Hamzah Sheeraz announced himself as a legitimate middleweight contender as he destroyed former world title challenger Liam Williams in the opening round of their 12-round fight at The Copper Box Arena in London.

In the opening seconds of the contest, Sheeraz dropped Williams with a left hook. Williams continued to get rocked and then ate a huge right uppercut that put him on the deck for a second time. Sheeraz continued to batter Williams until the corner that was run by former world title challenger Gary Lockett threw in the towel and the fight was over at 2:36

Sheeraz, 159.4 lbs of ilford, ENG is 19-0 with 15 knockouts. Williams, 159 lbs of Wales is 25-5-1.

Former two-time world title challenger Anthony Yarde stopped Marko Nikolic in round three of their 10-round light heavyweight bout.

In round two, Yarde landed a right hand that put Nikolic on the canvas.. Then it was a left hook to the body that put Nikolic on a knee. In round three, Yarde sent Nikolic to the canvas again with a body shot and the fight was stopped at 1:15.

Yarde, 177.7 lbs of Milford, ENG is now 25-3 with 24 knockouts. Nikolic, 179 lbs of Belgrade, SRB is now 32-4.

Sam Noakes kept his perfect knockout record intact with a fourth round stoppage over Lewis Sylvester in a scheduled 12-round lightweight bout.

In round three, Noakes dropped Sylvester with a left hook to the body. Noakes was relentless in dropping him again with a right to the body. In round four, Noakes landed several hard rights to the head and another right to the body put Sylvester down again and the fight was stopped when the towel was thrown in at 2:10

Noakes, 134.3 lbs of Kent, ENG is 13-0 with 13 knockouts. Sylvester, 133.6 lbs of Hull, ENG is 13-1.

Masood Abdullah stopped Qais Ashfaq in round five of their 10-round super featherweight bout.

In round five, Abdullah dropped Ashfaq with an uppercut. Seconds later, Abdullah dropped Ashfaq with a right hook. With the end near, Abdullah went in and dropped Ashfaq for a tried time just as the corner was throwing in the towel at 2:02

Abdullah, 125.7 lbs of London is 10-0 with seven knockouts. Ashfaq, 134 lbs of Yorkshire is 12-3.

Umar Khan remained undefeated with a third-round stoppage over Maicol Velazco in a six-round featherweight bout.

Khan battered Velazco until the fight was stopped ay

Khan, 128 lbs of Elord, ENG is 9-0 with one knockout. Velazco, 129.2 lbs of Italy via Colombia is 10-15.

Billy Adams won a four-round decision over Engel Gomez in a lightweight bout.

Adams, 132 lbs of England won by a 40-36 score and is now 2-0. Gomez, 133 lbs of Slovakia via Nicaragua is 8-24-2.

6’7″ cruiserweight Tommy Fletcher stopped Alvaro Terrero in round three of their eight-round bout.

Fletcher badly bloodied the nose of Terrero and the fight was stopped at 1:20 of round three.

Fltecher, 202.5 lbs of Norfolk, ENG is 7-0 with six knockouts. Terrero, 204.13 lbs of Spain is 5-20-2.

SAM NOAKES WILL fight English champion Lewis Sylvester at the Copper Box Arena on Saturday 10 February in the chief support to the mighty middleweight clash between Hamzah Sheeraz and Liam Williams, live on TNT Sports.

The Commonwealth and WBC International Silver belts currently owned by the 12-0 (12 KOs) Noakes will be on the line against the undefeated 13-0 (4 KOs) man from Hull.

Two-time World title challenger Anthony Yarde (24-3, 23) will return to action over 10 rounds at light heavyweight ahead of major title challenges in 2024.

The recently crowned Commonwealth Silver featherweight champion Masood Abdulah (9-0, 6) will make a first defence of his belt against the 2016 Olympian Qais Ashfaq (12-2, 5).

Sylvester, 25, won the vacant English title when he defeated the previously unbeaten Adam Cope in Sheffield via a unanimous verdict last July, before making a blistering first defence against Jimmy First in October when he took just over two minutes to complete the job.

Noakes has been on the title trail since the end of 2021 when he stopped Shaun Cooper for his WBC honour, before adding the Commonwealth to his cabinet with a fourth-round stoppage of Calvin McCord in November 2022. The charismatic Maidstone man extended his knockout run to 12 in December when Carlos Perez was accounted for in the fourth round at York Hall.

