Amid the respite of an air-conditioned office at the Real Boxing Only gym in Al Quoz industrial area, Hamzah Sheeraz makes a statement that could have multiple meanings.
“Mentally, you go to a place you have never been before,” says the 22-year-old boxer from the UK.
That could apply to a couple of things that have taken place over recent weeks for the WBO European junior-middleweight champion.
It is not, as it turns out, a reference to the football team for which he inherited a deep love from his family – much to his current chagrin. Although Arsenal, he points out, are a test of patience at present, too.
“I’ve ended up being a diehard fan – just at the wrong time,” Sheeraz says. “I’d have got rid of [manager Mikel Arteta] ages ago. I went to the game against Chelsea with [his promoter] Frank Warren. That put a real downer on my day.”
Still, though. His team might be struggling, but at least they have a nice stadium. One which Warren has picked out for a future world title fight for Hamzah, should the young fighter continue his current rate of progress.
Which is the reason he is currently in Dubai. The European champion will go for the WBO’s International title, against a yet-to-be-announced American opponent in November. He is hoping for a shot at a world title "within four or five fights".
His training camp in Dubai is actually a precursor to an even-more intensive one in Los Angeles, at the home gym of his trainer, Ricky Funez.
It seems difficult to imagine how they can simulate any tougher conditions than these, though.
Despite training in the middle of the day, the air-conditioning in the gym has been turned off. Sheeraz wears a sweat top, too, and Funez pushes him to his physical limits.
“Training in this heat, mentally you go to a place you have never been before,” says Sheeraz, whose professional records stands at 13 wins and no losses.
“It is not about motivation – I don’t need any help with motivation – but you need to keep yourself going and keep yourself in check.
“I did it in America first, and I was dying. I was in a gym, about two times the size of this office, they blasted the heaters, and I had my sweat suit on.In the first week, I was dying. Like for this camp - if you had seen me last week, I was finished.
“It takes about a week and a half for your body to acclimatise to the heat. It never gets any easier, but it is good for the weight.”
Managing weight is an essential part of any boxer’s life, but particularly so for Sheeraz.
The British Pakistani fighter is distinctive in that he fights at light middleweight – so with an upper limit of 154lbs, or 69.85kg – and yet stands at a towering 6ft 3ins tall.
“The heat is a massive factor, because I am massive for the weight,” he says of his reasoning for being in Dubai to prepare for a big fight. “To be 6ft 3in and 154lbs is almost unheard of. So coming here has been good for the weather, and the facilities over here are the best of the best in everything.”
Sheeraz has been coming to the city regularly since he was eight years old, which was coincidentally the age he followed another family obsession, and took up boxing.
His grandfather had fought, as had his uncle, who had a fine amateur career, while the youngster had famous role models, too.
“Being a British Pakistani, Amir Khan was the obvious one for me,” Sheeraz says. “I used to watch him on ITV, because at the time it was free, so I would tune in when he was coming up. At the time, he was the only British Pakistani doing it.
“And I used to go to the fights. I must have been to 10 of his fights, up until he won the world title, then after that he would fight in America and obviously I couldn’t go.”
Despite witnessing the brutality of pro-boxing in the flesh at such a young age, he says he never flinched when he saw his hero taking a punch.
“I was so young then, I was naïve to it all,” Sheeraz says. “I didn’t realise how much a punch hurt, how much a body shot hurts, and the sacrifice and hard training that goes into a camp before fight night.
“At fight night, all you see is the lights, cameras and the action, and that’s it. You get the win, and you go home.
“But it’s not like that at all. I discovered it at my first training session with Ricky. He said, ‘This is it, this is elite-level training, and this is what it takes to get to the top’.”
The fact Funez has taken on Sheeraz is a clue to both the promise and the character of the young boxer.
He has trained the likes of Shane Mosley and Ryan Garcia, as well as Jake and Logan Paul, in the past, but admits he had fallen out of love with the sport before the lanky boy from London came along.
“When I was asked to look at this kid, I didn’t want nothing to do with boxing,” Funez says. “When you invest years in a fighter, then they decide to leave you, it is heart breaking. If they go to another trainer, then get a big fight, that trainer gets the fruits of my hard work.
