Hamzah Sheeraz drops veteran Liam Williams twice, stops him in first round

Hamzah Sheeraz appears to be a genuine threat to anyone.

The 24-year-old 160-pound contender needed less than a full round to put veteran Liam Williams down twice and then stop him on Saturday night in London, thus passing the most significant test of his career.

The official time of the stoppage was 2:36 of Round 1.

Hamzah Sheeraz is the REAL DEAL! @sheeraz_hamzah took less the one round to stop the former world title challenger Liam Williams #SheerazWilliams pic.twitter.com/bTTYl5BesV

— Boxing on TNT Sports (@boxingontnt) February 10, 2024

Williams (25-5-1, 20 KOs) lost back-to-back decisions to Demetrius Andrade and Chris Eubank in 2021 and 2022 but had rebounded by defeating two journeymen. And the durable Welshman had never been stopped in his decade-long career, aside from one fight (against Liam Smith) in which he retired with a bad cut.

None of that mattered to Sheeraz, who wasted no time showing his more experienced opponent who was boss.

The 6-foot-3 Englishman put Williams down with a left about a minute into the fight, which kicked off the beat down in earnest. Sheeraz then put Williams on the canvas again with a right uppercut about a minute later, evidently hurting him.

Williams got to his feet a second time but Sheeraz landed almost at will after the second knockdown, prompting trainer Gary Lockett to stop the fight.

Sheeraz, who trains in Los Angeles, is ranked by three of the four major sanctioning bodies, as high as No. 4 by the WBC. That, combined with his sensational knockout Saturday, leaves little doubt that he’s a legitimate title contender.