher, was able to convince him to return to boxing and turn professional at the age of 18. On the day he came of age, Hamzah signed with Queensberry Promotions, which proved to be a stroke of luck for promoter Frank Warren.
In the early years, Sheeraz boxed up to five fights a year. The up-and-coming boxer also had to deal with racism. In 2021, he found a note on his car when he came home from training that insulted him because of his Pakistani roots. When the British footballers Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford were subjected to racist abuse in the same year because they missed penalties in the European Championship final against Italy, Hamzah showed his solidarity with them. On July 24, 2021, he wears Saka’s name on a shirt during the ring walk before defeating Ezequiel Guerrera by T.K.O. in the fifth.
British boxing idol as a role model
One of Sheeraz’s role models is Amir Khan, a British boxing idol who also has Pakistani roots. Like Khan, the young star wants to fight against prejudice and be judged by his performances in the ring. On the ropes, he won the WBO European title in the middleweight division at the end of 2019 with a T.K.O. victory over Ryan Kelly and successfully defended the belt four times before moving up to middleweight in 2022. There, Sheeraz inflicts his first professional defeat on former Olympian Dmytro Mytrofanov – T.K.O. in round two. In the next fight, he inflicts such a beating on two-time world championship challenger Liam Williams that the latter’s corner throws in the towel before the end of the first round.
At 1.91 meters tall, Hamzah Sheeraz is one of the tallest boxers in the middleweight division, with just as much reach. But the protégé of US coach Ricky Funez, who regularly trains with him in Los Angeles, has much more to offer. His cover work is superb, as is his punching power and his eye for gaps in his opponents’ cover. Sheeraz is also a merciless finisher: if his opponents show weakness, the Briton covers them with a series of punches against the ropes and in the corner of the ring until he leaves the ring as the winner.
Numerous World Cup options for Hamzah Sheeraz
In the fall of this year, Sheeraz is ranked number one on both the WBC and WBO challenger lists. When he was chosen as the mandatory challenger for IBF and WBO champion Zhanibek Alimkhanuly, he made a momentous decision – and pulled out of the fight, dropping out of both rankings. Sheeraz prefers to fight WBC world champion Carlos Adames on February 22. On the one hand, this is the bigger name, on the other hand, the fight is part of the mega event Beterbiev vs. Bivol II in Riyadh, where Daniel Dubois vs. Joseph Parker, Jaron Ennis vs. Vergil Ortiz jr. and Zhilei Zhang vs. Agit Kabayel, among others, are scheduled to take place. In addition, this is part of the “Riyadh Season” event program, of which Sheeraz is one of the ambassadors. If Hamzah Sheeraz proves himself again in February, fights against Alimkhanuly and WBA champion Erislandy Lara should only be a matter of time.
Some experts are already dreaming that the shooting star can return the middleweight division to the glory days when Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez were still fighting for the limit crown. Should he succeed, Hamzah Sheeraz would finally be the new national hero of boxing Britain.
Text by Nils Bothmann