Naseem Hamed

Naseem Hamed
Born	Naseem Hamed (1974-02-12) 12 February 1974 Sheffield, England
Nationality	British
Other names	Prince Naz
Statistics
Weight(s)	Featherweight
Height	5 ft 4.5 in (1.64 m)
Stance	Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights	37
Wins	36
Wins by KO	31
Losses	1
Draws	0
No contests	0

Naseem Hamed (Arabic:نسيم حميد) (born 12 February 1974) is a retired British boxer and former Bantamweight and Featherweight champion born to Yemeni parents who emigrated to Sheffield. He was commonly known by the nickname Prince Naseem or Naz.

Hamed was known for his boxing antics and spectacular ring entrances that have included being deposited in the middle of the ring by an elevator, which was set up specially for the event near the roof of the Manchester Evening News Arena, entering the ring in a low-rider Chevrolet Impala, entering on a flying carpet (Held up by strings), re-enacting the video of Michael Jackson's Thriller,being carried into the ring on a palanquin, walking into the ring on a fashion runway style walk way and walking into the ring with a Halloween mask for his fight with Wayne McCullough (fought on Halloween night of 1998).

Hamed is also known for his unorthodox behaviour outside the ring. He had an altercation at Heathrow Airport with former boxing world champion Chris Eubank, showing off his belts and reminding Eubank that he was no longer a champion. He was managed by Barry Hearn then Frank Warren and finally by his eldest brother Riath Hamed. In May 2006, he was jailed for 15 months for dangerous driving but was granted an early release in September 2006. Hamed was awarded the MBE in 1999, but it was revoked in December 2006, after his jail sentence.

Biography

Early career

Hamed started boxing professionally at Flyweight in 1992. He soon began rising through the ranks as he knocked out a series of opponents in the opening rounds. Age 20 he won the European Bantamweight title, comprehensively beating the beleaguered Vincenzo Belcastro in twelve rounds. After one defence he added the WBC International Super-Bantamweight title to his CV in 1994, overwhelming Freddy Cruz in Sheffield, whom he knocked out in the sixth round. Hamed's popularity grew, his unorthodox style winning a large fan base and his boxing antics generating a large group of detractors. After signing for Frank Warren, Hamed, employing spectacular entrances in which he began somersaulting over the top rope and entering the arena to Here Comes the Hotstepper, knocked out increasingly good opposition such as Jose Badillo and Juan Polo Pérez. Later in 1995, arguably his finest year, Hamed moved up to featherweight having been named number one contender to face Wales' defending WBO world Featherweight champion Steve Robinson. Hamed won the fight, when the referee stopped the fight in Round 8 after Robinson was caught with a left hook and lost his footing. The fight was held in front of Robinsons home crowd at Cardiff Arms Park, a roofless stadium now replaced by The Millenium Stadium, with rain pouring down on the fighters and the ring His first defence came against Austrian based Nigerian, Said Lawal, knocking him out in only 45 seconds. This was the fastest world title fight ever held in Scotland.

Defending his titles

Hamed's title defences included a fight against Puerto Rican Daniel Alicea. The fight was televised to the United States by Showtime and Hamed was carried to the ring on a grand throne. Hamed won the fight easily with KO in round 2.

Hamed's next fight was in Dublin against former two time world champion Manuel Medina. Hamed destroyed the Mexican, dropping him three times within two rounds. The end came when the ring side doctor advised Medina's corner to stop the fight. Hamed fought with a heavy flu. His next opponent was Remigio Daniel Molina from Argentina, Hamed stopped him in two rounds.

The next opponent was IBF world champion Tom "Boom Boom" Johnson who was defeated in 8 rounds in a unification bout at the London Arena. Johnson was saved further punishment by the referee, who stopped the fight. The new WBO and IBF world champion successfully defended his titles against Juan Gerardo Carbrera.

In 1997 he flew to the United States to fight there for the first time. His ceremonious arrival on the British Airways Concorde was covered by multiple media outlets. There, he and former 2 time WBC Featherweight champion of the world Kevin Kelley fought in Ring Magazine's fight of the year at the Madison Square Garden in New York. This fight marks something of a watershed in Hamed's career, as he was forced, for the first time, to abandon his hands-down style of fighting throughout the entire course of the bout, given the calibre of Kelley. Nonetheless, despite being dropped three times himself, Hamed put Kelley down for a third and final time to win by a fourth round knockout. This was his first of many fights on HBO. The fight was ranked 100th in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Sporting Moments in 2002.

Naseem relinquished his IBF belt due to the conflict in interests between the IBF and WBO.

In 1998, Hamed enjoyed victories over former 3 time WBA world champion Wilfredo Vazquez (KO in 7), Former WBC Bantamweight world champion Wayne McCullough (W 12) and in 1999 the WBC World Featherweight champion Cesar Soto. The fight ended with an Hamed victory (W 12) allowing him to add the world Featherweight championship to his resume.

