Marco Antonio Barrera
Hamed chose to relinquish the WBO belt and fight Mexican superstar Marco Antonio Barrera instead. The WBO ordered Kovács and Antonio "Chelo" Diaz from the Dominican Republic to fight for Hamed's vacated belt. In January 2001 in Munich, on his twentieth professional fight, Kovács TKOd Diaz in the 12th round and became the first Hungarian professional boxing world champion.