The 26-year-old faces Alem Begic for the vacant WBO super-middleweight title on the undercard of "Glory in Giza," which is headlined by Oleksandr Usyk’s Ring/WBC heavyweight world title defense against Rico Verhoeven.

Sheeraz is no stranger to preparing for a world title fight but things went wrong last time he did. A week wracked with worry made way for a disappointing draw against Carlos Adames and Sheeraz knew things simply had to change.

Following that fight in February last year, he relocated to Dubai, got a new trainer in Andy Lee and moved up in weight. But all of that was secondary to a complete change in mindset.

“It’s like chalk and cheese,” Sheeraz tells The Ring. “Chalk and cheese.

“The feelings right now couldn’t be more different to how they were before that fight. I was just telling myself that it was the be all and end all, that I have to do this and I have to do that, that I simply could not fail, that my whole life had been building up to that moment.

“So things had to change after that fight. My perspective changed completely. Now, listen, I’m just enjoying it. I know it’s important but on Saturday night I’ll have some fun and hopefully end up as world champion. It’s as simple as that. I’ve done all the work."

The truth is that Sheeraz had plenty of time to reflect in the wake of that draw to Adames, which felt every bit as painful as a defeat. He realised then that life is bigger than boxing, and now he believes this fresh perspective will pave the way to more success.

“When I look back I see that I have been through a lot, man,” he adds. “I have been through a lot, but it all happens so fast that you don't really get to reflect until you have a conversation like the one we're having now. I’ve come a long way.”

In his own words, Sheeraz was forced to “grow up fast” given his father was in and out of prison when he was a kid. With two younger siblings, it meant the young Hamzah had to step up in order to help his mother keep things going at home.

What he did not realize at the time was that it built a resilience that would help him nearly two decades later.

“When I look back on it, all of that was the making of me,” he says. “You use all of that experience to overcome things in life like the Adames fight. You use the mentality you learned back then to think ‘listen, this isn’t the end.’

“I've been through worse and as long as you stay true to who you are there's always light at the end of the tunnel. At the time when you're in it you think ‘this is so bad,' but you know what, talking nearly 20 years down the line, you look back and you realise all of that was really and truly the making of me.”

Sheeraz (22-0-1, 18 KOs) turns 27 years old on Monday and he is the overwhelming favorite to see in his birthday as Britain’s latest world champion.

“Of course I’m here to win,” he adds. “And God willing I do, it will be a birthday to remember.

“I will be flying back to the UK and then looking for a world title unification. But I’ll be very honest with you, I’ve learned to take a step back and understand there’s more to life than boxing.

“I understand I have a job to do but at the same time life continues, the world keeps turning and the years keep ticking by.”