Hamzah Sheeraz Drops Austin Williams, Stops Him in 11th Round To Extend KO Streak

Hamzah Sheeraz fulfilled the high hopes set by his legendary promoter.

The esteemed 5-on-5 competition between Queensberry Promotions and Matchroom Boxing appointed a team captain who stands tall at 6 foot and 3 inches in the middleweight category. This meant an extra delightful outcome for the scorecard. During the weekend evening of Saturday, Sheeraz triumphantly halted Austin Williams in the eleventh round held at the Kingdom Arena located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

In the tenth round, Williams was knocked down and had a hard time recovering at the beginning of the eleventh round. Consequently, the referee, Mark Lyson, intervened and stopped the fight at the 45-second mark in the eleventh round.

The match between two middleweight fighters who had not lost any bouts was evenly contested for four rounds. Williams was keen to score a point for Matchroom and shook up Sheeraz by hitting him with a powerful left hand in the beginning of the second round.

Sheeraz, who has an unbeaten record of 20-0 and 16 knockouts, still needs to work on his defensive skills. This was apparent by the bruises under both of his eyes after the fight. However, Sheeraz made some changes in the middle of the fight and was then unstoppable. He relied on his strong offense to make up for his defensive weaknesses.

Sheeraz's long left jabs caused Williams' right eye to gradually shut, resulting in his mouth getting bloodied too. This was a cause for worry for Kevin Cunningham, a renowned head trainer. Even though Williams had moments of triumph during the fight, it was often short-lived and he faded away in each round.

The start of the conclusion happened in the final moments of the tenth round. Williams was knocked down by a powerful right hook from Sheeraz, the only time it happened in the entire fight. However, Williams managed to get back up on his feet and make it through the round.

Soon after, Sheeraz finished the show in a grand fashion.

Williams, who had a record of 16-1 and 11 knockouts, was ranked number ten in the 160 weight class. In the eleventh round, Williams tried to gain control of the match but was quickly shut down by Sheeraz. Sheeraz landed a combination of four punches which left Williams unable to defend himself as he stumbled towards the corner. The referee, Lyson, noticed Williams' state and ended the match to protect Williams from further injury.

Sheeraz has been named as the mandatory challenger for the WBC title and will be keeping a watchful eye on the upcoming championship fight. The bout will see Carlos Adames (who's ranked number two in the 160 division by The Ring) defend his belt against Terrell Gausha, and will take place in Las Vegas on June 15th.

Jake Donovan holds the position of a superior writer in The Ring magazine and also serves as the vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.