Nigel Benn vs. Chris Eubank a left right combination, and a left hook which staggered Benn (Barry McGuigan commentated: "This is it! It's the end!"). Benn survived the flurry and clinched, but a straight right from Eubank sent him into a corner, and Steele stepped in to end the flurry with five seconds left of round nine, ending what he called; "The most dramatic fight I've ever refereed". The fight is still considered a classic to this day. Eubank would defend his new title three times, relinquishing to contest the vacant WBO super middleweight title against the ill-fated Michael Watson, who after winning eight of
World Boxing Organization champions Michael Moorer, Riddick Bowe, and Henry Akinwande relinquishing the title to pursue other options. Boxing publication "The Ring" also did not recognize the WBO, despite having recognized the IBF after its inception in 1983, five years prior to the WBO. In the lighter weight divisions, however, long-reigning champions during the 1990s such as Chris Eubank, Dariusz Michalczewski, Johnny Tapia, and Naseem Hamed gave the WBO title increasingly more prestige. The WBO was also made popular by boxers such as Marco Antonio Barrera, Oscar De La Hoya, Nigel Benn, Ronald "Winky" Wright, Joe Calzaghe, and Wladimir Klitschko, all of whom