| Prince Naseem Hamed Background |
On the 12th February 1974 something happened that would eventually change boxing
history forever, a young boy was born, that young boy was called Naseem
Salom Ali Hamed, or as he is now more widely known Naz or Prince Naseem Hamed.
Naz started to learn how to box when he was only 7 years old, after his
dad Sal sent him to Brendan Ingle's gym to help him to look after himself because he was
such a small child.
In 1992 Naz had his first professional fight on the 14th April 1992
when he fought Ricky Beard and duly won in the second round which was soon
to become a favourite round for Naz to destroy his opponents. Not just defeating
his opponents physically was enough for Naz and he wore them down mentally as well
with his constant talking and dancing away from punches during the rounds. Rounds
began to pass where his opponents would barely hit him and would lose concentration
for a few seconds, which was enough for Naz to unload a big punch, sending them to the canvas.
Naz then had 10 more fights after his first professional bout before he
came up with his first real challenge, on the 11th May 1994 he came
up against Vincenzo Belcastro whom he challenged to become European
Bantamweight Champion. Naz, of course won this even though it was one
of his longest fights with victory being a unanimous points win (120-107
, 120-109 , 119-110) in Naz's home town of Sheffield.
Naz defended his newly found crown on the 17th August 1994 against Antonio
Picardi in which Naz had his opponent on the floor twice before he finally
stayed there in the second round. Just under two months later on 12th
October 1994 Naz fought Freddy Cruz for the vacant WBC International
Super Bantamweight Championship title. Cruz had never been stopped in
any of his previous 56 fights and in the run up to the fight made the
mistake of calling the Prince a boy. The ref stopped the fight in the
6th round and the Prince was a winner once more. For his last fight of 1994 Naz fought Laureano Ramirez. Naz
predicted that he would win the fight in the 3rd round and could have
easily won at anytime but left it till the 3rd round before he sent
his man to the canvas.
For his first fight of 1995 Naz fought Armando Castro in Glasgow.
Naz dropped Castro to the canvas in the 4th round and celebrated with
a somersault thinking he had won but Castro managed to get up and decided
he wanted more punishment, the ref seemed to agree with him but not
for long as he was to stop the fight later on in the 4th round. Next
on the hit list was Sergio Liendo on the 4th March who Naz managed to
finish in the 2nd round, after the referee let a fight which should have
been stopped moments earlier go on with Liendo taking extra, possibly damaging hits
which were un-necessary. The next hopeful was Enrique Angeles who Naz
fought on the 6th May but unfortunately for him he only lasted 2 rounds
before finding himself lying on the canvas another victim of the Princes punch.
On the 1st July Naz took on Juan Polo-Perez who was another to make
the same mistake Freddy Cruz made in calling Naz a boy. Perez like Cruz found
himself floored in the 2nd round, when else! You don't insult the Prince and get away with it!
For his next and probably most challenging fight up until this time
Naz moved up to featherweight and 'somehow' became the No.1 contender
for the WBO Featherweight Championship even though he had never fought
in this weight! He fought the Welshman Steve Robinson on the 30th September
in Cardiff in front of a partisan crowd of 16,000 screaming Welsh, waiting for their man
Robinson to end the undefeated run of the Prince. Robinson was floored first
in the 5th round before being sent to the canvas again in the 8th when
the referee stopped the fight. The Prince had become King.
Naz's first fight of 1996 was on the 16th March against Said Lawal,
not that it could really be called a fight as Naz's entrance to the
ring actually lasted longed than the 35 seconds which it took Naz to
stop Lawal. Three punches were thrown in the fight, unsurprisingly all
by Naz. Luckily Pay-per-View boxing was not the in thing at this time!
Next up on the 8th June came Daniel Alicea which put two young
fighters, Alicea (23) and Naz (22), who were both unbeaten up against
each other. In round one Hamed was on the floor and whether or not this
was due to being off balance or because of a punch was irrelevant as
in the 2nd round the fight was over when Naz sent Alicea to the canvas
twice, the second time for the count.
