Things you didn't know about Hamzah Sheeraz next opponent, Dmytro Mytrofanov
Rising star middleweight Hamzah Sheeraz (17-0, 13KO) will face Dmytro Mytrofanov (13-0-1, 6KO) to end a nine-month layoff following a hand injury that required surgery.
24-year-old Sheeraz, a Los Angeles resident who trains with Ricky Funez, will now look to improve his perfect record against Dmytro Mytrofanov, a 33-year-old undefeated tough fighter.
Brit boxer Sheeraz is the WBC Silver and Commonwealth middleweight champion, ranked WBC #9 and WBO #7. The fight will take place on August 26 at the Tarczyński Arena in Wrocław, Poland, on the undercard of Usyk-Dubois, but who is Dmytro Mytrofanov? Find out all you need to know below:
Dmytro Mytrofanov
Dmytro Yuriyovych Mytrofanov was born November 8, 1989, in Chernihiv, Ukraine.
His start to life was extremely tragic as his mother died just two months after his birth. His father remarried soon after and left his son with his grandparents to raise, but they both died by the time he entered boarding school, so he was raised as an orphan.
He attended Chernihiv National Pedagogical University.
Mytrofanov took up boxing in 2001, aged 12, at the Nadezhda Sports Club Kolos. Iin 2008 he won his first national championship, then again in 2012. He won a bronze medal at the 2011 European Championships, a gold medal in the FISU World University Games in 2013, and competed at the Rio 2016 Olympics, but was eliminated in the first bout by Christian Mbilli Assomo, who went on to reach the quarter-finals and is now 24-0 (20KOs) as a pro.
As an amateur, he was part of the Ukraininan national team from 2006.
He boxed in England in 2008, against German boxer Jack Culcay at the Greenbank Sports Academy in Liverpool.
In 2016, he lost in the 2013 AIBA World Championships Preliminaries to Liverpool's Anthony Fowler. He also fought against Anthony Ogogo, in 2011, losing on points.
He took part in the World Series of Boxing for over five years between 2012-2017. Despite losses to notable names like Sergiy Derevyanchenko, his record was highly impressive at 16-5.
His professional debut was on October 27, 2017 in Illinois against 7-0 American, Brandon Maddox. The debutant stopped the unbeaten American in four.
He is managed by Egis Klimas and promoted by Alexander Krassyuk, who is known for his work with Oleksandr Usyk.
Dmytro is trained by Ruslan Said, Vadym Kazanin, Andriy Korets.
He is the No.1 middleweight in Ukraine.
He is a former WBO Oriental super-welterweight champion. He defeated Briton Asinia Byfield to win the regional title in December 2020 and defended it once – both wins via unanimous decision.
The Ukrainian was deeply upset over his fellow countryman Vasiliy Lomachenko's UD defeat at the hands of Devin Haney in May this year, blaming politics and governing bodies for the corrupt scoring.
Dmytro is friends with promotional stablemate Oleksandr Usyk.
He likes to take part in other sporting activities, such as running and kayaking.
He is a fan of Michael Jackson and his music.
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