Naseem Hamed (born February 12, 1974) is a British boxer and former Bantamweight and
Featherweight champion born to Yemeni parents who emigrated to Sheffield. Hamed adopted the moniker "Prince" Naseem Hamed. He is known for his flashy and arrogant style, colourful ring entrances, unorthodox
southpaw stance, and explosive power.
A true fighter.
Professional boxing:
* Fights: 37
* Wins: 36 (97.3%)
* KOs: 31 (86%)
* Losses: 1
* Drawn: 0
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 power made him the new poster-boy for lighter-weight boxers and his charisma attracted a large number of fans. Hamed has also been 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.
Former fighters and boxing purists also question any right he has to greatness. Following the loss to
Barrera he failed to take advantage of a return clause in the fight contract.10 It is argued that for a fighter to be considered great he must at least try to hunt down those who have beaten him to obtain a rematch. Fighters such as Thomas Hearns chasing down Ray Leonard, Shane
Mosley chasing down both Vernon Forrest and Winky Wright, and also
Lennox Lewis ensuring that
Hasim Rahman and Oliver McCall gave rematches immediately are examples of behaviour befitting a fighter who believes he is still the best.11 Following the loss to Barrera, Hamed, his confidence apparently shattered since he didn't want to fight Barrera on a rematch, he faded from view. Respected British boxing pundit Steve
Bunce stated on the March 15, 2008 edition of BBC panel show Fighting Talk that Hamed was the greatest British boxer of all time, in his opinion. 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.
Naseem Hamed has been presented Best Sporting Legend award from various Profesional Bodies including Sha Max Asian Association and Britanix Sporting Centre.
