Background and career
Naseem "Naz" Hamed (Arabic: نسيم حميد; born 12 February 1974), nicknamed Prince Naseem, is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2002. He held multiple featherweight world championships between 1995 and 2000, and reigned as lineal champion from 1998 to 2001. In 2015, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. The Ring magazine retroactively awarded Hamed their featherweight title in 2019 to acknowledge his dominance of the division and the multiple champions he defeated. The Ring was not awarding titles from 1990 to 2001. He is the only former world champion in any division thus far to receive this honour. Hamed made his professional debut in the flyweight division at the age of 18 in 1992. In 1994, he won the European bantamweight title and the vacant WBC International super-bantamweight title. A year later he won the WBO featherweight title when he beat Steve Robinson via TKO in the eighth round. In 1997, he won the IBF featherweight title when he beat Tom Johnson via TKO in the eighth round. In 1999, he won the WBC featherweight title when he beat César Soto. In 2001, he lost his undefeated record when he was defeated by Marco Antonio Barrera. He returned to the ring a year later, for what turned out to be his final boxing match, beating the European champion Manuel Calvo for the IBO featherweight title. Hamed was known for his unconventional boxing antics and ring entrances, which included entering the ring on a flying carpet. He was also known for his front somersault over the top rope into the ring, his southpaw boxing style, and one-punch knockout power, having finished his career with a knockout-to-win percentage of 84%. With his cocky persona and high-profile bouts he was a prominent figure in 1990s British pop culture, while Sean Ingle in The Guardian writes, "in his prime, Hamed was a global superstar". A headliner on both sides of the Atlantic, Dan Rafael of ESPN writes, "one of the biggest stars in the sport, the guy sold out arenas before his opponent was even named." Hamed, who is of Yemeni heritage, is credited with inspiring British Asian involvement in boxing. In 2006 Hamed was sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment and four years' disqualification from driving, for overtaking at 90 mph, colliding with another car, the driver of which was seriously injured, and leaving the scene. He was subsequently stripped of his MBE. In 2016, ESPN ranked Hamed at number 22 on its list of the top 25 fighters, pound for pound, of the last 25 years. As of August 2025, BoxRec ranks Hamed as the tenth greatest British boxer of all time, pound for pound. World Boxing, a sister publication of The Ring, ranked Hamed the 11th greatest British boxer of all time, and Gareth A. Davies of The Daily Telegraph ranked him 10th. The Ring also ranked Hamed the 46th greatest puncher of all time.
Hamed was born in February 1974 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, to Yemeni parents in a shop owned by his father. He grew up with eight siblings. He attended Hinde House Comprehensive School. A protege of Brendan Ingle's Wincobank gym, his talent and flashy southpaw style marked him out from an early age.
Hamed started boxing professionally at flyweight in 1992. He soon began rising through the ranks as he knocked out a series of opponents in the opening rounds. At age 20, he won the European bantamweight title, comprehensively beating the beleaguered Vincenzo Belcastro over twelve rounds. After one defence he won the WBC International super bantamweight title in 1994, overwhelming Freddy Cruz in Sheffield, whom he severely punished and stopped in six rounds. Hamed's popularity grew, his unorthodox style winning a large fan base and his boxing antics generating a large group of detractors. After signing for Frank Warren, Hamed, employing more spectacular entrances, knocked out better opposition in Enrique Angeles and Juan Polo Pérez, both within two rounds.
Later in 1995, after controversially being named the WBO #1 featherweight contender (despite never having boxed at that weight), Hamed moved up to face Wales' defending WBO champion Steve Robinson. After dominating the bout and scoring a knockdown in round 5, Hamed won the title when the referee stopped the fight in round 8 after Robinson was caught with a left hook that dropped him spectacularly. The fight was held in front of Robinson's home crowd at the rugby ground, Cardiff Arms Park, with rain pouring down on the fighters and the ring. This was also the first bout where Hamed badly injured his hand, a problem that would continue for the rest of his career.
Hamed's next defence was in Dublin against former two-time world featherweight title holder Manuel Medina. In an entertaining, tough contest for Hamed on the night, Medina won several rounds of the fight. After knocking Medina down heavily in round 2, Hamed struggled to finish the fight. Hamed eventually knocked Medina down another two times in the 9th round. Finally, at the end of round 11, Medina's corner withdrew him from the fight on the advice of the ringside doctor. Hamed revealed in his post-fight interview that he had fought with a heavy cold. Medina would go on to have many more tough title fights, remarkably winning versions of the featherweight world title another three times. Hamed's next opponent was the 27–0 Remigio Molina of Argentina, who was stopped in two rounds.
In February 1997, Hamed defeated long-time IBF champion Tom "Boom Boom" Johnson in eight rounds in a unification bout at the London Arena. After being constantly stunned and staggered from round 3 onwards, Johnson was finally dropped by a huge uppercut, then saved from further punishment by the referee. Hamed's first defence of both the WBO & IBF titles was a first-round KO of veteran British boxer and European champion Billy Hardy. Before the bout Hamed had correctly predicted he would win in round 1. The next defence was an easy two-round win against a hugely outclassed Juan Gerardo Cabrera. Due to boxing politics involving the IBF's mandatory challenger, Hamed was soon forced to relinquish the IBF title.
