Hamzah Sheeraz continued his impressive run of displays with a second-round stoppage victory over European middleweight champion Tyler Denny at Wembley Stadium, on the Daniel Dubois v Anthony Joshua undercard. Earlier in the evening, Joshua Buatsi became WBO interim light heavyweight champion after beating Willy Hutchinson despite an odd set of scorecards.
Hamzah Sheeraz became European middleweight champion with a second-round stoppage of Tyler Denny at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night.
Denny had two defeats and three draws to his name, and before the fight he was understood by most observers as the clear underdog, and so it proved.
Sheeraz, meanwhile, had 20 wins from 20 fights, his last clash being an impressive dismantling of Austin “Ammo” Williams at the Queensberry v Matchroom event in May in Riyadh.
Frank Warren’s man is regarded as one of the rising stars of the middleweight division, with the potential to challenge for world titles in the coming years.
Denny’s latest fight had been an impressive display against a previously undefeated Felix Cash, earning him the European belt, but he could barely have imagined a worse start to his defence.
Denny was down in the opening seconds of the first round, and while he got up for a standing eight count, Sheeraz’s power and height advantage seemed obvious.
The 25-year-old Sheeraz continued to batter his opponent, and a powerful left-hook shot to the temple in the second round left Denny on his knee and gasping, with the referee stepping in to wave it off.
For Sheeraz, the only question appears to be when his title challenge comes, but at which division.