Naseem Hamed

Naseem Hamed (born February 12, 1974, Sheffield, England) is an English former professional boxer who was a featherweight champion in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Nicknamed “The Prince,” he was a major celebrity during his pro career, known for his cocky persona, flashy leopard-print shorts, and grand entrances into the boxing ring.

Childhood and early career

Hamed’s parents emigrated from Yemen to Sheffield, England, in the 1960s, where they joined a sizable Yemeni population, many of whom had moved there in the decades after World War II to work in local steel mills. Hamed’s father ran a corner shop, and Hamed and his eight siblings lived in a home upstairs. At his father’s instigation, Hamed became a protégé of legendary Irish trainer Brendan Ingle when he was only seven years old. Ingle later said that he had seen a young Hamed fight off three white boys who were picking on him because of his ethnic background and was impressed by his natural athletic abilities.

Hamed, who stood about 5 feet 4 inches (1.63 meters) tall, started his professional boxing career as a flyweight in 1992. He progressed quickly, winning the European bantamweight championship two years later, at age 20, with a win over Vincenzo Belcastro. Also in 1994, in his hometown of Sheffield, Hamed won the World Boxing Council (WBC) international super bantamweight title with a sixth-round knockout of Freddy Cruz.

Hamed became a fan favorite with his unusual hard-hitting southpaw fighting style and his flamboyant personality, which included making grand entrances into fights by dancing and doing a front flip over the ropes into the ring. He was also considered a trailblazer in the sport for publicly taking pride in his Arab identity and speaking about his Muslim faith.

Featherweight champion

In 1995 Hamed moved up in weight class to fight as a featherweight. In September of that year he fought World Boxing Organization (WBO) featherweight champion Steve Robinson, a native of Wales. Competing outside in the rain at Cardiff Arms Park, in the Welsh capital, Hamed won the title when the referee stopped the fight in the eighth round after Hamed knocked Robinson down with a left hook.

In February 1997 Hamed added the International Boxing Federation (IBF) featherweight title to his WBO belt when he defeated Tom “Boom Boom” Johnson at London Arena. The referee stopped the fight in the eighth round after Hamed knocked Johnson to the canvas with a right uppercut. Hamed made his debut in the United States on December 19, 1997, at Madison Square Garden in New York City against former WBC featherweight champion Kevin Kelley. The celebrated fight, which Hamed won by a fourth-round knockout, was broadcast on HBO and helped extend his stardom to the U.S.

Hamed then defended his WBO title by defeating Wilfredo Vázquez, Wayne McCullough, and Paul Ingle. In 1998 Hamed stopped working with his longtime trainer, Brendan Ingle. On October 22, 1999, Hamed also became WBC featherweight champion when he beat Cesar Soto in Detroit.

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Hamed was at the high point of his career and boasting a 35–0 record when he entered his April 7, 2001, fight against Marco Antonio Barrera in Las Vegas. Barrera, however, handed Hamed the first and only loss of his stellar boxing career, winning by unanimous decision to take the International Boxing Organization (IBO) featherweight crown. Hamed’s preparation and training discipline had reportedly fallen off as his fame grew, and Barrera landed more punches and better combinations to sway the judges.

Hamed’s final fight took him back to England, where he faced European featherweight champion Manuel Calvo for the IBO featherweight title on May 18, 2002, at London Arena. Though some observers said Hamed looked sluggish, he easily won the fight by unanimous decision. At the young age of 28, Hamed stopped fighting but did not make a formal retirement announcement. He explained later that he had ended his boxing career because of chronic hand injuries. He finished with an impressive record of 36–1, 31 of those wins coming by knockout. Hamed was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2015.

Giant, a feature film about Hamed’s career and his relationship with Ingle, starring Amir El-Masry and Pierce Brosnan, is scheduled to be released in 2025.

Personal life and legal trouble

Hamed married Eleasha Elphinstone in 1998. They have two sons, Aadam and Sami, both of whom became professional boxers.

In May 2005 Hamed was speeding in his Mercedes-Benz McLaren sports car and collided with an oncoming vehicle. Hamed was not injured, but the other driver suffered many serious injuries. In March 2006 Hamed pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, and he ultimately served four months of a 15-month sentence. In January 2007 Queen Elizabeth II stripped Hamed of his Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) honor, which he had received in 1998, because of the incident.