Hamzah Sheeraz vs. Liam Williams: Date, time, how to watch, background
Unbeaten middleweight contender Hamzah Sheeraz is set to face veteran Liam Williams on Saturday in London.
HAMZAH SHEERAZ (18-0, 14 KOs)
VS. LIAM WILLIAMS (25-4-1, 20 KOS)
- Date: Saturday, Feb. 10
- Time: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (main event later in show)
- Where: Copper Box Arena, London
- TV/Stream: ESPN+
- Division: Middleweight (160 pounds)
- At stake: No major titles
- Pound-for-pound: None
- Odds: Sheeraz 4-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
- Significance (up to five stars): ***
- Also on the card: Sam Noakes vs. Lewis Sylvester, lightweights; Anthony Yarde vs. Marko Nikolic, light heavyweights; Masood Abdulah vs. Qais Ashfaq, featherweights
- Background: Sheeraz has dominated marginal opponents, including knockouts in his last 12 fights. Now comes what could be a genuine test in the form of veteran Liam Williams. Sheeraz is a 6-foot-3 middleweight contender from England with both boxing ability and formidable punching power, as his KO record suggests. The 24-year-old last fought on Aug. 26, when he stopped previously unbeaten Dmytro Mytrofanov in two rounds in Poland. None of his last four opponents has lasted five full rounds with him. Williams, 31, also is a rugged, hard-punching contender. The Welshman bounced back from back-to-back losses to Liam Smith to earn a shot at then-middleweight champ Demetrius Andrade’s title in 2021 but came up short in his only title fight, losing a one-sided decision. He then lost a clear decision to Chris Eubank Jr., which threatened his career as an elite fighter. However, he subsequently defeated journeymen Nizar Trimech and Florin Cardos to earn at least one more big fight.