Hamzah Sheeraz is preparing to punish Liam Williams for the frustration he felt when their fight was delayed.
The middleweight rivals fight on Saturday at London’s Copper Box Arena, having previously been on course to do so on December 2 until Sheeraz suffered a perforated ear drum.
Sheeraz has neared two training camps for the opponent expected to provide his greatest test, and after battling the feeling that his promoter Frank Warren, trainer Ricky Funez and supporters had been “let down” by the postponement he is determined to reward their faith.
“The trouble of letting the team down and your promoters and the people around you – that was the only struggle I had,” the 24 year old told ProBox TV. “Everything else, I’m a firm believer in God and that everything happens for a reason. That’s the only way I could look at it to stay positive, and here we are – that doesn’t matter now. I’m ready.
“People who’ve bought tickets and booked time off work; the time the coaches are putting in you. That was the mental battle I was having. But I was all good otherwise.
“As soon as I got the new date it was, ‘Okay, let’s go’. Straight back to LA [the TenGoose Boxing Club in Van Nuys] and straight back into camp. It gives you that hungrier feeling to do better; to stay sharp; to stay more switched on. A fight of this magnitude – that’s exactly what I needed.”
Williams, 31, has ultimately lost his four biggest fights, and is entering that that likely represents his last chance to realise his ambitions. He lost successive fights with Demetrius Andrade and Chris Eubank Jr, after a run of seven victories followed successive defeats by Liam Smith.
“That’s what makes him dangerous,” Sheeraz continued. “That’s what makes this fight dangerous – the fact that he’s coming to take everything I’ve got. But I’m just as dangerous, if not more, because I ain’t gonna come and lay down – I got too much riding on me. I’ve got promoters who’ve got great plans for me, and a team I owe a lot.
“It just shows how tough and gritty he is [to survive after knockdowns by Eubank Jr and Andrade]. You can’t expect nothing less and you know what to expect. I don’t think he’s going to go in there and try and box me because that would be the worst thing for him to do. He’s got to try and rough me up and break down my body.
“He gave a good account of himself. I have to stay switched on, concentrated, and look at it as he’s coming to take my head off.
“I saw a man who was ready. A man who’s going to win – a 100 per cent version. I’m ready to get in there and get it cracking.”