Had Vazquez not been (deliberately) stripped by the WBA of his belt (they did not want their featherweight title unified with the WBO) Hamed would have the distinction of being the first boxer to hold all four world titles in a division. This is an overlooked accomplishment of Prince Naseem. The WBA would not grant him a subsequent shot at their championship.

As with the IBF belt two years previous, Hamed had to relinquish his WBC world belt due to his commitment to being WBO champion. After this, Naseem vowed to put boxing politics behind him.

Defeated by Barrera

Hamed lost on 7 April 2001 at the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas. His record at the time was 35-0 and his opponent, Marco Antonio Barrera had a record of 52-3. The bout was delayed a full hour as Hamed's elaborate entrance, involving fireworks, loud music, spectacular lighting and conveyance to the ring on a motorised seat suspended from a catwalk, was prepared. Before the fight, Hamed was a heavy favourite with bookmaker's odds of 1/8. Hamed could not hit Barrera with his trademark lefts as the Mexican boxer covered up, and did not chase Hamed. On one occasion early in the fight, Hamed grabbed Barrera and they both fell to the ground where Barrera threw a right jab, leading to a warning from referee Joe Cortez. In the 12th and final round Barrera trapped Hamed in a hold and forced his head into the turnbuckle, resulting in a point deducted by referee Joe Cortez. Ultimately, Barrera threw more impressive combinations, making Hamed pay for his low guard style. Barrera was awarded the victory via a unanimous decision, with the scorecards reading 115-112, 115 -112, 116-111, and won the vacant IBO Featherweight title.

Quite notably, Hamed's trainer Emanuel Steward has made criticisms to the training schedules of his fighter before and after the fight according to the BBC channel in which the trainer has threatened to quit training Prince Naseem. In a book written after the fight, Hamed admitted that "everything went wrong" in the build up to the fight, and many believe Hamed's pre-fight training was not to a high enough standard. Instead, it is thought that Hamed took the easy option of staying in Palm Springs to train, whereas Barrera trained in the tougher climate of Big Bear, California.

Final bout

On 18 May 2002, Hamed returned to the ring for what was his final boxing fight against the European Champion Manuel Calvo. The fight was for the vacant IBO Featherweight Title vacated by Barrera.

Hamed won the fight on a unanimous decision. Vague talk of a return to the sport has swirled around the charismatic fighter ever since, but no firm plans have ever been made.

In an interview for Sky Sports, Hamed mentioned that part of the reason that he left boxing after this fight was because of his commitments to his family, whom he would often not see for up to 9 weeks at a time whilst attending training camps. Hamed also gave an interview for BBC Radio Sportsweek and announced that his retirement was largely due to chronic hand problems, which meant he had to take tendinitis injections after every fight...

Style

Hamed employed a unique style that flummoxed opponents and contributed to his tremendous popularity. Hamed's most powerful punch was a straight left that was known to knock strong fighters out in a single shot. He rarely threw combinations in excess of three punches, which were usually composed of two right jabs followed by a straight left, hook or uppercut. Because Hamed threw his left with such ferocity, he often lost his balance, a stylistic defect that opponents such as Kelley and Marco Antonio Barrera took advantage of. For defence, Hamed relied mainly on his sharp reflexes to avoid his adversaries' punches, rarely blocking shots and preferring to back away from strong attacks. His quick feet prevented him from getting stuck against the ropes or in corners. Hamed clinched infrequently, primarily because he was not usually sufficiently fatigued to warrant such tactics. When in clinches he would often throw lefts to opponents' heads.

Hamed was also known to clown around in the ring. When hit cleanly he would smile at opponents, make faces, shake his head, and shrug his shoulders to indicate that he was unhurt (this tactic is often used by boxers, usually with the opposite of the intended effect). Hamed sometimes danced in the ring and, ever the showman, usually entered by doing a flip over the ropes. This followed an extravagant ring walk, including walking along a catwalk in Madison Square Garden, being flown in on a magic carpet as well entering through a mock grave yard. Hamed's opponents did not generally respond to his taunts and horseplay, but his best, Barrera, was sufficiently infuriated by Hamed's flippancy to drive Hamed's head into a turnbuckle in the twelfth round of their fight costing himself a point.

Controversy outside the ring

On 2 May 2005 Hamed was involved in a 90-mph three-car collision at Ringinglow Road, Sheffield, while driving his £300,000 silver McLaren-Mercedes SLR. He was arrested on 3 May, released on bail and later charged at Sheffield Magistrates Court on 3 December.

