Britain’s Hamzah Sheeraz claimed his first world title with a second-round stoppage win against Alem Begic to claim the vacant WBO super-middleweight crown in Egypt.
The Londoner, 26, imposed himself from the opening bell against the overmatched German, breaking him down with sharp straight jabs and uppercuts.
Begic was out of his depth and had no answer to Sheeraz’s accuracy, with a left hook to the body eventually sending him down.
The 39-year-old failed to beat the count as the referee waved the fight off.
“It was simple – I saw he was very negative from when I landed the first punch,” Sheeraz said.
“After that it was about walking him down and getting out of there. That is what we’ve done.”
Sheeraz takes the WBO belt vacated by the retired Terence Crawford and edges closer to a dream match with Mexican superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in 2027.
Alvarez – who was ringside – is set to return to boxing with a fight against WBC super-middleweight champion Christian Mbilli on 12 September in Riyadh.
“There is boxing royalty ringside and I want to follow in their footsteps,” Sheeraz added.
“I am beating whoever is in front of me. If Canelo wins [against Mbilli], it’s up to him.
“I believe he is one of the ‘goats’ of boxing, to share the ring with him would be an honour. If I got the opportunity I would get the win for sure.”
Earlier, Englishman Jack Catterall, 32, moved closer to a full world title shot with a one-sided points win over unbeaten Shakhram Giyasov to claim the WBA ‘regular’ welterweight belt.