On the 31st August Naz fought Manuel Medina in one of his less than
spectacular fights which he fought even though he was not 100%, he had
been suffering with a chest infection and won when the fight was stopped
in the 11th round. For his last fight of 1996 Naz fought Remigio Molina
on the 9th November, Molina was unbeaten in 27 fights but only lasted
till the 2nd round when the referee stepped in and stopped the fight.
His first fight of 1997 on the 8th February saw him fight for the
IBF Featherweight Championship against 48 fight veteran, of which 44
were wins(25 ko's), Tom 'Boom Boom' Johnson. This was Johnson's 12th
defence of his title and unfortunately for him was to be his last as
he was battered like hell in the 7th round before finally the ref stopped
the fight towards the end of the 8th. The next fight for Naz came on
the 3rd May when he fought Billy Hardy in Manchester. Hardy had said
that Naz 'Might enter the ring on a chariot, but he would leave on a
stretcher', Hardy was stopped after 93 seconds and would have been better
off just lying on the floor as soon as the bell went for the start of
the first round, well it would have been less painfull for him. On the
19th July Naz faced Juan Cabrera in London which was broadcast to the
USA by the ABC Network, unfortunately the fight was a short one again
with the ref stopping it in the 2nd round so the Americans didn't see
too much of the great Naseem. Next up came another previously unstopped
opponent in the form of Jose Badillo, but then he hadn't fought Naz before
so he was bound to be unstopped. Badillo lasted until the 7th round
when after a barrage of punches the ref finally stopped the fight. Finally
on 19th December Naz crossed the Atlantic to feature in his first fight
in front of the American Public and pitted against the American Kevin
Kelley at New York's famous Madison Square Garden. Naz was knocked down in
the 1st round and touched down with his gloves a few more times before he
eventually got himself going and back into the fight. He floored Kelley in
the 2nd and then had him down twice in the 4th round, the second time he didn't get up.
Naz first fight of 1998 was on the 18th April in Manchester against Wilfredo
Vazquez who was the holder of the WBA title but gave this up so he could
fight Naz, another more likely reason was the amount of money he could get in a
fight against Naz! The referee stopped the fight after Vazquez was knocked
down in the 3rd round and then twice in the 7th.
For his next fight Naz again ventured once more across the Atlantic to the USA where
he fought Wayne McCullough on the 31st October.
Another successfull defence of his title when Naz won a unanimous points
decision over Wayne McCullough after the fight went the distance which for a
Naz fight is an unusual event.
The fight was scored (116 - 112) ,(117 - 111) and (118 - 110).
For his first fight of 1999 Naz will be fighting on the 10th April 1999 against
Paul Ingle of Scarborough.
Naz once again proved he is the best Pound for Pound featherweight in
the division with a 11th round win over Paul Ingle. Ingle was down 3 times
in a close fought contest and a short left to the head in the 11th laid him
on the canvas unable to get to his feet before the count. Naz was down once in the fight
after a wild swing at Ingle missed. This brought a cheer from the Ingle fans who thought
that he had been knocked down by Ingle but Naz flicked himself back up on to his feet
and got down to business. This was Naz' first fight under his new Trainer Oscar Suarez
and he also had Emanuel Steward of the famous KronkGym in his corner as an advisor. Indeed
it was Steward who in the 11th round told him Naz to use his left more which he did straight
away to to finish Ingle!
Naz fought once more in 1999 against WBC Champion Cesar Soto from Mexico a respected fighter
who many though would give Naz his toughest fight to date. The fight was to take place in the
US on the 22nd October.
The fight turned out to be the complete opposite of the good fight which had been promised in
the weeks of advertising running up to the fight. The fight was probably the worst which Naz has
had, though the blame cannot fully be with him as Soto came to fight dirty and did throughout the
whole of the fight.
Naz started the fight looking lively wearing his new black shorts with leopardskin trim. Once the
fight reached the 3rd round it looked like it was going to be a long fight. Both boxers were warned
for hitting on break.
Naz was deducted a point in the 4th for a reason which was unclear and again in the 6th Naz lost
another point when he wrestled Soto to the canvas. By the 8th round Soto was deducted a point after
having nearly a dozen warnings from the ref for various wrong doings.
