Fighter of the Week (2/5-2/11): Hamzah Sheeraz

On a somewhat unconventional weekend of boxing that was mostly overshadowed by the really "big game", the week's biggest card was a midweek card that caused the Teofimo Lopez roller coaster to take another massive dip. The week's best and most entertaining card came Saturday afternoon if you were in the US and Hamzah Sheeraz, of Essex UK, was supposed to get a massive test from Liam Williams of Clydach, Wales. Williams was supposed to push Sheeraz, and we were going to find out what Sheereaz's power was all about and what he was made of! Boy, did we ever get answers!! Sheeraz scored a stunning first-round knockout that moved his record to 19-0 (15), put the middleweight division off notice, earned him the Commonwealth middleweight title, and got him his first-ever Fighter of the Week award.

It will likely take you longer to read the "Fighter of the Week" article than it actually took this Week's Fighter of the Week to take apart the game and very durable Liam Williams. Sheeraz's shotgun jab and pinpoint accurate and equally as thudding power shots were far too much for the Welshman. That was obvious from very early on. Williams was floored just a minute into the bout. The veteran was able to beat the count but crashed to the canvas a second-time courtesy of a big-time uppercut from the undefeated prospect, this time for good, as Sheeraz picked up the TKO at 2:36 of the opening stanza. Post-fight Sheeraz's promoter Frank Warren celebrated with Sheeraz at ringside and compared his man to a young Tommy Hearns saying, "He reminds me of Tommy Hearns in a big way with that jab. He takes you out with it. The power he has with it is unbelievable".

We certainly found out that Sheeraz's power and skill are real. At 24-year-old the undefeated middleweight is a major player in the division and could be on track for a world title fight ahead of schedule. A win over the likes of Shane Mosley jr, or a former world champ like Vincenzo Gualtieri. A showdown with the "0 snatcher" Marquis Taylor would be the winner in position for a world title scrap. The Brit is already ranked fourth in the WBC, where here holds the Silver belt. That was before the Williams destruction, that win combined with one of the aforementioned names would likely put Sheereaz in a position to fight for his first world title in 2024.