Naseem Hamed
Since winning the EMMA Award (Campaign with Advertising)
Naseem Hamed aka Prince Naseem is a British-Yemini Former Professional Boxer who held the WBC title from 1999 to 2000 and IBO from 2002 to 2003.
On 18th May 2002 at London Arena, Docklands, London, he returned to the ring for what became his final boxing match. In 2015, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
In 2016, ESPN ranked Hamed at number 22 on its list of the top 25 fighters during the last 25 years. The Ring ranked him the 46th greatest puncher of all time, and its sister publication, World Boxing, ranked him the 11th greatest British boxer of all time.
The 2021 Tamil movie Sarpatta Parambarai features the fictional character Dancing Rose, played by Shabeer Kallarakkal, whose boxing style is based on Hamed’s. Naseem Hamed is often credited with inspiring British Asian involvement in boxing, and he became one of the greatest characters to grace the sport due to his extravagant ring walks and all-action style.
Background (Before 1998)
Naseem Hamed was born in Sheffield, England, to Yemeni parents. His talent and flashy southpaw style made him stand out from an early age. Over the years, Naseem gained the nicknames Prince Naseem and Naz. He competed from 1992 to 2002 and started boxing professionally at flyweight.
Naseem won the European bantamweight title at 20, beating Vincenzo Belcastro over twelve rounds. He held the European bantamweight title from 1994 to 1995, the World Boxing Organisation featherweight title from 1995 to 2000 and the International Boxing Federation featherweight title in 1997.
Naseem is known for his unconventional boxing antics and spectacular ring entrances, which included entering the ring on a flying carpet, a lift, and a palanquin. He is also known for his front somersault over the top rope into the ring, highly athletic and hard-hitting southpaw boxing style, and formidable one-punch knockout power, having finished his career with a knockout-to-win percentage of 84%.
