This week’s post is a little different as I really wanted to talk about a young up and coming British Boxer Hamzah Sheeraz, who I believe will be the next big name in boxing, and over the next 5 years you will see his name everywhere.
I started working with Hamzah around 6 months ago, and the way I have seen him grow and develop not only in boxing, but also as a person has given me tremendous satisfaction and pleasure, and I feel honoured and humbled that I am able to play a small part in his journey.
This post is really to emphasise that it doesn’t matter how successful you become, the greatest reward in life is really to give back, to feel that you can be a part of someone else’s life and make it better, make their family’s life better, to go beyond yourself to help shape someone else’s future and destiny, after all the greatest joy and fulfilments really comes from giving, and as the great Anthony Robbins says, one of the 6 core human needs is contribution, so I guess this is my contribution to the world of sport.
I met Hamzah around 3 years ago through a mutual friend, who was adamant that Hamzah was the real deal and that he was a good person, committed, focused and he wanted to go places, so I thought OK let’s take a look and see what this person is about.
I initially started to support and watch him fight, for the first 2 years I got a feel for his boxing capabilities, got to know him personally, I met him several times for dinner, observed him as a character, then over time as I was getting to know him, his father wanted me to get involved, I knew his father through cricket so there was some level of trust there already.
Around 6 months ago I believed it was the right time for me to get on board, I could really see the potential in Hamzah as a young fighter, someone who was extremely passionate, focused, disciplined and hungry for success, but needed some guidance and the correct support and team behind him.
The way they had currently been operating, there was no real structure in place, there were too many chefs in the mix, I believe they had done an unbelievable job getting him to where they’d got him, but there was no proper team, no order, nothing solid to really propel him forward.
Before my involvement I sat down with Hamzah and his father and established some clear boundaries, I knew my involvement would upset quite a few people and there were many things I wanted and needed to change, we were going to create a strong team in order to prepare a future world champion, this had to be more than just about fun now, going into the ring and getting beat up, we needed to give Hamzah all the correct tools, support and ammunition that he required to maximise his full potential as a world class boxer.
Hamzah and his father really had no knowledge of how to take this forward, for them it was purely boxing, it was just passion, the contract they had in place was very poor, thankfully it was due to be renewed shortly after I got involved, I told them we were initially going to re-negotiate it, it was going to be a very difficult 2 months ahead of us because of all the changes that needed to be made and all the people that I was going to have to bring on board.
At the time Hamzah was with a company that was funding his camps, it was a very turbulent and stressful period for both father and son as to how they would get out of the situation with them, they were heavily in debt and Hamzah has financial worries even whilst in camp. I got involved, offered support and guidance, set up some meetings and a plan as to how to get out of the contract and pay the company off which we managed to do.
Now for the first time in his life Hamzah has structure, he has a set up in an organisation that would help him maximise his potential, maximise him as a person in terms of who he’s fighting when he’s fighting, he’s never had this opportunity and he’s never been so happy and had so much peace of mind.
My involvement also involved speaking to many boxing solicitors, many managers to get a jist of the industry as I had no prior knowledge of it. I also made enquiries as to what Hamzah should be receiving monetary wise, it was a full-time job for the first 3 months, it still is, I make around 20 calls a day trying to sort out as many things as I possibly can for him.
I had already built a good relationship with Hamzah, he trusted me implicitly, I trusted him, more than that I believed in him and saw his passion, hunger and determination and wanted to do everything in my power to support and guide him and it gives me immense satisfaction to help him, a young man do well in life because he deserves it, I only got involved to this level as I really wanted to see him do well.
To watch him grow and develop into a man, not just in boxing but also in maturity, understanding and learning that this is a business and that it needs to be run like a business, because he needed to make himself and his family financially secure for life, and that’s what his objective is, and that’s what he’s doing, and I’m guiding him towards his goals towards financial freedom.
Hamzah also has a lot of characteristics that remind me of me when I was young and at his age, I had no mentor no guidance It was just about cricket, cricket, and cricket, but Hamzah is blessed he’s fortunate he’s got 95% of the ammunition and just needed someone with some experience who believed in him, believed in his values and to help him and support him.
In my next post I will go into more detail about the highly successful team I have built around Hamzah to give him support in every area so that we can really harness his talent. For example, I have organised a Mental Coach called Paddy Upton who has worked with the likes of Kobi Williams and many world class basketball players and cricketers, I have also taken on top class sports nutritionists, dieticians, even got my mentors involved with him.
This is 100% not about me in any capacity, this is purely about Hamzah Sheeraz, about him and his family, I’ve played a small part in his journey, and I feel blessed and privileged watching how he’s developed and how he’s learning and where his career is going, and if it continuous to go in the direction it’s going, I think he’s going to be very successful. So, watch out for Hamzah Sheeraz the next boxing champion of the world.
I also wanted to point out here that you too should wholeheartedly go after your dreams, your passions, because people will see and recognise that hunger and desire in you, and like Hamzah has attracted me into his life to be his mentor, his coach, you never know what god has in plan and store for you.
So, until the next post, stay committed, stay hungry, stay focused and keep the dream alive in your heart each and every day.
AD