Hamzah Sheeraz

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Hamzah Sheeraz
Born
Mohammed Hamzah Sheeraz

(1999-05-25) 25 May 1999 (age 24)
Ilford, London, England
Statistics
Weight(s)Light-middleweight
Middleweight
Height6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record[1]
Total fights19
Wins19
Wins by KO15
Losses0
Draws0
No contests0

Mohammed Hamzah Sheeraz (born 25 May 1999) is a British professional boxer who is the current Commonwealth and WBC Silver middleweight champion. He previously held the WBO European light-middleweight title.

Early life[edit]

Sheeraz was born on 25 May 1999 in Ilford in London, England into a family of athletes from his father's side.[2][3] Sheeraz’s paternal family originates from the village of Matore, in the Kahuta Tehsil, located in Rawalpindi District of Punjab, Pakistan, and his father was a cricketer who played for Gloucestershire.[4] His paternal grandfather and uncle were both boxers, the latter winning ten national amateur titles for the Slough and Pinewood Star clubs.[5] His mother has Indian roots and Sheeraz considers himself to be a Muslim.[6]

Amateur career[edit]

I never set sights of being an Olympian, going to world amateur championships, this-that-and the other, it’s difficult to explain but I just didn’t have that much interest in it. The professional game and winning pro titles is just so much more appealing to me.

—Sheeraz discussing his motivations for turning pro early[7]

Sheeraz was first directed to a gym by his uncle at the age of eight and had his first bout at 12.[8] He went on to become a three-time finalist at the national junior championships.[3] However, he became disillusioned with the sport after being overlooked for the Commonwealth Youth championships and took a year off to focus on an electrician's apprenticeship.[5] A meeting with his then-trainer Lenny Butcher led him to come back and try his hand as a professional.[3]

Professional career[edit]

Sheeraz turned professional in 2017, signing a deal with Frank Warren's Queensberry Promotions on his eighteenth birthday.[9] He made his pro debut on 16 September 2017 on the undercard of the Billy Joe Saunders–Willie Monroe Jr. world title fight at the Copper Box Arena in London. He defeated 35-year-old journeyman Duane Green via technical knockout (TKO) in the second round for his first victory.[10][11] By the beginning of 2019 he was sporting a 6–0 record. He dropped Rod Douglas Jr. three times en route to a first-round TKO in March before stopping Ladislav Nemeth in the second round of their April bout at Wembley Arena.[12] He registered his third-straight TKO victory on 13 July, beating Scott James in under two minutes on the undercard of the Daniel Dubois–Nathan Gorman British heavyweight title fight at The O2 Arena in London.[13]

On 30 November 2019, Sheeraz defeated "Ruthless" Ryan Kelly (14–2, 7 KO) by sixth-round TKO for the vacant WBO European junior-middleweight title. Late in the sixth round of their fight at Arena Birmingham, he dropped his opponent with a straight right hand. Kelly got up but was forced back onto the ropes as Sheeraz threw a barrage of punches that he was not able to overcome. The referee stopped the fight with two seconds left in the round, giving Sheeraz his first title belt as a professional.[4][14] The win also moved him into the top 15 in the WBO rankings.[15]

He retained his title with stoppage wins over Paul Kean on 10 July 2020,[16] Guido Nicolas Pitto on 28 November 2020.[17] and Ezequiel Gurria on 24 July 2021[18]

Sheeraz defended his title for a fourth and final time against Bradley Skeete at the Copper Box Arena in London on 4 December 2021 winning the fight by stoppage in the ninth-round of a controversial contest which saw him docked a point in round eight for punching Skeete while he was on the canvas after being knocked down.[19] [20]

The UK Boxing Writers' Club voted Sheeraz as their 2021 Young Boxer of the Year.[21]

Following the Skeete fight, Sheeraz vacated his title and moved up weight divisions for his next contest which saw him defeat Jez Smith by stoppage in the second round at Wembley Arena in London on 19 March 2022 to claim the vacant WBC International Silver middleweight title.[22]

On 16 July 2022, he stopped Argentina's Francisco Emanuel Torres in the fifth-round at the Copper Box Arena to win the vacant WBC Silver middleweight title. [23]

Sheeraz then closed out his 2022 campaign by defending his title and adding the vacant Commonwealth middleweight belt to his growing collection of championships thanks to a second-round stoppage success over River Wilson-Bent at The O2 Arena on 26 November.[24] [25]

Previously unbeaten Dmytro Mytrofanov was next to fall victim to Sheeraz's punching power as he was knocked out in round two of their bout in Poland on 26 August 2023.[26]

He made even shorter work of opponent Liam Williams in his next contest knocking out the Welshman in round one at the Copper Box Arena on 10 February 2024.[27]

Professional boxing record[edit]

