Sheeraz fights on the Joshua vs Dubois bill this weekend (Picture: James Fearn/Getty Images)
Hamzah Sheeraz has blasted Chris Eubank Jr for ducking a fight against him at Wembley Stadium as the middleweight star looks to take another step in securing ‘superstar’ status.
Sheeraz has developed into a devastating force in the 160lbs ranks, knocking out his last 14 opponents with victories over Liam Willams and Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams this year placing him among the very best in the division.
Hopes of a title shot against WBC champion Carlos Adames were derailed by a hand injury with the Ilford fighter, now based out in Los Angeles, set to take on Tyler Denny in the chief support for Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois in the capital this weekend.
European champion Denny is one of the most in-form middleweights in the country, coming off two superb wins of his own. But Eubank Jr was the man originally targeted for Saturday’s card with Sheeraz eager to deliver a fight British boxing fans have been demanding.
‘The Eubank Jr fight isn’t one I started talking about, it is one the fans have been talking about and calling for,’ Sheeraz told Metro.co.uk.
‘The money he wanted was all there on the table and then all of a sudden he goes, “Nah, I want more if I am fighting Hamzah.”
‘I think he is seeing it as there is nothing in it for him. But the public are calling for it so I have got to be doing something right.
Sheeraz has reeled off superb wins in 2024 (Picture: Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
‘My career doesn’t depend on him. He is not someone I have to chase. But I am here to deliver that for the boxing fans. Especially when all these great fights are happening all over the world, in Saudi, Los Angeles, Las Vegas. Why not come back to the UK for this show and give the fight fans are demanding?
‘Tyler is my focus right now and respect to him. I have got to focus on my path to that world title and we will get him [Eubank Jr] eventually, I’m certain of it.’
Eubank Jr has been one of the biggest names in British boxing for a number of years and at a time, the Sheeraz fight may not have made sense. It would have represented huge risk and little reward both financially and in terms of his reputation against a fighter who was still relatively unknown among more casual boxing fans. That is rapidly changing however with Sheeraz’s destructive wins earning him the recognition his performances have merited.
Sheeraz vs Eubank Jr was the fight initially called for (Picture: Matt McNulty/Getty Images)
In another perplexing development, Eubank Jr will return to the ring next month to fight Poland’s Kamil Szeremeta, an obscure name who has fought just five times outside his homeland in his 29 professional fights. The fight takes place on another huge card headlined by the undisputed thriller between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol but Eubank’s choice of opponent leaves …read more
Source:: Metro