Naz winks to his corner during the 9th round as he begins to pick off Soto more easily and blood
starts to flow from Soto's battered nose. Coming to his corner at the end of the round Naz tells them
that he believes that he broke Soto's nose in the last round.
Naz was warned by the referee again in the 10th and now has a bit of damage under his right eye.
In round 12 Naz lets fly with a lovely left which was taking Soto down but Soto grabs hold of Naz
and pulls him down as well. Soto has fought a poor fight so far, he started well but has been
absolutely rubbish since the 3rd round. Soto's fight plan must have been to just grab and wrestle
and he has helped spoil what should have been a really good fight.
The fight goes to the scorecards and Naz is a clear winner even though he was deducted 2 points and he
can add the WBC belt to his collection.
Naz receives lots of criticism after the Soto fight and to add to this is stripped of his newly won WBC
belt when he refuses to give up the WBO belt.
It is announced that Naz will fight again on the 11th March 2000 and that he will take on Junior Jones
who, some say is on the way down but has a record which proves that he has the skill and ability to put
on a good fight even though he has struggled to win his last 2 fights.
The fight with Junior Jones was called off when Jones decided that he was worth more than the money he
was being offered to fight Naz. Several possibilitys for new opponents have been named including Paul Ingle,
Steve Robinson and Vuyani Bungu and the favourite being Steve Robinson because he is the WBO number 1
ranked contender.
The oponent for the next fight is named as Vuyani Bungu who has 'never' been knocked out in his career and
has only lost 2 fights, both on points. The press and boxing's commentators and journalists seem to prefer the
new choice of opponent with some actually tipping Bungu to cause an upset and beat Naz. Many believe that
even though Bungu has not fought for 13 months his high workrate and style will cause Naz a lot of problems
and that Bungu will wear Naz down.
The 11th of March arrives and in front of a packed crowd Bungu makes his way to the ring following a strange
shouting 'witchdoctor' who is warning off evil spirits and whatever else he was supposed to be achieving.
Bungu arrives at the ring and moves to his corner and stares into the crowd and along with one of his entourage
spots a person from NazWorld in the crowd about 8 rows back holding up a t-shirt with the NazWorld website
address on it as well as the phrase Bung-Who!
Naz is announced and he makes one of his most fantastic, and supposedly last, entertaining entrances sweeping in
on a flying carpet high above the crowd to the music of Puff Daddy who leads him to the ring when his carpet lands.
Once again the NazWorld/Bung-Who! t-shirt appears and this time it's on Sky Box Office as the cameras flick to it
seconds before Naz flips over the rope and into the ring.
After all the particulars are done the fight begins.
From the off Naz looks more focused than he has been for his last few fights as he moves purposefully around the
ring working shots to the head and body of Bungu. Naz is caught by a shot from Bungu but hardly seems to notice as
he gives Bungu a decent shot in return which seems to make Bungu's knees wobble. Round 2 begins and Naz keeps
to the style from round 1 unleashing more shots to the body than he has done in his last few fights. Naz once again wins
this round and looks in blistering form as he avoids the usual showboating and demonstrates why he is the greatest
featherweight.
In the 3rd round Naz begins to pick the pace up more and has Bungu in trouble but seems to hold back not wanting to
finish the job yet as it seems he could have done since round 2. Bungu looks bewildered as he returns to his corner and
the busy, frustrating style has not had any effect on Naz and he has lost all 3 rounds so far and is not even in the fight yet.
Round 4 begins very much as round 3 ended with Naz again on top and half way into the round it's all over as Naz fakes
one way, jabs Bungu to the head and then blasts a straight left through Bungus open guard and hits him on the chin. Bungu crashes
to the canvas any his glazed eyes roll in his head as he trys to focus and see where he is and he rises just after the count of 10
but is obviously in no shape to continue as he stumbles about the ring and into the arms of the referee who leads him back to
his corner.
The next outing for Naz was on the 19th August 200 at Foxwoods Casino in Ledyard, Conneticut, USA.
Naseem Hamed's insatiable desire to attain boxing greatness via the kamikaze route almost led to his undoing in the unlikeliest of circumstances on Saturday night.