19 fights 19 wins 0 losses
By knockout 15 0
By decision 4 0
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
19 Win 19–0 Liam Williams TKO 1 (12), 2:36 10 Feb 2024 Copper Box Arena, London, England Retained WBC Silver and Commonwealth middleweight titles
18 Win 18–0 Dmytro Mytrofanov TKO 2 (12), 0:35 26 Aug 2023 Stadion Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland Retained WBC Silver middleweight title
17 Win 17–0 River Wilson-Bent TKO 2 (12), 2:55 26 Nov 2022 The O2 Arena, London, England Retained WBC Silver middleweight title;
Won vacant Commonwealth middleweight title
16 Win 16–0 Francisco Emanuel Torres TKO 5 (12), 1:56 16 Jul 2022 Copper Box Arena, London, England Won vacant WBC Silver middleweight title
15 Win 15–0 Jez Smith TKO 2 (10), 0:38 19 Mar 2022 Wembley Arena, London, England Won vacant WBC International Silver middleweight title
14 Win 14–0 Bradley Skeete TKO 9 (10), 0:58 4 Dec 2021 Copper Box Arena, London, England Retained WBO European light-middleweight title
13 Win 13–0 Ezequiel Gurria TKO 5 (10), 2:23 24 Jul 2021 Wembley Arena, London, England Retained WBO European light-middleweight title
12 Win 12–0 Guido Nicolás Pitto TKO 10 (10), 1:11 28 Nov 2020 Church House, London, England Retained WBO European light-middleweight title
11 Win 11–0 Paul Kean RTD 6 (10), 3:00 10 Jul 2020 BT Sport Studio, London, England Retained WBO European light-middleweight title
10 Win 10–0 Ryan Kelly TKO 6 (10), 2:58 30 Nov 2019 Arena Birmingham, Birmingham, England Won vacant WBO European light-middleweight title
9 Win 9–0 Scott James TKO 1 (8), 1:32 13 Jul 2019 The O2 Arena, London, England
8 Win 8–0 Ladislav Nemeth TKO 2 (6), 1:05 27 Apr 2019 Wembley Arena, London, England
7 Win 7–0 Rod Douglas Jr. TKO 1 (6), 1:10 8 Mar 2019 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
6 Win 6–0 Jordan Grannum PTS 6 15 Dec 2018 Brentwood Centre, Brentwood, England
5 Win 5–0 Zygimantas Butkevicius PTS 4 20 Oct 2018 Brentwood Centre, Brentwood, England
4 Win 4–0 Miguel Aguilar PTS 4 13 Jul 2018 York Hall, London, England
3 Win 3–0 Chris Jenkinson KO 1 (4), 1:57 6 Apr 2018 Thistle Hotel, London, England
2 Win 2–0 Christian Hoskin-Gomez PTS 4 24 Feb 2018 York Hall, London, England
1 Win 1–0 Duane Green TKO 2 (4), 1:28 16 Sep 2017 Copper Box Arena, London, England

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Boxing record for Hamzah Sheeraz". BoxRec.
  2. ^ Cain, Andrew (24 May 2022). "Important WBC International Committee activity". World Boxing Council. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Simcock, Emily (27 April 2019). "EXCLUSIVE – Hamzah Sheeraz: "Towering above…"". boxing-social.com. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  4. ^ a b Haroon, Saima; Munawar, Imran (3 December 2019). "Hamza Sheeraz becomes WBO super welterweight European champion". The News International. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  5. ^ a b Warren, Frank (7 September 2017). "Hamzah Sheeraz: In time, I hope to pick up the reigns from Amir Khan". worldboxingnews.net. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  6. ^ Sajad, Kal. "Hamzah Sheeraz: Is the WBO European super-welterweight champion the next star of British boxing?". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 3 December 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2022. Sheeraz's dad is of Pakistani heritage and his mum of Indian background. "So you can call me the peacemaker," he jokes.
  7. ^ "Hamzah Sheeraz Biography". Frank Warren Promotions. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  8. ^ "Boxing: Sheeraz excited about second outing". Ilford Recorder. 30 November 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  9. ^ Qureshi, Farid (29 May 2017). "Young British Pakistani boxer signs first contract, to follow in footsteps of Amir Khan". The News International. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  10. ^ "Boxing: Sheeraz shines in debut win". Romford Recorder. 21 September 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  11. ^ Hockaday, James (22 September 2017). "Teenage boxer wins first fight in style after going pro". Slough & South Bucks Express. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  12. ^ Foster, Elliot (27 April 2019). "Zak Chelli Beats Jimmy Smith, Grabs Southern Area Belt". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  13. ^ Parekh, Anish (13 July 2019). "Daniel Dubois vs. Nathan Gorman Results". British Boxing News. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  14. ^ Brown, Shaun (13 December 2019). "Hamzah Sheeraz: I've Announced Myself To The Boxing World". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  15. ^ Mogan, Tony (15 May 2020). "Hamzah Sheeraz: The towering Londoner stepping out the shadow of Amir Khan targeting super-welterweight glory". Evening Standard. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  16. ^ "Brad Foster vs James Beech - LIVE Results From Stratford". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  17. ^ "Hamzah Sheeraz Stops Guido Nicolas Pitto in Tenth". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  18. ^ "Hamzah Sheeraz Takes Out Ezequiel Gurria in Five Rounds". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  19. ^ "DRAMA Hamzah Sheeraz scores controversial win as he hits Bradley Skeete TWICE while he's down, avoids disqualification and gets knockout in next round". Talksport. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  20. ^ "Hamzah Sheeraz Drops, Stops Bradley Skeete in Ninth Round". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  21. ^ "Hamzah Sheeraz Voted Young Boxer of the Year By UK Boxing Writers' Club". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  22. ^ "Hamzah Sheeraz Blasts Out Jez Smith in Two Rounds". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  23. ^ "Hamzah Sheeraz Decked, But Drops Francisco Emanuel Torres Three Times, Gets TKO in Fifth". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  24. ^ "Hamzah Sheeraz vs River Wilson-Bent". tapology.com. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  25. ^ "Making a dent- Hamzah Sheeraz KO`s Wilson-Bent". wbcboxing.com. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  26. ^ "Hamzah Sheeraz Wipes Out Dmytro Mytrofanov in Two Rounds". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  27. ^ "Boxing: Hamzah Sheeraz stops Liam Williams in one round in London". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Jama Saidi 		WBO European light-middleweight champion
30 November 2019 – present 		Incumbent
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