Hamzah Sheeraz: The towering Londoner stepping out the shadow of Amir Khan targeting super-welterweight glory

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Sheeraz became WBO European champion last year - and wants more gold.
Getty Images
Tony Mogan15 May 2020

Rolling back over the highlights of Hamzah Sheeraz stopping Ryan Kelly last November and - aside from the barrage of shots that cleaned out his opponent in the sixth round - his size immediately catches your eye. At 6ft 3″, he is already towering above the rest of his division.

“A lot of other fighters might look at me and see me as a skinny, lanky 20-year-old,” he told Standard Sport. “But as soon as they get in there and they get hit with that first punch they will realise I know my way around the ring.”

The hard-hitting super-welterweight went 10-0 that night in November, moving quickly and impressively through the domestic ranks despite his tender years.

That victory over Kelly also saw him pick up the WBO European strap which moved him into a top 15 ranking at the turn of the year. His promoter Frank Warren is confident he is destined to be a world champion at 154lbs.

The Ilford fighter was born into boxing with his uncle, a seven time national amatuer champion, first taking him to the gym at the age of eight. Even as recently as then, British-Pakistani boxers were relatively few in number with Amir Khan leading the charge at the top of the professional game.

Ryan Kelly felt the full force of Sheeraz's power Photo: Getty Images
Getty Images

It’s a different story now with Sheeraz one of a number of talented fighters alongside the likes of Glasgow's Kash Farooq, Leeds' Qais Ashfaq and Shabaz Masoud of Stoke-on-Trent among those making serious inroads with genuine world title ambition.

Sheeraz turned pro at the age of 17, the age where Khan was winning silver for Great Britain at the 2002 Olympics. But sold on the drama and glamour of professional boxing having attended live shows throughout his childhood, he was keen to immerse himself in the pro game as soon as possible.

“Amir was a hero, he was one of the first Asian-British fighters, the only one doing it at the time. My uncle was my hero too, when he was boxing, he was very much in the minority.

“You can say you want to follow in those footsteps but at the same time if you can do it your own way, it is better to do so. It creates different opportunities for different people. Not everyone is going to be Amir Khan. Like myself, not everyone is going to have that Olympic pedigree, where they have won medals and have been put on a pedestal as soon as they have turned pro. As soon as I turned pro I was fighting under the radar.

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“As I got older, the chances of doing that [going to the Olympics] got slim very quickly. So I just accepted that early on. I accepted that and had no interest looking back - I was always going to pro shows when I was young, watching people win world titles and I think the whole razmataz of the pro game, the dramatic entrances, the music, I think that always appealed to me a lot more than amateur boxing.”

Sheeraz’s rise has been halted temporarily due to the coronavirus pandemic with his April 11 title defence against Paul Kean on the Daniel Dubois vs Joe Joyce undercard pushed back to July.

Sheeraz is due to fight again in July Photo: Getty Images
Getty Images

Covid-19 has been felt across sport with Sheeraz suffering a personal tragedy when he lost his aunt to the virus in April. “It was hard enough with everything going on but that just made it 10 times harder,” he said.

The loss has required just as much mental toughness as physical. “Recently it has been more about being mentally strong than physically fit. It’s been an opportunity to learn things about yourself and learn about your body and try out new things.”

Sheeraz hopes to pick up from where he left off against 12-1 Kean, another true test of his huge potential. Prior to beating Kelly last year, some questioned whether the step-up in calibre of opponent was a step too soon for the east Londoner. They were swiftly proved wrong.

“It was a good performance,” he recalled. “I knew I was capable of that. I’m not in this game to build a padded record and just fight bums.

“I know it might sound a little bit mad for me to be saying it now, that I want a world title shot but that is the realistic goal and I know I am 100 per cent capable of becoming a world champion.

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“Two to three years is what I’m giving myself. By that time. I’ll be peaking then so it will be a perfect opportunity. If everything goes to plan I'll be loving life.”

And given his frame and age, conquering multiple divisions is firmly part of that grand plan.

“Once I find it hard [fighting at super-welterweight] and it gets to the point where it affects my performance, I’ll definitely move up.

“I’m only 20, I’ve still got a lot of growing to do. Who knows, I could end up at super-middle, even light heavyweight with my height. So we will see in the future."

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