AMERICAN DREAM

THE RISE of Hamzah Sheeraz had been about as serene as any of British boxing’s other blue chip prospects since the turn of the century.

The 6ft 3in, 13-0 super-welterweight seemed to have it all in spades and was on a seven-fight stoppage hot streak the night his whole outlook on the sport was altered.

That change came about thanks in no small part to a man 11 years his senior called Bradley Skeete, who had once himself held a position as highly-touted youngster in Frank Warren’s stable.

Sheeraz was a big favourite when the pair met at the Copper Box in December but it swiftly looked as though the bookmakers had got it wrong as the older man outboxed the youngster for large parts of the early stages.

As it happened, the favourite began to turn the tide and got his breakthrough in the eighth round, dropping Skeete with a left hook-right hand combination. But it was