“It is hard in the ring, and I have to become cold."
Hamzah Sheeraz is set to fight Tyler Denny on September 21, 2024, and he revealed that his boxing career put him and his family into more than £800,000 of debt.
The fight will be on the undercard of Anthony Joshua’s bout against Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium.
The 25-year-old middleweight from Ilford is undefeated and is a rising name in the UK boxing scene under Frank Warren’s Queensbury Promotions.
He last fought in June 2024 in Queensbury vs Matchroom 5 vs 5, in which Queensbury swept Matchroom 10-0.
His domestic clash against Tyler Denny, who has a 19-2 record, will be in front of a sold-out crowd of 96,000.
Denny holds the European middleweight title, which Sheeraz hopes to secure on Saturday night.
The boxer recently revealed that his boxing career has sent his family into over £800,000 in debt.
He said: “I have never given this figure out to anyone before, but I am 25 now, and from the age of 18 when I first turned pro, the debt we got into was about £800,000 in the red.
“Nobody would believe me, but we are still clearing some of that debt now.
“Every penny of it was invested into me, and I didn’t understand it at the time, but my dad just told me I had to take a punt on myself; he told me I had to do it.
“He put every penny he had ever saved into me, and luckily, we are close to clearing it now.
“It’s what dreams are made of; it shows that total commitment and sacrifice do pay off.
“99 per cent of fighters doing this professionally are just trying to make a living, and most of them have a second job to help them do it.
“I sat next to Josh Padley at the launch press conference, and he told me he was driving his work van full of rubbish to the tip when he got the call.
“It goes to show that, away from all the glitz and the glamour, the purses and opportunities fighters are getting now are life-changing.”
Sheeraz and his opponent are family men, and Denny helped him in his training camp during sparring.
Hamzah Sheeraz admitted he has to flick a switch in the ring and not view anyone as a friend.
He said: “It is hard in the ring, and I have to become cold.
“The moment I am in there, I become cold-blooded and just want to get them out of there.
“My mentality is that I have taken this massive punt on myself, and nothing is getting in my way.
“Outside the ring, I have nothing bad to say about Tyler. This is the opportunity of a lifetime for him, so I am sure he’s trained his nuts off like I have.
“He is coming with nothing to lose and that makes him dangerous. But that means I have to be dangerous too.”
Hamzah Sheeraz aims to become one of the biggest names in UK boxing, like Anthony Joshua, and this fight is seen as his biggest challenge
The event is sponsored by Riyadh Season.
The fight card is set to begin at 4 pm, and the entire lineup is:
• Daniel Dubois vs Anthony Joshua – IBF Heavyweight title
• Tyler Denny vs Hamzah Sheeraz – European Middleweight title
• Anthony Cacace vs Josh Warrington – IBF Super Featherweight title
• Joshua Buatsi vs Willy Hutchinson – Light Heavyweight
• Mark Chamberlain vs Josh Padley – Lightweight
• Josh Kelly vs Ishmael Davies – Middleweight
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