There were times when it seemed Hamed's number was up in the bingo hall of the Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut before he rallied to stop underdog Augie Sanchez after two minutes and 34 seconds of the fourth round and retain his WBO featherweight title for the 15th time.
Hamed, who finished up bleeding from the nose and mouth and with welts under both of his eyes, was decked by a long right-hand from Sanchez in round two.
Although referee Michael Ortega ruled Hamed had slipped rather than suffered the fourth knockdown of his career, the champion admitted he was caught.
``It was a knockdown,'' he said later. In the same round Hamed was all at sea from a looping left.
A scything right from Sanchez in the third drew blood from Hamed's nose and although the champion too had success with big right hooks which forced Sanchez to clinch, the no-chance challenger briefly looked the most likely winner.
This defence was supposed to be one of the easiest for the 26-year-old champion. Sanchez, whose fast, powerful hands and slick counter-punching caused the Prince problems, performed way above expectation.
But primarily it was Hamed's alarming penchant to brawl which turned the prospect of a quick and clinical victory into an exhilarating high-risk gamble in the biggest casino in the world.
``You see a man get hit, you see a man get put down, then you see a phenomenon,'' said the battered but still bombastic Hamed afterwards.
``No matter what happens in there, I always prevail. If you put me down, you're going to get hurt. I don't just want to get in there and pitter-patter and take you out early, I prefer a fight.''
Hamed, who had a point deducted in the fourth for pushing Sanchez onto his knees, is never more dangerous than when he is up against it.
Again on Saturday night, Hamed drew on his great power to end the fight in chilling fashion.
Four punches, two from each fist, bludgeoned Sanchez to the floor and referee Ortega did not even bother with a count.
Sanchez, lapsing in and out of consciousness, was put in a precautionary neck brace and whisked to nearby Backus Hospital.
He was released two hours later after a CAT scan showed no irregularities.
Hamed, who smiled through his bloodied lips at worried brother Nabeel throughout the contest, appeared to have revelled in such a slugfest.
``It is the sign of a warrior,'' Hamed added. ``You can tell my heart and my character in the way I fight.
"Augie came in here with a great record but that was a devastating knockout.''
The manner of Hamed's win boosted the commonly-held consensus that he is the hardest punching nine stone boxer of all time.
But as part of the wider picture his display provided a lot more questions than answers.
Hamed is tiring of straight-forward, clinical knockdowns. He craves more than that. What he craves is the ultimate test of manhood, a toe-to-toe give-and-take war.
Sanchez, 22, for all his modest talent and unproven record, was the biggest puncher Hamed has faced in his 35-fight career.
Given Hamed's desire to turn his fights into tough-man contests you can hardly blame his brother and business manager Riath for careful match-making.
But chiefs of the American TV giant Home Box Office, which has two fights left of its current contract with the Prince, are beginning to tire of the excuses about the apparent inability of his camp to make the matches which matter.
HBO's senior vice-president Seth Abraham said: ``What we're not satisfied with is that we would like to see him fight an opponent who would put him at risk.
``I think (Riath) is being conservative, I think he is being prudent.
"I've said it personally to Riath, your brother can really fight, you don't have to protect him.
"If he was facing any more Augie Sanchez's, I would take myself on another walk around the block. They're driving a Rolls Royce at 40 miles an hour, that's a shame.''
While Riath may indeed be unduly protective of his money man, there is no doubt that Naseem wants those ultimate tests.
``I'm still waiting for Barrera to come out of hiding, Morales from hiding,'' Naseem added.
``All these guys who think they're the best fighters in the world, step up and fight the best fighter in the world.
``Augie Sanchez came to take my title away but he couldn't do it. I give him the maximum credit because he came to the table where Barrera and Morales wouldn't.''
Barrera should happen later this year. Hamed would have lost to him on Saturday night - his performance was full of flaws.
But the fact is that at the end of it all he still came up with a thrilling knockout win. He is still unbeaten.
Hamed has figured that raw entertainment is the bottom line in sport, and for that his sport should be grateful.
The next fight was to be the biggest and ultimately the most unsuccessful fight of Naseems career when he was lined up to fight Marco Antonio Barrera on the 7th April 2001 in Las Vegas.
