Hamzah Sheeraz wants a domestic-level scrap against Chris Eubank Jr. next in September after his eleventh-round knockout of Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams (16-1, 11 KOs) in a WBC middleweight title eliminator last Saturday night at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
It’s unclear why Sheeraz (20-0, 16 KOs) is lowering the bar after his fight against Ammo Williams to take on the inactive 34-year-old Eubank Jr. (33-3, 24 KOs). Ideally, he should be moving upwards to challenge for a world title against WBC 160-lb champion Carlos Adames.
Safe Choice and Potential Payday
Perhaps the first-round scare that the 6’3″ Sheeraz got from Ammo Williams made him realize that he’s not ready for a world title shot against Adames or IBF/WBO champion Janibek Alimkhanuly.
It’s not a good sign that Ammo was able to hurt Sheeraz on two occasions in their fight last night, as Adames and Janibek are at the top of the tree talent-wise at 160.
So, if Ammo Williams is hurting Sheeraz, what would talents like Adames and Janibek do to him? That’s where Eubank Jr. comes in. He’s a safe pick for Sheeraz, and a potentially a nice payday, provided that the fight can gets made for Riyadh. Ammo exposed Sheeraz as being chinny and vulnerable.
If Ammo Williams had stayed inside, he would have roasted Sheeraz, but he wasn’t into following instructions from his trainer, who kept telling him throughout the fight not to stay on the outside because that was allowing the taller fighter to pick him apart.
“It was a good fight. Massive respect to Ammo Williams. He brought the fire, and I’m blessed. It was an honor to share the ring with him, to say the least,” said Hamzah Sheeraz to Secondsout about his victory over Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams last Saturday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“It wasn’t so much trouble. I underestimated his strength and power, and when he caught me [in the first round], I thought, ‘Oh s***, here we go.’ I thought I wobbled a bit, and I thought, ‘Alright, cool. I need to switch on a lot more here.’”
Hamzah getting hurt once could be a sign that he “underestimated” Ammo Williams, but not twice. When you’re hurt more than once, you can’t blame it on him underestimating Ammo.
In reality, Hamzah was hurt because his punch resistance wasn’t at the level where he could take the heavy shots that Ammo was hitting him with.
If he could handle the power better, it wouldn’t have been a big deal, but he was shook by Ammo, and if it had better pincher and a more talented fighter like Janibek or Adames in there, I don’t think Hamzah would have made. Hence, thie push to fight Eubank Jr., a fighter that was recently knocked out by Liam Smith. It makes sense.
“I went back to my corner, and Ricky said, ‘Put your head back on your shoulders and do what we’ve been working on in the gym,’ and that’s what I done. Ricky said, ‘Put pressure on him, tire him out, and wear him down.’
“If you look at me, you think, He’s got to use his arm and length,’ but today, I had to mix it up to get the win. I did feel it,” said Sheeraz when asked if he felt the knockout coming. “When I knocked him down in the tenth round, I didn’t realize there were only two more rounds left.”
Williams was forcing Hamzah to mix it up by blasting him with shots, and getting in close to land his combinations. It was lucky for Hamzah that Ammo Williams can’t punch with power in close the way some middleweights can. Ammo can only throw with power from medium range, which is where he was getting chewed up.
“So, I thought, ‘If he’s fit here, he’ll survive it.’ I put them shots together and got him out of there,” said Hamzah. “That first right hook,” said Hamzah when asked what he attributed his knockout of Ammo Williams. “It was more a placement shot, and they’re the ones that hurt.”
Hamzah dropped the tired and beaten Ammo Williams late in the tenth round from a right hook to the head. The bell saved Williams from getting finished off in that round. But in the beginning of the eleventh, Hamzah finished the job by landing several hard shots that staggered Williams, causing the referee to stop the fight.
Calling Out Eubank Jr
“The only way is up. That was a [WBC middleweight] world title eliminator. I upped my game. There’s a lot to work on. To be a great like Canelo, I’ve got a long ways to go. Chris Eubank Jr., that’s the fight I want. It would be an honor to share the ring with boxing royalty. Listen, let’s have it in September, let’s go,” said Sheeraz, calling out the inactive 34-year-old Chris Eubank Jr.
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