Hamzah Sheeraz

Bio

Hamzah Sheeraz is a world champion. The Ilford man stopped Alem Begic in round two on the Glory In Giza undercard to claim the vacant WBO super middleweight title at the first time of asking — and the way he did it, with a textbook body shot setup, told you everything about how comfortable he is up at 168.

Sheeraz built his reputation at middleweight — the demolition of Carlos Adames was a statement performance — and the move up has only made him bigger and more dangerous. He's 6'3", he carries the weight properly, and at 26 he's still in front of his peak. 24 wins, no defeats, one draw, 19 stoppages. The numbers don't lie.

Next is the question everyone's asking. Canelo Alvarez is the obvious target for a vacant WBO defence in September — the money fight, the unification, the audition that just turned into a job offer. David Benavidez sits in the WBC mandatory queue. Either way, Sheeraz is now the British super middleweight everyone has to deal with, and on this form, he's not going to be easy.