HAMZAH SHEERAZ was awarded his Best Young Boxer Award last week. He has every chance to go on to be the middleweight champion in the world.
Sheeraz, who has KO'd eleven of his 15 opponents, is the unbeaten 69-year-old fighter to win the much-coveted Boxing Writers Club trophy.
My Club colleagues merit a big pat on the back for being able to recognize the potential of young talent over seventy years.
28 shy, timid youngsters who won Best Young Boxer in 1951 have fulfilled their promise by winning the world championships.
They include many of Britain's greatest ever athletes, including Randy Turpin, John Conteh and Joe Calzaghe.
It is worth noting that 32 of the 32 who failed to make it to the final were still worthy to be British or European champions.
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Sheeraz, who was 22 nine days ago, is mature beyond his years and has planned and invested with military precision in his future.
His first starring role is when he defends his WBC silver title against the experienced Argentine Francisco Torres at the Copper Box in Stratford on July 16.
Physically, Sheeraz is reminiscent of Tommy Hearns. At 6ft 3in, he's built like an heirloom hairpin. However, he has considerable power in his lean frame that will make him more deadly when he reaches adult strength.
Carl Frampton is Belfast's two-time champion and one of his most passionate admirers. He said, after seeing him in action some years back, "If he doesn’t win a title world championship I'll eat mine."
SUN BINGO GET PS50 BONUS & 50 FREE SPINS TODAYHamzah, who began boxing at eight years of age, explained why he became a pro boxer at the age of 18. He said that he never had any plans to become an Olympian or compete in world amateur championships. It was not something I was interested in. I find winning pro titles so much more attractive."
The backbone of boxing has been in the United States for more than 100 years. Examples include Ted 'Kid" Lewis, Lloyd Honeyghan and Maurice Hope.
Sheeraz seems likely to continue that proud tradition. His mother is Indian and his father is from Pakistan. Hamzah laughs and says, "I'm there for the peace."
Hamzah, one of Khan's distant relatives, is trained in Los Angeles by American Ricky Funez. He spends three months there prior to every fight. It costs him PS50,000. He says it's money well spent due to the high-quality sparring he receives in La La Land.
I commented on how refreshing it was to see so many children of Asian descent taking up boxing. He asked me if this is because Khan's impressive career inspired them. He stated that although it has a lot to do with it, it is mainly due to a shift in the parental mindset.
"Asian parents stressed the importance of education as they wanted their children to become doctors and lawyers. "
"Now they can see how their children can benefit from sports like boxing," he said. But, he also stated that it was not easy for South Asians to succeed like Amir.
Many people will not be surprised to learn that Sheeraz, who lives in Ilford, has been victim to racism. After a training session, he returned to his car and found a note warning him "Don't park there again" with an offensive racist slur.
Hamzah stated that "It wasn’t the best thing I came back to, but it takes a lot for me to break." I will continue spreading positivity, love and hope to make these people realize that we all bleed red.
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It's not hard to believe that Sheeraz was inspired by his family's history - his father Kamran played for Gloucestershire county cricket - and his desire to play at Lords. If everything goes according to plan, it will be Cricket's loss and Boxing's gain.
There will be hundreds of his passionate fans from the Asian community at Copper Box ringside next week making as much noise when they applaud a Pakistani or Indian test century.
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https://secondsaway.co.uk/boxing/after-announcing-his-return-to-the-ring-later-in-the-year-deontay-wilder-rekindles-tyson-furys-rivalry-with-a-clever-excitement-dig