On 31 March 2006 Hamed entered a plea of guilty and was warned he could face jail by a judge at Sheffield Crown Court. The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Alan Goldsack, adjourned the case until 12 May to allow pre-sentence reports to be prepared. The court heard how the man in the car Hamed hit, later revealed as 38-year-old Anthony Burgin, who had attended a number of previous hearings, was unable to come to court because he was in hospital for further treatment. His wife Clare was also injured.

On 12 May the court heard in a sentencing hearing how Hamed had been anxious to impress businessman Asif Goro, who was a passenger in the McLaren-Mercedes at the time of the crash. Hamed was showing what his car could do when he crossed a solid white line at a speed of at least 90 mph and crashed head-on into a Volkswagen Golf that emerged from a dip in the road. Hamed's car then hit a second vehicle, the Ford Mondeo he had been trying to overtake. Mr. Burgin, the driver of the Volkswagen Golf, was very seriously injured, breaking every major bone in his body and suffering bruising to the brain. Hamed escaped unhurt.

Hamed was sentenced for 15 months after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing. He was also given a four-year driving ban. Judge Alan Goldsack told Hamed: "I find it astonishing that the DVLA has not been prepared to co-operate with the prosecution to give them details of your earlier offences - apparently on human rights grounds." The DVLA's decision led to Hamed being sentenced without the judge being told he had previously been banned for a year for driving a Porsche at 110mph on the M1 in Derbyshire. It was also revealed that Hamed had three other previous convictions for speeding offences, details of which the prosecution had to find from court records.

Hamed was granted an early release and left prison on 4 September 2006 after serving 16 weeks of the 15 month sentence. Hamed was placed under Home Detention Curfew for the remainder of his sentence, and monitored by an electronic tag. Anthony Burgin, the driver whom Hamed collided with, said: "I am shocked that after such a serious accident Mr Hamed has been released after less than four months." Nevertheless, the appointment of Hamed to be a "Member of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire" (otherwise known as an MBE) was annulled as a consequence of the conviction.

There was also a civil court case rumoured to cost Hamed up to £1 million plus legal costs, as Burgin was deemed unable ever to work again.

Burgin was later arrested and charged with dangerous driving for an incident alleged to have involved Eleasha Hamed (the wife of Naseem) on 19 April 2007. Burgin pleaded not guilty, and appeared in court on 17 March 2008, following which he was cleared of charges.

Legacy and impact

Naseem Hamed's Boxing story is seen by many experts in the sport as one of unfulfilled potential. Frank Warren the legendary boxing promoter once said of Hamed: "I think at one stage he was the most exciting fighter that I'd ever been involved with. At one stage, in the early part of his career, he could have gone on to become one of the great fighters. But that disappeared when he didn't fight as regularly as he should have done, when he was cutting corners on his training. It just didn't work out for him from that point on."

Moreover commentators have pointed out that Hamed's ability should have propelled him to achievements that would have given him legendary status, but that his noted dislike of the long hard training camps and long periods away from his family hindered this.

As popular lower weight fighters like Oscar de la Hoya and Kostya Tszyu moved into the mid-weight classes and the Mexican champion Julio César Chávez declined, Hamed and Arturo Gatti filled the void. Hamed's boxing antics made him the new poster-boy for lighter-weight boxers and his charisma attracted a large number of fans. Hamed was referenced by the rapper Nas in the song "You Won't See Me Tonight", with the lyrics "I can't forget how I met you//you thought I was a boxer//Prince Naseem but I'm a mobster, Nas from Queens". Hamed himself recorded a song with hip hop group Kaliphz called "Walk Like a Champion", which reached number 23 in the UK Singles Chart in 1996.

Respected British boxing pundit Steve Bunce stated on the 15 March 2008 edition of BBC panel show Fighting Talk that Hamed was the greatest British boxer of all time. World Boxing, a sister publication of the more famous The Ring magazine, ranked Hamed as the 11th greatest British boxer of all-time. The Ring Magazine also ranked Hamed as the 46th greatest puncher of all-time.

Record

• Amateur boxing:
  • Fights: 67
  • Wins: 62
  • KOs: 18
  • Losses: 5
  • Drawn: 0
• Professional boxing:
  • Fights: 37
  • Wins: 36
  • KOs: 31
  • Losses: 1
  • Drawn: 0

Championships and accomplishments

• European Boxing Union

• EBU European Bantamweight Championship

• International Boxing Federation

• IBF Featherweight Championship

• International Boxing Organization

• IBO Featherweight Championship

• World Boxing Council

• WBC Featherweight Championship
• WBC International Super Bantamweight Championship

• World Boxing Organization

• WBO Featherweight Championship

• World Award Giving Organization, Radio Division

• WXRT 93.1 All-Around Nice Guy of the Year (2x)

External links

• Boxing record for Naseem Hamed from BoxRec (registration required)
• BBC's Naseem Hamed profile