Hamza Sheeraz becomes WBO super welterweight European champion

BIRMINGHAM: Young British Pakistani boxer Hamza Sheeraz becomes the new WBO super welterweight European champion. Hamza, who’s only 20 years old, was fighting against local boy Ryan Kelly for the title at Arena Birmingham. The fight which was scheduled to last 10 rounds was over in 6th round.

From the beginning Hamza proved too much for his opponent and in the sixth round a straight right knocked Ryan Kelly down. The referee started the countdown but Kelly was up on his feet again. Although the fight resumed but Kelly couldn’t recover from that and as Hamza threw a flurry of punches on his opponent. The referee had to stop the fight as Rayan was in no position to continue to fight and declared Hamza the winner.

Speaking exclusively to Geo News after the fight, Hamza humbly thanked Allah for his success. He said that he has been boxing for 12 years now and started when he was only 8. He had quite a successful immature career with over hundred fights and represented England too before turning pro. In his brief professional Boxing career his success rate has been hundred percent so far, with 10 victories under his belt six of them “knock outs”, including his first major title victory on Saturday night, which he thinks is not a bad going for him.

Answering about a question that why did he choose to go into boxing instead of cricket or any other sports, Hamza said, “It’s true that Boxing is not an easy sport as in fact it’s probably the hardest sport. But it was the best sport to go in for him as a British Pakistani and hopefully in future he will become a role model for others young fighters”.

“InshaAllah I will keep climbing up in the rankings and put myself in a position where I will be an inspiration”, added the new WBO super welterweight European champion.

About his Boxing plans in coming days Hamza, who’s now ranked 15th in the world WBO in super welterweight category, told Geo News that his next few fights will be defending the title in the new year. But he’s already gearing up to become the world champion.

“The massage for youngsters is keep working hard and always work harder than you did yesterday”, added Hamza. Hamza himself belongs to a sporting family his grandfather was a boxer and his father was a cricketer who played from Gloucestershire county while his uncle was also a Boxer who’s his real inspiration, it was Hamza’s uncle who got him into Boxing, took him first time to a gym and taught him how to throw his first punch. He hoped that one day when he will become world champion his uncle will be with him who’s currently living in Australia.

Hamza Sheeraz, whose ancestors belong to a small village called “Matore” in Kahuta near Rawalpindi, said that he’s never been to Pakistan before but he’s planning to visit soon with his uncle and he’s looking forward to it.

In Boxing Hamza wants to follow the footsteps of his idol Amir Khan. Interestingly he’s been currently working with famous promoter Frank Warren, who also happened to be Amir Khan’s promoter when he became world champion. His manager is Tahir (Taz) Khan, who is Amir Khan’s uncle.