Lewis, Calzaghe, Khan: Can Hamzah Sheeraz emulate British greats on American debut?

Hamzah Sheeraz bids to earn one of the biggest scalps of his career so far when he faces Edgar Berlanga in a super-middleweight encounter at The Ring III on Saturday.

The Briton heads to Louis Armstrong Stadium as part of a supercard, live on DAZN Pay-Per-View, as he steps up a division following his draw with Carlos Adames.

• Read more | When does The Ring III take place tomorrow? Date, start time, TV channel and live stream

Remarkably, despite challenging for a world title in his last bout, the trip across the Atlantic will mark Sheeraz's professional debut in the United States after eight years.

Now, as he prepares to make a splash in the Big Apple, DAZN News looks back at five other British fighters who delivered the goods on their first fight stateside too.

Lennox Lewis (vs. Bruce Johnson, July 1989)

Getty Images

Just two fights into his professional career, the former 1988 Olympic Games gold-medalist swapped Seoul for New Jersey and the famed surroundings of Boardwalk Hall.

Lewis was picked to face Johnson on the undercard of Mike Tyson's unified heavyweight title defence against Carl Williams in Atlantic City, and wasted little time there.

He scored a brutal second-round KO to underline his amateur credentials would translate to a professional career - though it was not as fast as Tyson's first-round win either.

Joe Calzaghe (vs. Bernard Hopkins, April 2008)

The Pride of Wales was already a multiple world champion when he finally ventured to North America for what would be the penultimate fight of his career, with a 44-0 record.

At the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Calzaghe faced one of his toughest challenges in Hopkins, and after a contentious build-up, was dropped in the first round too.

But against expectations, the star recovered to execute a superb game plan in a close-fought fight and took a split-decision victory, in one of his most impressive performances.

Amir Khan (vs. Paulie Malignaggi, May 2010)

Almost a year after he won the WBA light-welterweight title against Andreas Kotelnik in his Manchester homecoming, King Khan headed across the pond for a second defence.

His foe was ex-IBF champion Malignaggi, looking to secure two-time status off the back of losses to Ricky Hatton and Juan Díaz in his past four fights beforehand.

A close-fought contest almost took Khan the distance at The Theater at Madison Square Garden, but an eleventh-round TKO was enough to secure victory and retain his title.

Lee Selby (vs. Fernando Montiel, October 2015)

'The Welsh Mayweather' had left his mark on the featherweight division five months earlier when he claimed the IBF title, subsequently heading to America for a first defence.

In Arizona and in Montiel, he faced one of the toughest tests of his career, a veteran three-division world champion looking to add a fourth to his impressive resume in the ring.

But Selby proved himself more than up to the task at hand, and controlled the ring in one of his most disciplined displays to date, taking a unanimous decision victory on the night.

Billy Joe Saunders (vs. Marcelo Cóceres, November 2019)

'Superb' had fought in Canada before, but had to wait a decade into his professional career to get a crack in the United States as he defended his WBO super-middleweight title.

Saunders was pitted against Cóceres, the unbeaten Argentine looking to secure a first world crown at Los Angeles' Staples Center, on the KSI vs. Logan Paul II undercard.

It proved to be a typically explosive performance from the star, with him and his opponent well-matched as they almost went the distance before he nabbed an eleventh-round KO.

Watch The Ring III exclusively live on DAZN PPV, Saturday, July 19. Buy the PPV now here