Hamza Uddin - star of the future with unbelievable power

Hamza Uddin at The Bescot Stadium. Pic: Owen Russell/Walsall FC

HAMZA Uddin, a flashy fighter branded the new Naz, believes science could benefit from discovering the reason for his phenomenal power.

The Walsall wonderkid wants to be lab tested.

“There’s got to be something wrong with me,” Uddin, rattling out sentences at machine gun speed, said. “A little Bangladeshi boy shouldn’t be knocking over people like that. They need to put me in a lab and let the scientists find out how I do it.

“I’ve only been pro for just over a year and I’m already knocking people out left, right and centre.”

The flyweight – a mere 8st – hits with middleweight might, he’s what the game calls a “banger”.

And any lingering doubts pro boxing is in the presence of a special talent were removed this month when Uddin destroyed Paul Roberts for the English title.

On paper it looked a 50-50 encounter, it was certainly considered the stiffest test of Uddin’s five fight career. The Somerset boxer held the aces when it came to championship experience, having won a Southern Area belt and fought for Commonwealth and international titles. What’s more, he’d been in training for a British title shot: when that fell through, upstart Uddin stepped in.

On canvas at Sheffield Arena on October 11, it was a massacre, a brilliant masterclass by the Black Country maestro. And Uddin went through his entire script of showmanship, shrugging his shoulder in distain, wriggling his hips and smirking at Roberts’ responses.

When the clowning was over, he struck with venom, body shots dropping Roberts three times in the fifth before the West Country warrior’s corner signalled surrender at two minutes 14 seconds of the round.

That performance showed why Eddie Hearn’s major Matchroom promotional outfit are banking on Uddin to deliver something very big.

Hamza Uddin…new English flyweight champ. Picture: Matchroom

“I made it look easy,” Uddin grinned, “I danced around as if it was a disco. He was British title level and look what I did to him, I destroyed him. What I did to him, I can do to anyone at British level. My career’s going at such a fast pace and there’s no reason to slow it down.”

 “I’m ready to knock them out,” he warned.

The comparisons with 1990s world featherweight champ Naseem Hamed cannot be ignored. Uddin talks with the Prince’s brashness, he has the same unorthodox moves and he possesses the same frightening power.

“When I walked in a gym aged five, six or seven, I had my hands down by my side, I threw screw-shots, I stuck my tongue out,” Hamza said. “People said, ‘you box like Naz’ and I asked my dad who Naz was. He showed me the tapes.”

Trained by dad Raj, Uddin has no doubt about his destiny – Walsall has produced a multi-weight world champion. That, he truly believes, is a given.

“There are a number of routes to get there,” he said. “Eddie (Hearn) prefers the traditional route – English, British, European. It doesn’t matter – skill wise, power wise, technically gifted wise, I’m going to get there.

“There’s a process to follow, I’m not getting ahead of myself, but people are seeing my fights and saying, ‘we didn’t expect that’, they’re realising there’s something special about me.

“And the scary thing for opponents is that this is not anywhere near the finished article, there is so much more to come.

“I can talk a good game, I’m flash, but in training camp I’m a boring, miserable man because I know what sacrifices have to be made to be the best.

Uddin’s is an established local hero in Walsall – “I can’t go out for a pizza without being stopped, I’ll have to wear a mask to get a pizza” – and he wants to inspire others in the town.

“I want to show a normal person from Walsall can become a superstar,” he said. “If I can make it, they can make it.”

His fanbase is now growing across the country and, inevitably, haters have joined the party. “I look at social media and there are people who want to see my knocked out, which is fine,” he said.

Uddin has already learned an important lesson: whether you buy tickets to cheer him or jeer him, you’re still buying tickets.

On Saturday, October 18, Uddin paraded his belts on the pitch at Walsall FC’s home game with Barrow.

For him, the Bescot is best, but the world beckons.