Aadam Hamed defeated Santiago Garces on Wednesday for his third straight victory to start his professional boxing career.
The bout was part of the fight week build-up for Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois, which will be shown live on DAZN on the weekend. While Joshua and Dubois will square off at Wembley Stadium, Hamed and Garces stepped into the ring at the nearby OVO Arena for a four-round super lightweight contest that went the distance.
Hamed, the son of former world featherweight champion "Prince" Naseem Hamed, took control of the bout early as Garces appeared more interested in getting to the final bell than going for a stoppage. A 22-year-old native of Colombia, Garces entered the ring on Wednesday with 32 losses to his name, although just three were by way of a stoppage, so Hamed knew he had a tough task ahead of him — especially after having taken the fight on less than a week's notice.
"It felt good," Hamed said after the fight. "I got the call when I was in Morocco like six days ago."
The 23-year-old also expressed his appreciation for being part of the Joshua vs. Dubois fight week, which continues in London through to the main card on Saturday.
"It's the biggest platform you can ever box on," he said. "It's my third fight ever and I just feel like no one else is doing it like this. I'm blessed to be a part of a historic event at such a historic time."
Watch Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois live September 21 on DAZN. Click here for details.