Hamzah Sheeraz vs Liam Williams: Tale of the tape and how to watch the middleweight fight

Hamzah Sheeraz faces the biggest name opponent of his career so far this Saturday as he defends the Commonwealth middleweight championship against Liam Williams. The Slough knockout artist will get the chance to test his considerable skills against a man who has become a fixture at world level.

Both men are world-ranked with the WBO and WBC, while Sheeraz also resides in the WBA ratings. This Copper Box scrap will have an impact in the upper echelons of the 160-pound division.

Here’s everything you need to know about a fascinating crossroads clash.

Sheeraz

Odds: 1/4

Place Of Birth: Slough, Berkshire, England

Residence: Ilford, Essex, United Kingdom

Age: 24

Alias: N/A

Record: 18-0 (14 KOs)

Height: 6’3”

Reach: 75”

Stance: Orthodox

Last Fight: W TKO2 vs Dmytro Mytrofanov (August 2023)

Williams

Odds: 18/5

Place Of Birth: Clydach, Wales, United Kingdom

Residence: Clydach, Wales, United Kingdom

Age: 35

Alias: The Machine

Record: 25-4 (20 KOs)

Height: 5’10”

Reach: 71”

Stance: Orthodox

Last Fight: W TKO1 vs Florin Cardos (November 2023)

The Lowdown

Sheeraz

Hamzah Sheeraz is physically a nightmare for any middleweight in the world. At 6’3”, his dimensions are more akin to a heavyweight than a middleweight. In fact, current WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk is the same height as the Berkshire-born boxer.

Sheeraz uses that extended frame and long reach to present problems for his opponents. He has also added considerable power to his arsenal. Four of his first six fights were settled on the scorecards. But since then, Sheeraz has knocked out 12 opponents on the bounce. 

Good opponents, too. The 24-year-old has proven himself superior at domestic level with a series of stunning performances . Bradley Skeete is a fantastic British campaigner and Sheeraz consumed him in nine rounds. River Wilson-Bent was once seen as a future star. No longer, after Sheeraz mauled him in two sessions. Dmytro Mytrofanov, Sheeraz’s last opponent, was a 2016 Olympian but even he only lasted two rounds with the Slough whirlwind.

Liam Williams is a step-up from these fighters. A necessary one given Sheeraz’s dominance. But is it hard to shake the feeling this one is arriving at the right time for Hamzah, a young fighter who seems to be peaking at just the right time.

Williams

Liam Williams is one of those fighters whose losses say as much about him as his wins. Of the three men to defeat the Welshman, two have reigned as world champion. Liam Smith beat him on cuts in their dramatic first encounter before emerging with a majority decision in a close rematch. Demetrius Andrade out-pointed him in a WBO middleweight title fight.

Only Chris Eubank Jr has beaten Williams without ever holding a major world title. Even then, ‘NextGen’ is a former title challenger and has mixed in world class for much of his latter-career. It takes something seriously special to defeat Liam Williams.

Does Sheeraz have that something special, with ‘The Machine’ slowing down? It is true that we are almost three-and-a-half years removed from the last truly imperious Williams display. A single-round smashing of Andrew Robinson gave Williams the British title and put him on course for world honours. 

He came up short in that pursuit against Andrade and his fights since have been confined to two categories. Brave defeats like Eubank or doing what was necessary in fights booked to make him look good, as with stoppages of Nizar Trimech and Florin Cardos.

Williams is still formidable at a level but you get the idea that, in 2024, that level might just be one-below where Sheeraz is at this point. But Williams remains the best fighter Sheeraz has ever faced so anything is possible.

How To Watch

Date: Saturday, February 10

Time: 7pm

Ring Walk (approx): 10pm

TV Channel: TNT Sports

Card

Hamzah Sheeraz vs. Liam Williams

Sam Noakes vs. Lewis Sylvester

Masood Abdulah vs. Qais Ashfaq

Anthony Yarde vs. Marko Nikolic

Karol Itauma vs. Eros Seghetti

Aloys Youmbi vs. Milosav Savic

Tommy Fletcher vs. Alvaro Terrero

Umar Khan vs. Maicol Velazco

Billy Adams vs. Engel Gomez

Charlie Hickford vs. Yin Caicedo

Sam King vs. Bartosz Glowacki

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