By Matt Bozeat

HAMZAH SHEERAZ and Liam Williams finally meet at the Copper Box on Saturday night (February 10). Sheeraz was a 6-0 novice when he first put the fight to Williams on social media and was told: “You’re not at my level.” Sheeraz now admits that, back then, Williams was right.

The 24-year-old from Ilford has since caught up with Williams and they meet at the crossroads over 12 rounds for Sheeraz’s Commonwealth middleweight title in front of the TNT Sport cameras.

The fight was set for December 2 until Sheeraz was forced out with a perforated eardrum, suffered during one of his final sparring sessions in Los Angeles where he’s coached by Ricky Funez.

And, while he was waiting for the 18-0 (14) Sheeraz 18-0 to recover, Williams shed some rust inside York Hall and stopped flabby Romanian Florin Cardos inside a round in December to take his record to 25-4-1 (20). That was the Welshman’s first fight for 364 days.

He is now 31 years old, a 12-year pro and a veteran of seven fights at British, Commonwealth and WBO level, along with four others for minor belts. It remains to be seen how much those fights have taken out of Williams, who won a Lonsdale Belt outright during a destructive reign as British middleweight champion between 2018 and 2020.

“They think this is the right time for him,” said Williams before warning, “I feel I have too much left still.”

Sheeraz and Williams do feel like fighters from different eras. Sheeraz made his pro debut in September 2017, five months after Williams was beaten by Liam Smith in their first fight.

Going into this weekend, it appears that Sheeraz has every advantage, apart from experience. And if we’re to flip his lack of experience into youthful exuberance, one might even class that as a factor in his favour too. He is seven years younger, five inches taller and he has momentum in his favour.

Furthermore, we have to consider the possibility that Williams’ advantage in experience could be to his own detriment. With experience comes wear and tear.

He took some punishment when losing to WBO belt-holder Demetrius Andrade in Hollywood in April 2021 and in his next fight, the following February, he was dropped four times by Chris Eubank Jnr before losing on points.

The first knockdown was from a jab and then-coach Adam Booth frantically rubbed Williams’ legs in between rounds.

After that loss Williams left Booth to be reunited with Gary Lockett and has had a couple of straightforward stoppage wins, over the outclassed Frenchman Nizar Trimech and Cardos.

In short, there are concerns about Williams’s punch resistance – and Sheeraz can punch. He has stopped his last 12.

Liam Williams (Alex Davidson/Getty Images)

However, it would be foolhardy to completely dismiss the older man’s chances. Sheeraz is short of competitive rounds. His hardest fight so far was against Bradley Skeete in December 2021, down at 154lbs.

Sheeraz caught up with Skeete in the ninth after being outboxed for much of the fight and being docked a point in the eighth for hitting Skeete when he was on the floor. Many observers felt Sheeraz should have been disqualified. Such was his disgust, Skeete hasn’t fought since, choosing to retire instead.

After that controversy, Sheeraz moved up to 160lbs. The 6ft 3ins Sheeraz was surely tight at 154lbs and Skeete gave him problems with his movement.

Sheeraz is at his best when opponents come to him, as was the case when he boxed on the Oleksandr Usyk-Daniel Dubois undercard in Poland last August.

Sheeraz towered over Ukraine’s Dmytro Mytrofanov (13-0-1) and dispatched him in two rounds, dropping him three times. It’s presumed that Williams, known for his aggressive style, will also take the fight to him.

The Welshman has stopped a fighter who’s taller than Sheeraz, stopping the 6ft 4ins Alantez Fox in five at the Copper Box in December 2019. Williams was quicker to the jab and hurt the American every time he landed.

That fight, and the cool break down of unbeaten puncher Mark Heffron, were before Andrade and Eubank got their hands on Williams. Though only 31, it would still be a tremendous turnaround to regain his peak form.

On all available evidence, Sheeraz looks too big and too fresh. Ominously, he seems to be getting stronger and better as well. He can score a stoppage around the middle rounds.

Maidstone mauler Sam Noakes, 12-0 (12) gets the chance to add the vacant British lightweight title to his Commonwealth strap when he meets Lewis Sylvester, 13-0 (4).

They know each other having sparred when both were novice pros.

Noakes says the 25-year-old from Hull is “a neat boxer. I’m going to have to cut the ring down,” while Sylvester predicts a “bull against matador” match.

Noakes has proved too strong for all 12 opponents so far, with former Spanish champion Carlos Perez his latest victim, overpowered in four last December. Noakes felt the Spaniard lost heart after three minutes and expects a harder test this weekend.

Sylvester had a breakthrough 2023, beating Harry Fryer over 10 before claiming the vacant English belt with a points win over Hartlepool’s  Adam Cope and then stopping Jimmy First in a defence of the St George’s belt.

Never stopped before, First was dropped three times and halted in the first. Sylvester didn’t let First recover after making him miss with a lunging left hook and countering with a right to the chin. He hints he can draw similar mistakes from Noakes. We doubt it. Noakes can break Sylvester down around the halfway stage.

Tunde Ajayi says 2024 will be “an exciting year” for Ilford light-heavyweight Anthony Yarde, provided he gets past Serbian champion Marko Nikolic in a scheduled 10.

Ajayi has a lengthy list of targets for the 32-year-old, who has fought once since going eight rounds with Artur Beterbiev last January. He stopped 40-year-old Portugese Jorge Silva in two rounds last September and Nikolic is likely to go the same way.

The 34-year-old won his first 27 after an amateur career that included two European Championships and a World Championship but has lost three of his last eight, including two by stoppage.

Yarde, 24-3 (23), will surely hit too hard as well and can win early.

Barnet featherweight Masood Abdulah, 9-0 (6), looks to build on a breakthrough win over Marc Leach when he meets 2016 Olympian Qais Ashfaq, 12-2 (5), over 10.

Leeds southpaw Ashfaq is coming off a split loss to Liam Dillon for the vacant British title at 130lbs and we go for Abdulah to outwork him and win on points.