Interviews
Hamzah Sheeraz will be on Canelo’s level
Hamzah Sheeraz has been tipped by former two-weight world champion Carl Frampton as the Briton’s top prospect after securing a 12th successive victory in November.
Sheeraz (12-0, 8 KO) stopped Guido Nicolas Pitto in the tenth and final round to defend his WBO European Super Welterweight title for the second time. The performance caught the attention of Frampton’s pundit of the night on BT Sport’s broadcast, with David Haye also equally heaping praise.
Such high praise did not go unnoticed and the undefeated fighter admitted he was honored to hear their endorsement, although he is determined to live up to the expectation.
“It was a huge compliment,” Sheeraz said proboxing-fans.com at a press conference in London on Thursday.
“Especially after it wasn’t my best performance, obviously at the end of the day it was a knockout.
“But it was a huge compliment [from] a two-time world champion like himself and David Haye, so yes [I] I was really at a loss for words.
“It’s okay, like I said, I have to do it now and that’s what I’m going to do.”
The 22-year-old has since moved stateside to join experienced trainer Ricky Funez at Ten Goose Boxing Gym in Los Angeles, and his up-to-date trainer believes he has the potential to reach a level similar to a four-division world champion and kilogram consensus -for pound number one, Canelo Alvarez.
“He is disciplined,” Funez said.
“That’s the most vital thing in boxing, you need a disciplined fighter who is very mature for his age.
Last night they lined up to praise Hamzah Sheeraz!
David Haye 🗣 “It was only 10/10.”
Carl Frampton 🗣 “He reminds me of Diego Corrales.” pic.twitter.com/X7zSWf2FyZ— Boxing on BT Sport 🥊 (@BTSportBoxing) November 29, 2020
“It’s been great so far and I keep saying it and telling people in America that he’ll be at Canelo’s level soon.
“Even [trainer] Joe Goossen pulled me aside and said, ‘Ricky, you hit it,’ so Joe Goossen told me I found it refreshing.”
When asked what impressed him most about working with the Slough native, Funez added: “His strength, patience and how he just picks his punches, doesn’t just waste punches.
“That’s what impressed me because I’m that age. A lot of fighters want to go out there and just get the guy out of the way.
“He takes his time, picks his shots and doesn’t waste them.”
Sheeraz defends his crown for the third time against former Spanish champion Ezequiel Gurria, against the backdrop of Saturday’s Joe Joyce vs. Carlos Takam clash at the SSE Arena.
“He’s a good fighter,” he said of his opponent.
“This is his huge chance at BT Sport. He’s fighting for my title. He’ll come and try to snatch it from me.
“But in the end, I trained too tough and was away from my family too long to come up with anything.
“So come Saturday night, honestly, it should just be destroyed.”
Last week, the British Boxing Board of Control announced a bid for a fight between Sheeraz and Anthony Fowler as a final eliminator for Ted Cheeseman’s British title.
Sheeraz says he will leave all fight decisions to his manager and promoter, Frank Warren, but believes that even without the coveted belt, Lonsdale is number one in the country.
“I wouldn’t be in boxing, I wouldn’t step into the ring, if I thought differently. If I had any doubts, I wouldn’t have stepped into the ring.”
Watch the full interview with Hamzah Sheeraz and Ricky Funez below:
Natasha Jonas unified the welterweight division by defeating Ivana Habazin by clear points on Saturday to add the WBC title to her IBF crown at the Exhibition Center in Liverpool.
Jonas (16-2-1, 9 KO) was last seen defending her title in January in a hard-fought split decision over Mikaela Mayer, while Habazin (23-6, 7 KO) won the vacant WBC welterweight title in her home country. time out, winning by wide points over Kinga Magyar.
After a technical opening round, Jonas settled into a steady rhythm before landing a powerful right hand in the fourth round that crushed Habazin.
There was a rivalry, but the home favorite was much better in the rallies and seemed to be losing round after round.
This situation lasted until the final bell, when Jonas became the winner by scores of 100-90, 99-91 and 99-92.
Price is closing in on Jonas’ match
Lauren Price definitely stayed on as a collision course with Jonas and easily defended her WBA and IBO welterweight titles after a third-round fight against Bexcy Mateus.
Mateus (7-1, 6 KO) was on board in the first round, after the Welshman landed a powerful left hand, and the Colombian struggled to match Price’s speed.
The same shot caused the 29-year-old to repeat the punch in the second round, and the round later ended when another stinging left hand stunned Meteus and she fell to the canvas, after which the fight was stopped.
Price (8-0, 2 KO) has agreed to face Jonas next, and promoter Ben Shalom revealed it could be announced next week.
Knife edge passes McKenna
Lee Cutler scored an upset victory to claim the silver WBC International welterweight title after winning a majority decision against Stephen McKenna.
McKenna (15-1, 14 KO) was eliminated in the first round, his knee touching the canvas after being tagged, and Cutler (15-1, 7 KO) took full advantage of his opponent’s weakness in the seventh round when his right hand plunged into his knee. The Irishman who ultimately fell once again.
McKenna was relentless in his attacks and landed a huge number of punches.
The balance of 94-94 was surpassed by the scores of 95-93 and 96-92, which ensured the victory for Cutler.
