00:00Guys, here to up is good. Guys, give me instruction in the dressing room. They're having a clean match, okay?
00:06Good luck. God bless you.
00:08World 12 stone belt on the line. So many great super middleweights from England and Germany have entertained us in
00:16sumptuous battles.
00:17Time for Ilford's Hamza Shiraz and this guy Bayern's Alan Begic to tassel under the pyramids.
00:26Both oozing confidence this week. Shiraz with the height, the reach, the power and the experience you feel.
00:36But Begic undefeated. Shiraz in no mood to hang about.
00:40That was a lovely double left hook to start. There's a right hand, the boss on the front foot.
00:45You look at Begic and think, how does he get into this? Yes, he's got a puncher's chance, but does
00:50he have the hand speed, Barry, to cause him any trouble?
00:53Yeah, and the problem he's got right now is at the range where he's disaffected and perfect range for Shiraz
01:00as the right hand goal with conviction.
01:02Nothing is going to come back. So he's got to get close. He's got to stay low. Use that lack
01:07of height for your advantage.
01:08Get low, roll into punches and try and just unsettle Shiraz. So if Shiraz gets into a rhythm, you might
01:14as well go home. You're done.
01:15You cannot be on the back foot, can he? You're right.
01:21That jab of Shiraz, a potent weapon.
01:24He was saying this week that all fighters that come in the ring with me, they think I'm skin and
01:31bones, but when they get in, they realise what I'm all about and how hard I hit and how good
01:37I've become.
01:38And he believes that partnership with Andy Lee is just bringing him on at the right time.
01:42Do you know what he does? He punches correctly. He turns the hips into the shot. His accuracy is fantastic.
01:48The variation on point as well and, as you say, the belief, the confidence that he's got, not just through
01:53his performance, but through the team, is oozing out of him.
01:57We've had time with Begich and he's got a really good team himself around him. Body shot from Shiraz.
02:03Begich, tough and he can punch early, but at the moment he just can't get into this as Shiraz dominates
02:09behind that jab.
02:11Isn't it amazing how all the time that he has here Shiraz just to let his hands go?
02:17Like Begich, his hands being, he ain't too bad to be fair, but he lets his hands go and he
02:23looks, he just looks so much slower than Shiraz in every, every format.
02:26And though he's being proactive, he's letting the shots go, Hamza Shiraz.
02:31As soon as Begich throws the shots, he's reactive, he's straight away throwing a counter.
02:35Darren, look at that jab and the way he's got the real urgency going straight from the opening bell.
02:43Shiraz pumping it out like a piston and Begich at the moment doesn't really know what to do with him.
02:49He tries a combination, but he's got to get inside and rough up Shiraz in some way
02:54because this rhythm just suits the Brit.
02:57He's got to get in, he's got to get low.
02:59Nice little bit of work there from Shiraz, doubling up with that uppercut with the left hand.
03:04That's the weapon, it's going to do all the time, that jab is going to line them up for that
03:07right hand,
03:08throwing the end of that left hook, keeping him frustrated.
03:13And at this distance, even though some of the punches are hitting Begich's gloves,
03:20it looks like they're troubling him in the opening round.
03:23It's been a very one-sided start for Shiraz.
03:33Don't worry about it.
03:37You're going to break him down.
03:38You're hurting once in that round.
03:41How are you feeling, hooker?
03:43It's not going to do anything, honestly.
03:49Nice and control.
03:49The right side is there.
03:51It's hard to judge that step back right hand because he's not doing anything.
03:54Cool.
04:01You hook right hand because the first hook will take his parry, you know what I mean?
04:05Hook right hand, driving through, yeah.
04:10Great round, great starting round.
04:1210 seconds.
04:13Andy Lee, Jason Quigley as well, good fighter, good guy in the corner.
04:18Hamza Shiraz really receiving very little instructions from Andy Lee,
04:22who said that was fantastic and he's not going to get anywhere near you
04:26and just, I think, more of the same.
04:28What could Alan Begich conjure up his undefeated, heads banging together there.
04:34That's a beautiful left uppercut from Shiraz.
04:37He took a little step back, didn't he?
04:38He used the momentum of Begich just to walk him onto that shot.
04:43This is better for Begich trying to get the arms going
04:46and reduce that distance with the jab,
04:48but as he comes in, he's got to be careful of that Shiraz uppercut.
04:53But Andy Lee said, express yourself there.
04:56Nothing's going to come up, nothing's going to do anything to you.
04:59Lovely work there from Shiraz.