Prince Naseem Hamed dramatically lost his throne and invincibility in Las Vegas in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The acknowledged king of the featherweights could not find the consistency or power and was beaten by Mexico's Antonio Marco Barrera on the biggest night of his life.
Barrera, boxed a superb professional fight, and his superiority was mirrored in a clear, unanimous points verdict which, as a bonus, won him the vacant IBO title.
Hamed went down by margins of 115-112 (twice) and a third verdict of 116-111 - that after Barrera had been deducted a point in the final round after slamming the Briton into the ring post.
Hamed had predicted a devastating knockout, but never looked likely to pull one off against the grim-faced Mexican.
It was Hamed's first defeat in 36 fights, and this time the Prince could not find a way back after several rocky moments.
Hitherto Hamed had found the big weapons to pull him out of a crisis but Barrera's class and experience made certain it was not to happen this time.
It was Hamed's fifth appearance in America, and in the previous four he failed to completely impress.
It was a big disappointment for his band of travelling British fans, who from the first round, were drowned out by the noisy Mexicans.
Hamed made his usual elaborate entrance, Arabic music and fireworks accompanied his arrival into the arena on a sedan chair.
But soon Barrera found his chin, and Hamed was stung in the opening rounds. It was hardly the start Hamed wanted, but there were signs in the third that he was getting over those early problems. Hamed jabbed and landed a short left and for a while Barrera's work became untidy.
However, Hamed was caught again at the start of the fourth and had no chance to capitalise on the better work of the previous round.
In the sixth southpaw Hamed worked mostly from the orthodox stance to change his angle of attack, but still Barrera was bossing the action.
And in the eighth, Hamed was hurt by a short right counter and going into the final three rounds, Hamed badly needed the knock out he was predicting.
But Barrera was super-determined not to make a slip, and he cut off any chance of Hamed making a grandstand finish with a finishing flourish.
The boxing world now await Hamed's next move.
Despite this major setback, he will still remain a big draw and be worth substantial cash to the men he fights.
Hamed's next fight on the 18th May 2002 was for the European Featherweight Championship after 13 months of inactivity.
Hamed keeps his hands down during the opening round, looking for a spot. Calvo denies him angles and nothing meaningful happens. Hamed does not stop Calvo in round one.
Hamed is having his way as he rocks Calvo with an uppercut and two left hand bombs. Calvo's face is a bit swollen.
Hamed continues to connect as Calvo continues to plod forward. Calvo has held up to the Prince's power so far.
A Calvo combination gets the Prince's attention. Hamed fights cautiously, not many exchanges at all.
Calvo continues move forward, while Hamed, in very unPrince-like fashion appears to be unwilling to mix it up. The crowd boos.
More of the same until Hamed comes to life and throws a barrage of blows near round's end.
Another slow round as the Prince and thousands of his fans looking on continue to show frustration. Hamed throws a wild punch, loses his balance and falls to the canvas.
Neither fighter does anything as the crowd continues to boo. Very little for HBO's highlight reel through the first 2/3 of the fight.
13 months out of the ring have clearly left Hamed very rusty. His punches continue to misfire and he is not very active by Prince-standards.
Hamed continues his lethargic ways. A carbon copy of previous rounds.
The crowd continues to boo. The fighters continue to be cautious. Calvo is having no trouble taking Hamed's best punches.
Hamed tries in vain for the knockout, but Calvo stays in there battling to the end. Hamed is comfortably ahead, but this isn't the performance he wanted.
On Friday 12th May 2006 Naseem Hamed was jailed for 15 months for dangerous driving and given a 4 year driving ban after pleading guilty in court.
Checkout the stats of Prince Naseem Hamed
Date of Birth - 12th February 1974
Height - 5ft 3in
Fighting Weight - 122 - 126lbs
Normal Weight - 128 - 132lbs
Chest - 36"
Reach - 63"
Waist - 29"
Thigh - 29"
Fist - 10"
Wins - 36
Draws - 0
loses - 1
Ko's - 30
1st Round Wins - 3
2nd Round Wins - 11
3rd Round Wins - 4
Total Professional Rounds Boxed - 185
Average Rounds Per Fight - 5
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