As one of the faces, and major beneficiaries, of Saudi Arabia’s entry into professional boxing, Hamzah Sheeraz knew that he would be fighting when Riyadh Season rolls into London’s Wembley Stadium on September 21 but the world-ranked middleweight had a long, frustrating wait to find out who his opponent would be.
Eventually, with a major launch press conference nearing and an empty chair on the dais, the decision was made to move away from the original choice, Chris Eubank Jnr.
The European 160lbs champion Tyler Denny had barely left the ring after impressively taking apart Felix Cash when he received an offer to fight Sheeraz, 20-0 (16 KOs). Denny, 19-2-3 (1 KO), couldn’t say “Yes” quickly enough.
Eubank Jnr will fight on a Riyadh Season show later in 2024. Rather than a dangerous fight with Sheeraz, the 34 year old has been handed a fight with Poland’s former European champion Kamil Szeremeta on the undercard on the undisputed light-heavyweight title fight between WBC, IBF and WBO champion Artur Beterbiev and WBA title holder Dmitry Bivol on October 12.
Sheeraz said that Eubank Jnr had been “awkward” during negotiations and that if he had been able to speak directly to him in a bid to move the negotiations along, Sheeraz would have kept his message plain and to the point.
“Sign the contract – simple as that,” he told Queensberry Promotions. “Grab a pen and sign it right now. I haven’t really got much to say to him. It’s one of those; I’ll just have to punch him in his face. I’d love to share the ring with him and just get his name on my resume.”
Denny struggled mightily to get beyond English title level but has accelerated and improved dramatically as his confidence and self-belief has grown. Over the course of his past six fights the 34 year old from Wolverhampton has accounted for four undefeated fighters and, in March, produced the most complete performance of his career to outbox and outfight Cash.
After stopping his fellow prospect Austin “Ammo” Williams in June, Sheeraz is recognised as one of the hottest fighters in world boxing and is renowned for his diligent preparations and professional approach. Denny may be an unheralded opponent compared to some of the names Sheeraz has been linked to recently but that doesn’t mean that the 25 fighter from Ilford is treating him with any less respect. If anything, the knowledge that he is so close to a world-title fight has sharpened his focus further. He is determined that he won’t be Denny’s latest scalp.
“He ain’t gonna do that,” the 25 year old said. “The last four or five opponents have all come to do that. It’s nothing new to me. At the same time, the position I’m in and the position Tyler’s in is what makes it a dangerous fight and a potential banana skin. I have to take it more seriously than I ever have in my other fights. Every fight now has to be 200 per cent focus. Just stay on it.
“The position I’ve built myself into now, the guys coming up are just trying to get the win, beat ‘The Golden Kid, Hamzah Sheeraz’ and that’s it, we’ve got his spot. They don’t realise ‘The Golden Kid, Hamzah Sheeraz’ has put hours and hours into this. Years; months. You name it. Ever since being an eight-year-old kid I keep banging on about it. It’s not just, ‘He’s been lucky; he’s got a good promoter who’s backed him from day dot’. No one knows about the hard days and the difficult days. That’s what keeps me grounded and makes me who I am and why I do what I do.”
John Evans has contributed to a number of well-known publications and websites for over a decade. You can follow John on X @John_Evans79
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