Hamzah Sheeraz lived up to the lofty expectations put forth by his Hall of Fame promoter.

The 6’3″ middleweight was selected as Queensberry Promotions’ team captain versus the Matchroom Boxing stable in the celebrated 5-vs-5 tournament. His status meant double the pleasure on the scoreboard. Sheeraz stopped Austin Wlliams in the eleventh round Saturday evening at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Williams was dropped late in the tenth round and rocked early in the eleventh. Referee Mark Lyson stepped in to halt the contest at 0:45 of the eleventh round.

The battle of unbeaten middleweights was fought on even turns through four rounds. Williams was eager to put Matchroom on the board and rocked Sheeraz with a left hand early in the second round.

Sheeraz (20-0, 16 knockouts) remains a work in progress on the defensive front, evident by bruising under both eyes. The Ring’s No. 7-rated middleweight adjusted midway through the fight and never looked back. His overwhelming offense was also enough to overcome that flaw.

Williams’ right eye began to swell shut from the steady stream of long left jabs from Sheeraz. The American’s mouth was also bloodied and his appearance drew concern from noted head trainer Kevin Cunningham. He enjoyed spurts of success throughout the fight, but often fizzled over the course of each round.

The beginning of the end came towards the close of round ten. Williams was dropped by a Sheeraz right hook in the bout’s lone knockdown but was able to make it his feet and out of the round.

Sheeraz closed the show in style moments later.

Williams (16-1, 11 KOs), No. 10 at 160, attempted to right the ship at the start of the eleventh. Sheeraz defused that momentum in a hurry. A four-punch combo left Williams out on his feet as he staggered to a corner. Lyson recognized Williams’ inability to defend himself and stopped the contest.

Sheeraz is now the WBC mandatory challenger and will be an interested observer for the next title fight. Carlos Adames (23-1, 18 KOs), No. 2 at 160 by The Ring, defends the belt versus Terrell Gausha (24-3-1, 12 KOs) on June 15 in Las Vegas.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Follow @JakeNDaBox

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