‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed set to take his place in boxing Hall of Fame

Andy Lewis 13:34 08/12/2014
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  • American dream: ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed nails Kevin Kelley with a stiff right jab at Madison Square Garden in 1997.

    It’s unlikely he’ll somersault over the top rope or arrive on a magic carpet – but ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed’s legendary showmanship is only a small part of why he will be inducted into boxing’s International Hall of Fame next year.

    The son of Yemeni immigrants, the Sheffield-born former world featherweight champion has been eligible to join the greats since 2007, but he finally – and some would say it is long overdue – received his “dream call” this past week.

    Hamed’s career was nothing short of magnificent. It transcended boxing and catapulted a brash and unfathomably cocky young man to global celebrity. 

    Yet they always say to leave them wanting more and that was the one thing the Prince could not manage. 

    In fact it is hard to think of another example where one solitary loss proved so damaging to a fighter’s legacy than Hamed’s career-ruining  2001 defeat to a prime Marco Antonio Barrera. 

    It was one-sided and deeply chastening but it does not erase the sheer brilliance of what went before, and Hamed’s elevation to the Hall of the Fame should serve as a reminder of just how good he was. 

    ‘Naz’, now 40, started boxing at seven when his father, concerned about his size, sent him to Brendan Ingle’s famous Sheffield gym to learn how to protect himself. 

    By 12 he was one of the UK’s top juniors and already developing his unique style. Overtly he was a southpaw although as is a trademark of Ingle fighters he would regularly switch stance. But Hamed’s style was inimitable: hands low, no conventional defence, overly reliant on his reflexes and with precious little regard for the fundamentals. 

    He made up for all of that with hand speed and freakish punching power which would regularly get him out of trouble. Hamed would throw shots from incomprehensible angles, comic book uppercuts, an arsenal of punches he described as his “rocket launchers”. 

    He was gifted with rare ambidextrous power, able to knock opponents out with either hand – and knock them out he did. 

    Ring Magazine rank him the 43rd biggest pound for pound puncher in the history of boxing. Some of his opponents would have him higher.

    He finished his 37-fight career with 36 wins, 31 of them by knockout. 

    He won the WBO featherweight crown in 1995 and held it for almost seven years. He picked up the WBC and IBF titles on the way and only politics stopped him becoming the first man to hold all four major belts in a division. 

    Hamed, who was also the lineal champion for three years, retired with a 16-1 record in world title fights, winning 14 of them by knockout. 

    Detractors point to a lack of quality on his resume, but the likes of Manuel Medina, Tom Johnson, Kevin Kelley, Wilfredo Vazquez, Wayne McCullough, Cesar Soto and Vuyani Bungu were among a total of nine men dispatched by the Prince who at one time or another held a world title.

    Hamed felt he was unbeatable and his explosive style, arrogant swagger and taste for flamboyance made him pay-per-view gold. 

    His fights were major events in the UK, while he successfully transferred his huge pulling power to the US where HBO gave him a major push. Although some feel it was the start of his decline, Hamed’s transatlantic debut against Kelley perfectly summed up his appeal. 

    He flew to New York aboard Concorde, disembarked and revelled in stoking the smouldering media frenzy with a host of incendiary remarks. 

    His ringwalk on the night lasted almost three minutes longer than the fight itself. Although that was hardly strange for Hamed, who four fights later would glide halfway to the ring to face Bungu on a ‘flying carpet’ wired to the ceiling before jumping off to dance the rest of the way alongside Puff Daddy.

    Confidence was never a problem but it was the chinks emerging in his armour that made the Kelley fight so memorable.

    Rounds where both men score knockdowns are rare. In the four this lasted there were two of them – the second and the fourth – and by the time Hamed scrambled Kelley’s senses for good with a straight left, he himself had been down three times. 

    During HBO’s live telecast he was described as a “fraud’ and “exposed” as his American opponent ended the first round on top, but by the end, colour commentator George Foreman purred as he crowned him ‘Prince of Power’ and the ‘Prince of Entertainment’. 

    Champion: Naseem Hamed celebrates after winning the IBO Featherweight Championship against Manuel Calvo.

    Larry Merchant called it the Hagler/Hearns of the featherweight division, and it was later named Ring’s fight of the year. Naz had arrived stateside – and in a big way.

    After Kelley, he continued to win but outside the ring there were problems as he split from Ingle and  long-term promoter Frank Warren. 

    The end of the road came against Barrera, who was at the peak of his powers. Where others feared Hamed’s power, Barrera was unmoved, and while most were confused by his style, Barrera only saw flaws, and with them opportunities.

    It was one of the Mexican legend’s finest wins. Hamed would fight once more but was never the same.

    There was no shame in losing to Barrera who in 2017, once he becomes eligible, will join Hamed in the Hall of Fame – a place they both rightfully belong.

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