Captain Haddock the time of their last completed and published adventure, "Tintin and the Picaros", Haddock had become such an important figure that he dominates much of the story. Captain (Archibald) Haddock's ancestor, Sir Francis Haddock, is hinted at being the illegitimate son of the French Sun King (Louis XIV), a possible reference to Hergé's own family history— Hergé liked to believe that his father was the illegitimate son of the Belgian king Leopold II. As Hergé was considering names for his new character, he asked his wife, Germaine, what she had cooked for dinner. She told him, “a sad English fish—haddock.”
Neil Haddock from boxing, Haddock had dropped in weight, and was now fighting at super-featherweight. The new weight suited Haddock, which saw him enter the most successful period of his professional career. Haddock's first two opponents at his new weight were Barrie Kelley and Andy DeAbreu, both of whom would hold the Wales super-featherweight title during their careers. Haddock defeated Kelley in a six-round bout by points, exactly a year and a day after his loss to Robinson at the same venue, the Star Leisure Centre in Cardiff. A month later, 17 December 1991, he faced DeAbreu and stopped his opponent via