Hamzah Sheeraz continued his climb up the middleweight ranks.
An impressive showing was offered by the rising prospect, who had his way with River Wilson-Bent en route to a second-round stoppage win. A left hook and right hand by Sheeraz produced the bout’s lone knockdown and eventually the stoppage at 2:55 of round two in their BT Sport/ESPN+ aired bout Saturday at The O2 in London.
Sheeraz established his jab and long right hand early in the contest. Wilson-Bent was tentative to engage, quickly forced on the defensive as Sheeraz couldn’t miss with either weapon. A lead right hand by the unbeaten Londoner from nearby Ilford rocked Wilson-Bent—a 28-year-old prospect from Coventry, Warwickshire—near the end of round one.
The success of lead right hands had Sheeraz brimming with confidence throughout a vicious round two. Wilson-Bent saw his head repeatedly snapped back by incoming right hands and purposeful jabs, fighting through a bloody nose and a rapidly swelling left eye.
Sheeraz connected with a straight right to force Wilson-Bent to a corner. A left hook and looping right hand by Sheeraz forced Wilson-Bent to the canvas, with the referee ending his count midway through as it was clear that Wilson-Bent (13-2-1, 6KOs) badly had the fight beaten out of him in less than six minutes.
Saturday’s feat marked the tenth straight knockout for the 23-year-old Sheeraz, who improved to 17-0 (13KOs) and whose team will now target contender-level opposition in the year ahead. Sheeraz entered the fight ranked number twelve at middleweight by the WBC, whose Silver title he successfully defended for the first time in the win.
Headlining the show, Zach Parker (22-0, 16KOs) and John Ryder (31-5, 17KOs) meet in an all-British super middleweight matchup with the division’s vacant interim WBO title at stake.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for krikya360.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox