Naseem Hamed, a 22 year old from Sheffield is currently one of Britain’s most prominent and wealthiest sportsmen. But how did it all start? In 1985, a class of eleven year old boys had been asked to give a talk to their classmates on hobbies. One by one they struggled to fill five minutes with descriptions of stamp collecting and football programmes. Finally, a slightly built boy dressed in designer sportswear swaggered confidently to the front. With a flick of the switch of his portable ghetto-blaster, the classroom was filled with pulsating hip-hop music. Without a word, the 4ft 6 inch boy spent five minutes pummelling the air with his fists in a display of shadowboxing which left the rest of the class speechless. Eleven years later the boy is a man and the schoolroom performance is now offered to a world-wide audience of hundreds of million. Naseem Hamed’s licence to thrill was issued at birth. With foresight maybe his Yemeni parents would have hesitated before they named him Naseem, Arabic for ‘gentle breeze’.“I always knew I was going to be different to the others’, says Naseem. “Even before I found boxing I was aware that great things were awaiting me. But it hasn’t come overnight. What people don’t realise is that I’ve worked solidly for fifteen years to achieve this ‘overnight success’.
From the moment the seven year old Naseem Hamed walked into Brendan Ingle’s gym in Wincobank, Sheffield, he was hooked. Hooked on boxing and on the man who was to become almost a surrogate father – with the consent of Naseem’s close and loving family. The precocious boy and the maverick Irish trainer forged a partnership which has bought Naseem millions in pounds and the WBO Featherweight belt. Under Ingle’s watchful eye the young boxer trained seven days a week until the age of 12 years and 12 days – and weighing only 4st 2lbs, he had his first amateur fight – and first win against Grantham’s Peter Ironmonger. He dazzled enough on that night to be named Fighter Of The Night and win the cup.
When he wasn’t fighting, Naseem would settle down with Ingle for a night of classic videos – Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Hagler and Duran. Later, in front of astonished onlookers at Ingle’s gym, Naseem and Brendan’s son John would recreate the great fights – John playing the part of Hagler, Duran or Leonard. And Naz would always play himself. Naz’s extraordinary amateur fights as a 15 year old can be seen in superb and fast moving amateur footage exclusively recorded and used for Naz’s latest video.
This footage has never been seen before and gives a fascinating insight into the boxing of the boy who was to become a legend. His professional record stands at 23 wins from 23 fights with 21 of those coming from knockouts or stoppages. He’s built up a loyal, almost fanatical fan base with 10,000 from around the world joining the fan club which is run by his brother Nabeel. The atmosphere at his fights resembles a rock concert more than a night of professional boxing. His promoter, Frank Warren, has taken the champ around the British Isles so that as many of his fans as possible can see him in person.