Hamzah Sheeraz

Mohammed Hamzah Sheeraz (born 25 May 1999) is a British professional boxer who has held the WBO European light-middleweight title since 2019.

Hamzah Sheeraz
Statistics
Real nameMohammed Hamzah Sheeraz
Weight(s)Light-middleweight
Middleweight
Height6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Born (1999-05-25) 25 May 1999
Slough, Berkshire, England
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record[1]
Total fights18
Wins18
Wins by KO14

Early life

Sheeraz was born on 25 May 1999 in Slough in Berkshire, 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

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

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 was scheduled to defend his title against undefeated Scottish prospect Paul Kean in April 2020,[16] but the bout was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In September 2023, Sheeraz was named the Sports Personality of the Year at the Asian Achievers Awards in London.[17]

Personal life

He is also a lifelong Arsenal fan.

Professional boxing record
18 fights 18 wins 0 losses
By knockout 14 0
By decision 4 0
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
18 Win 18–0

Dmytro Mytrofanov

 TKO 2 (12), 0:35 26 Aug 2023 Stadion Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland Retained WBC International 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 International 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 Retained WBC International 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
  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. Simcock, Emily (27 April 2019). "EXCLUSIVE – Hamzah Sheeraz: "Towering above…"". boxing-social.com. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  4. Haroon, Saima; Munawar, Imran (3 December 2019). "Hamza Sheeraz becomes WBO super welterweight European champion". The News International. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  5. 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. "Paul Kean to fight Hamzah Sheeraz for WBO European super-welterweight belt". BBC Sport. 14 March 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  17. "Singer Kanika Kapoor, boxer Hamza Sheeraz, NHS workers win big at AAA23". Asian Achievers Awards. 18 September 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
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