Sheffield, England – (Jan 28th, 2025) – A heavy-handed veteran with an 83% finish rate and three knockouts wins in his last three fights will travel deep into enemy territory next month to face undefeated British middleweight standout Shakiel “Dr. Steel” Thompson (13-0, 9 KO’s), live on DAZN.
Sheffield man Thompson, ranked #9 in the world in the official WBO World Middleweight Rankings, was this week linked with an early summer showdown against WBO and IBF world middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly in Kazakhstan. The prospect of this mouth-watering, big-money bout makes February 7th’s outing a must-win for Thompson.
Hamisi Maya (17-5-1, 14 KO’s), who challenged for the WBO African Super-Welterweight Championship in 2022, heads to the Steel City next month intent on derailing Thompson’s run and shattering those world title hopes.
None of Maya’s past three opponents have made it past the third round and his high finish rate is testament to the stunning power he carries in both hands. With nine knockout wins of his own, Dr Steel’s trademark surgical skill will be on full display as he aims to evade the heavy artillery and score a showcase win of his own.
Shakiel Thompson said, “I’m excited to get back in the ring next month and I am looking forward to a big year ahead with some big opportunities. Becoming world champion has always been my dream and I’m looking forward to sharing the ring with some big names in due course. Right now the next challenge for me is on February 7th in my home city of Sheffield, where I’ll be looking to make a statement.”
GBM promoter Izzy Asif said, “Shakiel Thompson is one of the most avoided men in British boxing right now. When we were matching him for this card it seemed a lot of fighters had their phones on silent – and to be fair I understand why. Look at the run he’s on, look at what he did in his last fight. He’s about to break out in a big way,”
“Hamisi Maya stepped up and he’s an experienced veteran who is going to give Shakiel some problems to solve but I expect we see another successful operation for Dr Steel in Sheffield on February 7th.”
Regarding reports of negotiations with Janibek, Asif said, “We never comment on individual negotiations until agreements are in place, but we’re working on some very exciting announcements for 2025. We’ve stepped things up a new level each of the four years we’ve been in operation and now with DAZN beside us, we’re going to be stepping up in some big ways this year.”
GBM: A NEW DAWN takes place Friday, February 7th at the Canon Medical Arena, Sheffield and airs live and exclusively worldwide on DAZN.
The 11-fight card is headlined by a main event contest which sees Shakan Pitters challenge defending champion Daniel ‘Blenda’ Dos Santos, a French special forces veteran, for the European Light-Heavyweight Championship.
Defending British, Commonwealth and European champion Tysie Gallagher was forced to withdraw from the card following the sudden and tragic passing of a close family member following a criminal assault on Monday night. Her bout with Ebonie Jones will be rescheduled to later this year.