Tyler Denny v Hamzah Sheeraz - Tale of the Tape: Weight, height, reach, trainer & professional boxing records

We analyse the credentials of Tyler Denny and Hamzah Sheeraz as the two British middleweights prepare to battle it out for the European title on the undercard of Daniel Dubois v Anthony Joshua at Wembley.

On 21st September, Tyler Denny defends his European middleweight title against Hamzah Sheeraz at Wembley Stadium.

The champion, Denny, finds himself as the underdog, but no British fighter has upset the odds as many times as the Midlands man in recent years and he will be confident of doing so once again.

Sheeraz, the favourite, has looked like an unstoppable force since moving up to middleweight and dispatched of the highly-touted Austin Williams last time out, but is yet to face a customer as tricky as Denny.

Who will prevail?

Let’s have a look at the tale of the tape…

Tyler Denny v Hamzah Sheeraz
Tale of the Tape

	Tyler Denny	Hamzah Sheeraz
Age:	33	25
Nickname:	None	None
Height:	5ft 10ins	6ft 3ins
Reach:	N/A	N/A
Weight:	Middleweight	Middleweight
Trainer:	Errol Johnson	Ricky Funez
Record:	19-2-3 (1 KOs)	20-0 (16 KOs)
Last fight:	W - TD (R5) v Felix Cash (June 2024)	W - TKO (R11) v Austin Williams (June 2024)

Tyler Denny
In Profile

In boxing, talent alone will only get you so far.

Unfortunately, during the early portion of their careers, fighters must also sell tickets, unless they come with a big public profile, such as Olympians.

The ones who put the most bums on seats, get the biggest opportunities.

Tyler Denny did not have a big fan base. As such, he made a career out of fighting from the away corner in his biggest bouts.

For a while, it appeared he would be a domestic nearly-man, as he fell agonisingly short in English middleweight title fights. First, against Reece Cartwright when the contest was stopped after a doctor’s inspection after Denny had sustained a cut lip and eye damage; then he dropped a majority decision to Linus Udofia.

His bad luck continued when a fight against River Wilson-Bent, once more for the English title, went to the scorecards after seven completed rounds, due to a laceration sustained by Wilson-Bent. Most observers felt the Rowley Regis man had done enough to have his hand raised, but he had to settle for a draw.

In the rematch, Denny captured the belt which had eluded him for so long.

Having taken the unbeaten record of Wilson-Bent, he inflicted the same fate upon Bradley Rea and Brad Pauls, live on Sky.

The Cinderella story continued with a win over Macauley McGowan, before he earned a homecoming at Wolverhampton Civic Hall in a challenge for the European middleweight title against Matteo Signani.

Denny was relentless and forced the Italian’s corner to pull their fighter after the eighth round.

In June, many observers felt Denny’s meteoric rise was going to come to an end when he made a mandatory defence against Felix Cash.

The challenger was a gifted amateur who had shown flashes of great promise as a professional, but the southpaw Denny would not be denied, prevailing by technical decision.

Once more, the deck is stacked against him, but the Midlands man wouldn’t have it any other way.

Strengths:	Weaknesses:
Tight guard	Smothers his own work
Applies pressure	Stays in range too long
Body shots	Can neglect his jab
Awkward style	Throws his hooks wide

Hamzah Sheeraz
In Profile

Alongside Adam Azim and Moses Itauma, Hamzah Sheeraz is considered to be one of the best boxing prospects in Britain, and with good reason!

Tall, accurate, economical with his work and powerful; in many ways, he is the complete package.

The Ilford man demonstrated his class last time out as he dismantled and eventually stopped Austin Williams on the Matchroom v Queensberry card.

Williams himself was highly touted and great things were – and still are – expected from him, but the Englishman looked a level above.

Legendary promoter Frank Warren waxes lyrical about Sheeraz at every available opportunity and this is a man who has worked with the likes of ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed and Ricky Hatton.

While the 25-year-old has looked the part as of late, it has not all been plain sailing throughout his short career.

In 2021, Sheeraz faced Bradley Skeete at light-middleweight. Skeete posed many problems with his movement and use of the jab, and was racking up rounds on the scorecards.

Sheeraz cut a frustrated figure, but appeared to turn the tide with a knockdown in the eighth frame. However, the Essex native landed a blow on his rival while he was on the floor, which could, and perhaps should, have resulted in a disqualification.

Instead, he escaped with a point deduction and brought the fight to a close in the following round.

On ability alone, Sheeraz should win handily, but Denny is an awkward customer who is difficult to hit cleanly and has made a career out of upsetting the odds.

Sheeraz backers should be concerned at the possibility of frustration creeping in, but if the youngster can keep his cool, he should continue his march towards world honours.

Strengths:	Weaknesses:
Power	Poor at cutting off the ring
Accuracy	Open to straight shots
Patience	Can become frustrated when things aren't going his way
Big at the weight