Former featherweight champ Naseem Hamed recently turned 50, yet “The Prince” says he would consider coming out of the retirement he never official announced, if it was for the fight reason – a reason of charity. Speaking on Talk Sport this week, Hamed was initially asked if he would fight Jake Paul….. “if he offered you £20million?”
Hamed basically shot down the notion, saying that money means nothing to him as he is “a man that gets on his hands and knees and puts his head on the floor five times a day.” Hamed was referring to his Muslim faith, with “Naz” stating how “humble” he is. But later in the same interview, Hamed said he would consider fighting again if it would give him a chance to earn big money for poverty-stricken country Yemen, and for Palestine.
Hamed got serious, saying this would motivate him to “get out of bed and get fit and maybe do it.”
“You need to understand something, fighting for a country, for somebody to do well, for somebody to raise money, an obscene amount of money, then I could think about that,” Hamed said on the subject of him ever fighting again. “And I could get out of bed and do some serious training and get fit and maybe do it. For that, yes. Stranger things have happened. I set my legacy in an amazing way……….it’s hard for anybody to reach that kind of level. But I’m from a country that’s not well off. My parents are from a country, Yemen, and I would fight for that country to contribute to them in charitable ways. And the same for Palestine. We stand for Palestine, man. As a father now, it hits my heart, what’s happening in the Middle East, what’s happened in Palestine and what’s happening in Yemen, and the poverty. That’s the only time that really deep down in my heart I’d want to fight.”
So, Hamed is not interested in any gimmick fight with Jake Paul (and good on him for that), but he is open to the idea of fighting again if it’s for a worthy cause, one that means so much to him deep inside. It has been over 20 years since Hamed last boxed, this against Manuel Calvo way back in 2002. That points win (a booed points win) was Hamed’s first fight back after losing his unbeaten record to Marco Antonio Barrera. Hamed all but vanished after the decision loss in Vegas, never enforcing the rematch clause he was armed with. As such, some critics say Hamed, though special and of course a dynamite puncher, never quite lived up to his great promise. The loss to Barrera should have been attempted to be avenged, as this is what the great ones do, say these critics. And it’s tough to argue.
Still, Hamed has a place in the history books and he is recognised certainly as a British great. How big would it be if Hamed fought again so many years after last doing so? Could Hamed possibly shed the weight and get himself back into decent condition all this time later?
The next generation is now doing the fighting, with the former champ’s son, Aadam recently signing a deal with Frank Warren. Warren of course used to promote “Naz,” and Warren is, like us, eager to see how far the latest fighting Hamed can go.
