It’s been some time since middleweight top contender Hamzah Sheeraz began making waves in the boxing world. The Slough, Berkshire-born fighter, who retained his WBC silver middleweight title on the June 1 Dmitry Bivol–Malik Zinad card, now wishes to expand his footprints on the European landscape. His target? The European Boxing Union’s (EBU) European middleweight belt. But accomplishing the feat is not as easy as it sounds. He will need to dethrone the reigning title holder, Tyler Denny.

The duo square off on the undercard of the Riyadh Season’s Anthony Joshua–Daniel Dubois showdown. In front of a crowd of over 90,000 crazy fans, the heavyweights will slug it out for the IBF championship. Additionally, the event will host fights between Joshua Buatsi and Willy Hutchinson for the interim WBO light heavyweight title. Then Anthony Cacace and Josh Warrington square off for the IBO super featherweight title. Fans will undoubtedly be looking for Sheeraz to extend his winning streak. Let’s check how the two boxers measure up against each other before their all-British face-off.

Hamzah Sheeraz vs. Tyler Denny: Physical stats breakdown

Born on May 25, 1999, to parents of British Pakistani heritage, Hamzah Sheeraz is nearly eight years younger than his opponent, 33-year-old Tyler Denny. Details about the hand reach of both fighters remain unavailable. However, standing at 6 feet and 3 inches or 191 centimeters, Sheeraz enjoys a clear height advantage over the 5 feet and 10 inches or 178 centimeters tall Denny.

During the final weigh-ins, both Hamzah Sheeraz and Tyler Denny recorded almost identical weights. Against the former’s 159.6 pounds, Wordsley, West Midlands-born Denny tipped the scale at 159.9 pounds. Interestingly, during his last match too, Sheeraz registered a similar weight. Instead, at 159.4 pounds, Denny stood out a bit lighter than his current mass.

Having started out his career seven years ago, Hamzah Sheeraz maintains an unblemished record of 20 wins. Since he won sixteen of those through early stoppage, his knockout-to-win rate remains at a steady 80%. Tyler Denny, on the other hand, has been through a checkered career. He started his professional journey nearly two years before Sheeraz. But during the last nine years, he lost two matches, while three ended in draws. Out of his 19 wins, only one was a knockout victory.

Hamzah Sheeraz vs. Tyler Denny: Matchup Breakdown

Tyler Denny is the defending champion. However, it seems, with -1000 odds favoring him, for the oddsmakers, Hamzah Sheeraz remains the heavy favorite to win. Perhaps the skewed preference has more to do with the Londoner’s reputation as a knockout specialist.

Though he fought only once last year, Sheeraz has been a busy boxer. While he dispatched Austin Williams in the eleventh round of their bout, his previous five fights concluded within the early rounds. Basically, a left-handed Hamzah Sheeraz prefers fighting orthodoxy that allows him to lodge a powerful jab.

Since he drew against River Wilson-Bent in 2021, Tyler Denny has been on a winning streak. Notably, his first 12-round fight took place only in November last year. Whereas Hamzah Sheeraz has been regularly contesting 12-round bouts since 2022. Then, even though his first loss occurred six years ago, the fact that it was a knockout submission might be a cause for concern among a few fans.

But to mitigate whatever disadvantage he feels he might face standing against the tall Sheeraz, the Rowley Regis resident has been reportedly taking help from Ben Whittaker. The dynamic light heavyweight has been sparring with Denny for some time. Talking about his sparring partner, Whittaker said, “Tyler’s looking good, a fellow Midlands person. It’s always good to see us doing well. Hopefully he can do it. He is doing great things for himself and his family. I am excited to see the fight. It’s going to be tough, but I am rooting for him.”

But Hamzah Sheeraz doesn’t seem too perturbed by Tyler Denny’s return to form. Following the first-round win over Liam Williams, promoter Frank Warren had compared him with the great Thomas Hearns. Sheeraz feels that he isn’t like any other opponents that Denny might have faced in the past.

“He does what he’s got to do. He turns up and he beats whoever’s in front of him—as an underdog and whatnot—but at the end of the day, you’ve got to remember that I’m nothing like the last five fighters he’s upset,” said Sheeraz.

Sheeraz, who hopes for a title shot by the next two fights, believes a fight with Chris Eubank Jr. could give his career a big break. But before that, he will have to clear the obstacles laid by Tyler Denny, who doesn’t seem to be in any mood to let go of the reigns of his career that he brought back on track with so much difficulty.

Like the bookmakers, do you also feel that the night belongs to Hamzah Sheeraz, winning his 21st professional match?