The 25-year-old middleweight has been training hard ahead of his showdown with Tyler Denny on Saturday (21.09.24) and though he’s sparred against his opponent in the past, he insisted that won’t mean anything because his practice is so “different” to his match attitude.

He told Boxing News magazine: “I think that day I’d done 18 rounds and he was last four or six. You can’t really take much from it, because the way I spar and the way I fight are two different things.

“I fight a lot better than I spar because, for me, sparring is only practice and I don’t have any ego when I’m in that ring, but on fight night I’ve got all the ego in the world when there’s a lot more at stage.”

Hamzah feels proud to be an inspiration to the South Asian community.

He said: “I’m massively proud of my heritage. Over my last few fights, it has been growing.

“My last fight, my biggest one so far, was in Saudi and over 100 fellows came down from the Pakistan embassy to support me and watch me fight.

“The support is only getting bigger.

“To be the flag-bearer for South Asians in boxing is a massive compliment in itself.

“Especially now, in this day and age where the crime rates among the South Asian community is through the roof, to be a significant figure who youngsters can look up to is important to me.

“I want people to see me and say, ‘Yeah, I want to be like that’ or ‘I’d like to eventually become successful in that way.’ Proud is an understatement that I can fly that flag.”