“Hamzah brought me back to life. He is a sharp kid, bright, intelligent, and disciplined, which is what I liked.
“Everything I tell him to do, he does. If he doesn’t know how to do it, he will try it and practice it. He absorbs everything.
“This kid is special, and people just don’t know it yet.”
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
MATCH INFO
Alaves 1 (Perez 65' pen)
Real Madrid 2 (Ramos 52', Carvajal 69')
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
The biog
Favourite hobby: I love to sing but I don’t get to sing as much nowadays sadly.
Favourite book: Anything by Sidney Sheldon.
Favourite movie: The Exorcist 2. It is a big thing in our family to sit around together and watch horror movies, I love watching them.
Favourite holiday destination: The favourite place I have been to is Florence, it is a beautiful city. My dream though has always been to visit Cyprus, I really want to go there.
Griselda
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%C2%A0Andr%C3%A9s%20Baiz%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3ESof%C3%ADa%20Vergara%2C%20Alberto%20Guerra%2C%20Juliana%20Aiden%20Martinez%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Enterprise-grade%20security%20and%20privacy%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Unlimited%20higher-speed%20GPT-4%20access%20with%20no%20caps%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Longer%20context%20windows%20for%20processing%20longer%20inputs%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Advanced%20data%20analysis%20capabilities%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Customisation%20options%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Shareable%20chat%20templates%20that%20companies%20can%20use%20to%20collaborate%20and%20build%20common%20workflows%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Analytics%20dashboard%20for%20usage%20insights%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Free%20credits%20to%20use%20OpenAI%20APIs%20to%20extend%20OpenAI%20into%20a%20fully-custom%20solution%20for%20enterprises%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
How England have scored their set-piece goals in Russia
Three Penalties
v Panama, Group Stage (Harry Kane)
v Panama, Group Stage (Kane)
v Colombia, Last 16 (Kane)
Four Corners
v Tunisia, Group Stage (Kane, via John Stones header, from Ashley Young corner)
v Tunisia, Group Stage (Kane, via Harry Maguire header, from Kieran Trippier corner)
v Panama, Group Stage (Stones, header, from Trippier corner)
v Sweden, Quarter-Final (Maguire, header, from Young corner)
One Free-Kick
v Panama, Group Stage (Stones, via Jordan Henderson, Kane header, and Raheem Sterling, from Tripper free-kick)
Fourth Arab Economic and Social Development Summit
As he spoke, Mr Aboul Gheit repeatedly referred to the need to tackle issues affecting the welfare of people across the region both in terms of preventing conflict and in pushing development.
Lebanon is scheduled to host the fourth Arab Economic and Social Development Summit in January that will see regional leaders gather to tackle the challenges facing the Middle East. The last such summit was held in 2013. Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki told The National that the Beirut Summit “will be an opportunity for Arab leaders to discuss solely economic and social issues, the conference will not focus on political concerns such as Palestine, Syria or Libya". He added that its slogan will be “the individual is at the heart of development”, adding that it will focus on all elements of human capital.
WTL%20SCHEDULE
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'The Batman'
Stars:Robert Pattinson
Director:Matt Reeves
Rating: 5/5
Winners
Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)
Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
The%20specs
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
- 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
- 2nd Test Thursday-Monday at Colombo
- 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
Company%20Profile
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CRICKET%20WORLD%20CUP%20QUALIFIER%2C%20ZIMBABWE%20
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The%20specs
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Dark Souls: Remastered
Developer: From Software (remaster by QLOC)
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: Dh199
The Gentlemen
Director: Guy Ritchie
Stars: Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant
Three out of five stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
Results
Ashraf Ghani 50.64 per cent
Abdullah Abdullah 39.52 per cent
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar 3.85 per cent
Rahmatullah Nabil 1.8 per cent
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
Results:
Men's 100m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 15 sec; 2. Rheed McCracken (AUS) 15.40; 3. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 15.75. Men's 400m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 50.56; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 50.94; 3. Henry Manni (FIN) 52.24.
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
ABU%20DHABI'S%20KEY%20TOURISM%20GOALS%3A%20BY%20THE%20NUMBERS
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'Hocus%20Pocus%202'
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