Jeffers stopped Quartey
Mark Jeffers is on track for large fights in 2025 after defeating Joshua Quartey to defend his silver Commonwealth super middleweight title.
A pair of right hands put Quartey (10-1, 9 KO) on the board, and although he broke the count, a well-placed body shot after the restart by Jeffers (19-0, 6 KO) blew the guy away again.
A crazy attack after the restart forced a stoppage.
Riley secures Chamberlain’s face-off with a stoppage
Viddal Riley finished the heavyweight fight and stopped Dan Garber in the second of the scheduled six rounds.
Riley (12-0, 7 KO) hit Garber (7-4, 2 KO) with his right hand, and then his next attack forced the referee’s intervention.
Riley’s next match will be against Isaac Chamberlain on February 1.
Undercard remaining
Mason Cartwright (21-4-1, 8 KO) won all six rounds at super welterweight against Dzmitry Atrokhau (16-25, 7 KO), and Hope lightweight Frankie Stringer (9-0, 1 KO) did the same in the fight against Tatenda Mangombe (3-9-1).
In the flyweight division, Mikie Tallon (6-0) defeated Benn Norman (7-7) with a body shot in the first round of the match, and then settled for a 59-54 victory.
The only fighter to fight four rounds in the super featherweight division was Mason Devine (6-0, 1 KO), who won every session against Jayo Fernando Duran (15-34-1, 14 KO).
Dillian Whyte has revealed his predictions for the hotly anticipated rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury on December 21.
Fury, who knocked out Whyte at Wembley Stadium in 2022, will seek revenge for the only defeat of his career in just 11 days, after losing to Usyk by split decision earlier this year.
Despite losing the night, “The Gypsy King” was a major success and many are struggling to pick a winner in his second battle against the imperious Ukrainian.
Some experts believe Fury needs to be more aggressive and take the lead if he is to win.
I’m talking to Social boxingWhyte revealed he shared that view, asking the Morecambe man to return to the game plan that saw him destroy Deontay Wilder in the return leg.
“It’s a great fight, man, I’m still trying to think – how will this fight go?
“Okay, Fury can make changes, but Usyk can make changes too. It’s a tough fight, a very, very tough fight for both fighters.
“If I were Fury’s coach, I would tell him he has to play aggressively.
“Fight him like you fought Wilder the second time.
“Bring back the aggression, bring back the tyrant!
“This is heavyweight boxing – you never know.”
It is unclear whether Fury will heed the advice of Whyte and others in the boxing world who have advised him to take the fight to Usyk, but looks noticeably heavier than before the first fight.
What are the changes? ❌@Tyson_Fury says he will exploit exactly the same game plan as the first time when he faces Oleksandr Usyk at the end of the month.
Thinks? 🧐 pic.twitter.com/VtpEwLJkWx
— Professional boxing fans (@ProBoxingFans) December 6, 2024
Win or lose, the 36-year-old could face a long-awaited home fight against Anthony Joshua, even though “A.J.” interrupted defeat against Daniel Dubois in September.
While it may not have been as great a spectacle as it once was, a clash between Joshua and Fury would still be by far the biggest all-British fight in recent memory.
As for Whyte, he returns to the ring next Sunday night and will face Ghanaian heavyweight Ebenezer Tetteh live on DAZN in Gibraltar.
The All-American fight between lightweight world champions Gervonta Davis and Shakur Stevenson is one of the most anticipated fights in all of boxing.
Both Davis and Stevenson are undefeated multi-weight champions and are staples on any respected pound-for-pound list.
With this in mind, you could be forgiven for assuming that the pair locking corners in their prime years is a given, but that doesn’t seem likely to happen in the near future.
“Tank” spoke to the media at the press conference inaugurating his performance March 1 fight with Lamont Roach, and when the prospect of fighting Stevenson arose, he didn’t seem particularly interested.
The Baltimore hitter even went so far as to question what his compatriot did to deserve him.
“What for? Who has Shakur [beat]? What did Shakur do?
“What has he achieved in sports? He didn’t do anything! Juvenile people look better than him!”
“Keyshawn [Davis] you look so much better than that nigga! Shout it out nigga, he ain’t done nothing!
I asked Gervonta about a possible fight with Shakur… #Box #TankRoach pic.twitter.com/T1eNFJ9iIO
— Dwa O Dwa Z.. (@Noo_Barzz) December 3, 2024
“Why the hell are you saying his name?”
Like Davis, Stevenson will also return to action in the first quarter of next year, fighting against up-and-comer Floyd Schofield on the February 22 Riyad season card.
The Newark southpaw has been sidelined since his July decision victory over Artem Harutyunyan after he had to withdraw from a proposed October fight with Joe Cordina due to injury.
Saudi boxing boss Turki Alalshikh has expressed his willingness to have a fight between the two virtuosos, provided both are successful in their upcoming fights.
‼️ His Excellency Turki Alalshikh stated that he wants the Gervonta Davis vs Shakur Stevenson fight: “My plan for Shakur is this fight [vs Floyd Schofield]then William Zepeda, and then let’s see if Tank wants to come on our show.” [@DAZNBoxing] pic.twitter.com/Mmi6hO7Fjo
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBenson) December 3, 2024
While he undoubtedly has the talent to rival Davis, Stevenson is not as commercial a star as his rival, and some critics believe he needs to start giving more entertaining performances if he wants to get substantial names.
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