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HAMZAH SHEERAZ believes he has three or maybe four fights left at middleweight before moving up in weight.
The 6ft 3ins world title contender began his career at super-welterweight (154lbs) before adding the six pounds required to campaign at middleweight, which began in March 2022. Since then, the 25-year-old has won six out of six – including wins over Liam Williams and Austin Williams – to strengthen his reputation as a genuine force in the division.
Speaking to Boxing News recently Sheeraz laid out part of his plans for the time he has left at 160lbs.
“I think I’ve got three fights at 160. My plan is to win a world title and then potentially unify it. But I don’t know how realistic that is because the weight is hard. And it’s getting that little bit tighter each time. In an ideal world, I think maybe three, four fights maximum left at 160.”
Sheeraz and his promoter, Frank Warren, were speaking to various members of the media at a recent event on the back of Queensberry Promotions’ extraordinary success in Riyadh on June 1. The five-man team went up against Eddie Hearn’s selections representing Matchroom Boxing but the Essex outfit were annihilated with a final score of 10-0 to Queensberry.
The five fights themselves produced plenty of action and drama which included Sheeraz – who was selected as Queensberry’s captain – stopping Austin Williams in the 11th round of their WBC world title final eliminator.
“To be given the whole captain role, when I first got told about it, it was like, okay, cool, you’re captain,” he said. “Grab the four points. And not until fight week, we had that real team kind of charisma and energy, and it was good.
“And I’d like to say a massive shout out to Willy Hutchinson for enhancing that, definitely, because he’s a character. He’s definitely a character. And we were all supporting each other. The good thing is that before my fight, Willy got the win, and Nick Ball got the win.
“It kind of got the ball rolling, got us in good spirits, and it got us on the front foot straight away. Everyone done their bit and done what they had to do. Even ‘Big Bang’ [Zhilei Zhang]. He was just as much a part of the team as everyone else was as well.”
Sheeraz hopes to hear news about his next fight in a few weeks before beginning camp in July. Not only is the Slough fighter the WBC mandatory challenger for Carlos Adames’ title he is also the WBO’s number one contender whose champion is Janibek Alimkhanuly. This Saturday (June 15) Adames defends his belt against Terrell Gausha and on July 13 Alimkhanuly – who also holds the IBF strap – puts his championships on the line against Andrei Mikhailovich. But one name, one fight that continues to interest Sheeraz is that of Chris Eubank Jr.
“I think if it is going to be in the UK, the fight, it makes sense. A massive British middleweight domestic dust-up. I think bar the Conor Benn fight, the fight with me, is the only one that makes sense for him. And I believe he’ll get what he wants for it financially. I understand he asked for a lot. But you’ve got to look at who’s backing these shows now and who’s in charge. His Excellency Turki Alalshikh.
“And as long as he keeps him happy, I’m sure he’ll get what he wants or get what’s right. And he’ll be able to share the ring with myself or come whenever it may be.”
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