On this day in 1994: Naseem Hamed stops Freddy Cruz in Sheffield
The 20-year-old won the vacant WBC International super-bantamweight title two years after turning professional at flyweight.
Naseem Hamed stopped Freddy Cruz in the sixth round at Ponds Forge in Sheffield 32 years ago today, winning the vacant WBC International super-bantamweight title. The fight, scheduled for 12 rounds, ended at 2:03 of the sixth on 12 October 1994.
The win gave Hamed a belt in a second weight division. At 20 he had already won the European bantamweight title, beating Vincenzo Belcastro in a 12-round fight, and he made one defence of that title before facing Cruz.
Hamed had turned professional at flyweight in 1992 and moved up the rankings by knocking out a series of opponents in the opening rounds. His unorthodox style won him a large following, while his antics drew a large group of detractors.
After the Cruz fight he signed with promoter Frank Warren, adopted more spectacular ring entrances and knocked out Enrique Angeles and Juan Polo Pérez, both inside two rounds.
Hamed went on to hold multiple featherweight world titles between 1995 and 2000 and was lineal champion from 1998 to 2001. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2015, and in 2019 The Ring awarded him an honorary featherweight title in recognition of his dominance of the division and the champions he beat. He is the only former world champion to have received that honour.
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Reported by the Combat Sports UK desk. Times are UK and Irish time, and we update the report when the facts change. How we work.