Islington’s Abdulah defeated Marc Leach in October to win his maiden title as a professional and he goes up against Leeds man Ashfaq, who dropped a split decision in challenge for the British super featherweight title against Liam Dillon in July

Also featuring at the Copper Box will be the WBC International super lightweight champion Pierce O’Leary (13-0, 7) making a third defence of his belt. While light heavyweight Karol Itauma (10-1, 7) continues his journey over eight rounds.

Cruiserweights Tommy Fletcher (5-0, 4) and Aloys Jr (5-1, 5), as well as welterweight Khalid Ali (7-0, 3) and featherweight Umar Khan (8-0) will fight over six rounds, with 1-0 newcomers Sam King (middleweight), Billy Adams (lightweight) and Charlie Hickford (super featherweight) having their second four round encounters.

“We are in for a busy night at the Copper Box in our first show of the year on February 10,” said promoter Frank Warren. “The main event speaks for itself, and I believe Hamzah Sheeraz and Liam Williams will deliver a captivating spectacle.

“The time has come for Sam Noakes to stake his claim at the top of the domestic scene, and we should be in for a cracking fight when he goes up against the undefeated English champion Lewis Sylvester, who will view this as his gateway to more big nights on a TV platform.

“The undercard is stacked, and fans can look forward to Anthony Yarde getting back into business in a 10-rounder before he returns to major title action a little further down the line. Pierce O’Leary and Masood Abdulah can also stake their claim to be part of headline fights over the course of this year.

“Our top prospects are also on parade, and I am particularly looking forward to seeing the rivalry between our knockout pair of cruiserweights, Tommy Fletcher and Aloys Jr, develop as they seek to out-do each other before, one day, they get to do it for real.”

Tickets for Sheeraz vs Williams on 10 February 2024 at the Copper Box Arena are on sale now available from ticketmaster.co.uk.

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Copper Box Arena, managed by GLL, a charitable social enterprise and worker-owned cooperative, operating under the community-brand, Better.

Dalton Smith scored an explosive seventh round stoppage over Sam Maxwell in a 12-round super ligh1tweight fight in Sheffield, England.

In round seven, Smith uncorked a perfect right to the side of the head that sent Maxwell down on his back with his right leg folded underneath and the fight was stopped mid-count at 1:34.

Smith, 139.4 lbs of Sheffield is 15-0 with 11 knockouts. Maxwell, 139.4 lbs of Liverpool, ENF is 17-2.

Pat McCormack remained undefeated with a stoppage of Tony Dixon after round four of their 10-round super welterweight bout.

McCormack landed a booming right on the jaw that put Dix on his back just before the bell rang for the end of round four. The towel was thrown in from Dixon’s corner in between rounds.

McCormack, 150.2 lbs of Washington, ENG is 5-0 with four knockouts. Dixon, 148.7 lbs of Mountain Ash, WAL is 14-5.

Hopey Price stopped James Beech Jr. after round seven of their 10-round featherweight bout.

Price beat down Beech until the fight was stopped in the corner following the seventh frame.

Price, 125.5 lbs of Leeds, ENG is 11-0 with four knockouts. Beech, 125.2 lbs of Bloxwich, ENG is 15-5.

Junaid Bostan went the distance for the first time, but was able to win a eight-round decision over Ryan Amos in a fight between undefeated junior middleweights.

Bostan, 155.4 lbs of Rotherham, ENG won by a 79-73 score and is now 6-0. Amos, 155 lbs of Nottingham, ENG is 10-1-1.

In a fight featuring undefeated lightweights, Lewis Sylvester won a razor-thin 10-round unanimous decision over Adam Cope.

Sylvester, 134.3 lbs of Hill. ENG won by scores do 96-94 twice and 96-95 and is now 12-0. Cope, 133.9 lbs of Hartlepool, ENG is 7-1.

In round eight, Sylvester had a little swelling under his left eye.

Beatriz Ferreira remained undefeated with a eight-round decision over Karla Ramos Zamora in a super featherweight fight.

In round eight, Zamora was bleeding from her mouth.

Ferreira, 132 lbs of Sao Paulo, BRA won by a 8-72 score and is now 3-0. Zamora, 130.4 lbs of Chimalhuacan, MEX is 10-10-1.

In a fight between undefeated super bantamweights, Nico Leivers won a six-round decision over Alberto Motos.

Leivers, 123.1 lbs of Mansfield, ENG won by a 59-55 score and is now 4-0-1. Matos, 121.1 lbs of Madrid, SPA is 4-1.

Cory O’Regan remained undefeated with a six-round decision over Jordan Ellison in a lightweight contest.

O’Regan, 137.5 lbs of Hackmondwike, ENG won by a 60-54 score and is now 10-0. Ellison, 138.8 lbs of Seaham, ENG was fighting for the 65th time.