05:02Perth Begich in trouble here, first minute of the second round
05:05and the difference in levels beginning to tell European to a very good world-class fighter
05:14who might be on the verge of becoming a world champion here.
05:17Hamza Shiraz in total control.
05:19Look at it, this is menacing.
05:21The way he's just creeping forward and having no respect for Begich whatsoever.
05:28Begich undefeated, can punch, but Shiraz going in, dominating body shots, head shots.
06:05Because he's closing up his guard there, Begich, that's allowing...
06:07Having a look, minute 17 left in the second.
06:10Oh, it's all Hamza Shiraz, and it's thudding punches.
06:14There's no respect and no luck coming back from Begich.
06:19Went up through the middle here for Shiraz, we'll finish this.
06:24They're shouting and screaming from the blue corner, the German team, but Begich is out of his depth.
06:31That's what it looks like.
06:32The pan from Shiraz comes through.
06:35It's just an outward one, isn't it?
06:37He's going to be a score of top and down.
06:38Oh, in his own corner, backing him up, maybe just a couple of punches away, swaying now Begich, and unable
06:46to find anybody shot, dribbles him in pain, down he goes.
06:51I'm not sure he can even make this count.
06:55Hamza Shiraz has been coroned, coronated.
07:00This is it, the WBO super middleweight champion of the world, and his name is Hamza Shiraz, and that was
07:11punch perfect.
07:12Andy Lee raises Shiraz a look, the ambassador for Riyadh's season.
07:19The guy that may be leading the sport forward in the super middleweight division, and the guy may be that
07:27one day will fight Canelo.
07:29But what he's done today, he's blown away Alan Begich, and he has been crowned world king.
07:38Absolute destruction, that was demolition job.
07:42And I looked at Canelo from across the ring, and there was a little nod of appreciation.
07:49It really was a good performance from Hamza Shiraz.
07:52A performance, I think, Barry, we expected that he delivered.
07:55We finished it, he was a massive favourite, we thought he was going to go a couple of rounds, and
08:00that's what happened.
08:01But you've still got to do the work, even if the guy's not up to your level, you've still got
08:04to produce the work.
08:05Quite often fights, fighters get dragged into a fight against a lower level opposition, but he went through him like
08:10butter.
08:11I mean, his shot selection was really good there, when he had him on the rails, he didn't rush it,
08:15he picked the shots really well.
08:16Kept the weight in every shot.
08:17And yeah, and that lovely body shot, the touch to the head, and lifting those elbows up, and then whip
08:22it down in the middle, and just took the wind right out of Begich.
08:26I mean, at one point, he threw about six left hooks, didn't he, Hamza Shiraz.
08:30We've just had a beautiful display from Jack Cattrall, and that was a gorgeous couple of rounds from Hamza Shiraz.
08:38He really looked fantastic.
08:42The timing, the jab, and poor Alan Begich, who's waited so long for his opportunity, and it goes up in
08:51the dust around us.
08:52It's just been an absolute nightmare for Begich.
08:56Hamza Shiraz, fabulous tonight, and a world champion.
09:01We want to see him in big fights now.
09:03What's important, though, he has a world title, he has currency, you know, and that's important for him to get
09:08that, knowing he gets that corner on the name, because he has something that they will want.
09:12And that makes him a player in this division.
09:14Do you know what? We expected this. Let's be brutally honest. We thought this is what we should see, but
09:21you've still got to go out there and do it.
09:23You know, there is pressure when you're a big favourite. He delivered, and he looked very good in doing so.
09:30The robe back on him, Hamza Shiraz, and the white robe of AJ that we know so well.
09:39And he returns, Joshua, against Christian Prenger, Saturday, July the 25th in Saudi.
09:48Welcome back, our friend, who's here ringside tonight to cheer on his friend, Oleksandr Usyk, and there's Hamza's friend, Joe
09:58Parker.
09:59They're all here, fabulous to see the Andy Lee connection.
10:04It's a double delight for Hamza. Arsenal are champions, and so is he.
10:17Ladies and gentlemen, here is the official time.
10:21Two minutes, 33 seconds of round number two.
10:24Our referee in charge, Luis Babon, reaches the count of ten.
10:29Therefore, your winner by way of knockout, still undefeated, and now the WBO super middleweight champion of the world, Hamza,
10:43the quiet storm, Shiraz.
10:49Hamza Shiraz, the WBO super middleweight champion of the world.
10:57That will be music to his ears.
11:00What a night for the Brits, Jack Cattrall.
Comments