Naseem Hamed WTKO Steve Robinson, 1995
The night when the Prince became King. Naseem Hamed’s rise to a world title was an eventful one that pinned British boxing on the map. Exciting, arrogant and unorthodox, Hamed backed up his boasts more often than not and that included his first WBO title win.
Facing Steve Robinson in Cardiff, Hamed was on enemy territory but the fight’s setting made no difference to the final outcome. The Sheffield man was outstanding from the first bell as he put a vicious beating on Robinson that was eventually stopped in the eighth round.
Naseem Hamed WTKO Paul Ingle, 1999
After becoming world champion in 1995, Naseem Hamed’s profile soared. A major name in both Britain and America, Hamed split his appearances between both countries as his title reign went from strength to strength.
In 1999, Hamed had a domestic challenger to face in Scarborough’s Paul Ingle. Rough and rugged, Ingle had done his talking in the ring and was now in a position to challenge Hamed. Despite his best efforts, Ingle fell short as Hamed’s accuracy halted the action in the fight’s penultimate round.
Scott Harrison WTKO Michael Brodie, 2005
Following Naseem Hamed’s final fight in 2002, it was left to Scotland’s Scott Harrison to represent Britain on the world scene at featherweight. His 2002 win over Julio Pablo Chacon brought him Hamed’s old WBO title and he defended that belt in style against Michael Brodie in 2005.
The Mancunian entertainer had fallen short at world title level on a number of occasions and the hard nights caught up with him against Harrison. The energetic Scot started quick and he maintained the frightening pace to overwhelm Brodie in four rounds.
Josh Warrington WPTS Lee Selby, 2018
Lee Selby had solidified his position as one of the world’s leading featherweights and his experience at the highest level was intended to make him get past Josh Warrington with ease. The Yorkshireman had other ideas.
In front of a red-hot crowd at the Leeds Arena, Warrington wouldn’t be denied. His aggression was too much for Selby to handle and after 12 non-stop rounds, the fans went crazy as Warrington became world champion.
Josh Warrington WPTS Carl Frampton, 2018
After confirming himself as a world level fighter, Josh Warrington wasted no time in adding to his reputation as faced Carl Frampton at the backend of 2018. Frampton had been a two-weight world champion and possessed a number of high-quality wins against the likes of Scott Quigg and Leo Santa Cruz.
In a frantic opening round, Warrington and Frampton met head on and exchanged some mouth-watering blows as each tried to start the fight in a big way. The pace in the first session rarely dropped throughout the fight and after 12 memorable rounds, Warring was declared the winner.