Didn't mean to be picky TT. You're doing a sterling job.

These will be too late for me Tommy, got to be up pretty early and do some gardening before the sun gets on it.

Did anyone see the programme on Thursday night where they showed Prince Naseem Hamed's first 3 pro fights when he was18? (All finished inside 2 rounds).
I never realised what a flash young bugger he was!
Very good though.

I never realised he was that fast. Very unorthodox too. A great entertainer.
Since Marco Antonio Barrera beat him he seems to have vanished!

Sabre, that's why I think it should be kept.
There is some great stuff and web links on here, well worth a read if you can't sleep.

Kq, The last I heard, he pulled out of one that was planned.
I think it really shook him that he wasn't invincible after all.

You just keep doing what you are doing Kq.
We don't want the info. passing into unscrupulous hands, or I'll never get any rest!

Naseem Hamed was born in Sheffield in 1974 to Yemeni parents; he has described himself as 'a Yorkshireman first and a Yemeni second'. At seven, Hamed's potential was spotted at a local gym by Brendan Ingle, who would be his personal trainer for the next 17 years. Hamed won the National Schoolboy Boxing Championship five times and the junior Amateur Boxing Association title twice.

Hamed's unique style was established early on. His great gifts as a fighter are the speed and agility with which he dodges blows and the power of his own punch; his strategy is to lure his opponent into attacking him, then exploit the vulnerabilities which this opens up.

Add Hamed's self-confidence and sense of theatre, and the result is a fighter who disdains to keep up his guard. Instead, he dances around his opponent with his head up and his gloves at his sides, dodging every punch and waiting for the moment to land the knockout blow. For Prince Naseem, boxing is one part agility, one part power and one part psychological warfare.

At 18, Hamed turned professional, in the bantamweight class; he now fights as a featherweight (126lbs or 57kg). He had six fights in 1992, 23 in the next five years and another six in 1998-2000; he won all 35, 14 of them inside two rounds.

But success has bought criticism. Hamed has been called an exhibitionist, addicted to gratuitous acrobatics and flamboyant ring entrances; when he beat Said Lawal in 1996, his entrance lasted longer than the fight. Other boxers have dismissed Hamed as 'too**y' and lacking 'sound boxing technique'.

But for his fans, Hamed's histrionics are all part of the package. As for his technique, it's hard to argue with the scoresheet. When Hamed met Barrera, he had held the title of featherweight champion in the World Boxing Organisation (WBO), World Boxing Council (WBC) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) rankings.

'Who else can I fear apart from Allah? I can't fear any human being.'

Hamed spent six weeks training for the Barrera fight in a villa in Palm Springs, with moral and organisational support from his brothers Murad and Nabeel. Another brother, Riath, was already in Las Vegas. This was a bizarrely unsuitable environment for the brothers, who are devout Muslims; in Riath's words: 'If you don't drink, gamble or fornicate it's a very boring existence.'

Riath made final arrangements for the fight. These included obtaining a pair of green goatskin boxing gloves from Mexico, after sending a representative there to inspect the production process. As Riath said, 'Whatever the Prince wants, the Prince will get.'

For the last two weeks of training, the Hamed camp was joined by trainer Manny Steward. Steward supervised sparring sessions between Hamed and two Mexican fighters, chosen to reflect Barrera's style. Signs that the fight might not go to plan now appeared. Steward's impressions of Hamed's sparring sessions were poor; his punches were wide and badly controlled.

After two weeks of sparring, the Hamed entourage flew to Las Vegas by private plane. The day before the match, Hamed was joined by his barber, his father and finally his wife Alicia and their two sons; they would spend the night before the match apart.

On the day of the fight, Hamed decided against his green goatskin gloves, preferring the gloves Barrera had chosen. After a protracted argument between the two camps, both fighters wore gloves supplied by the management. The start of the fight was delayed by 45 minutes while Hamed chose and rejected several pairs. Finally, he entered the ring with an elaborate entrance routine. Dedicating the fight to Muslims around the world, Hamed pronounced the shahada, the Islamic affirmation of faith.

But the fight went badly. Rather than charging forward and creating openings for Hamed, Barrera stood his ground and kept his guard up. His longer reach enabled him to attack Hamed without seriously exposing himself. Worse, Hamed's taunting made no impression on Barrera. Where other fighters had seen an infuriatingly untouchable opponent, Barrera saw only an unguarded chin which he attacked repeatedly.

It was Barrera who toyed with his opponent and Hamed who was lured forward. He tried finally to win the match with a knockout, but Barrera's guard was too good for him. After 12 rounds, the judges decided for Barrera; he took the IBO title, and Hamed's long winning run was over.

'Let's hope England likes me a bit more now I've lost.'

Some believe that the Barrera defeat was the beginning of the end. 'The truth is that top fighters have worked him out,' says Steward, who has refused to work with Hamed again unless he has complete control of his training regime.

The Barrera match hasn't ended Prince Naseem's career: one defeat in 36 fights is not a bad record. The main worry is that the loss of his aura of invincibility will undermine his legendary self-belief. Hamed may be on the verge of bowing out; alternatively, we may see the return of his**y, dauntless showmanship, enriched with a greater tactical sense. In his next match, there will once again be everything to play for.

Off to bed now Tommy...eyes keep closing....catch you later mate.

I don't think you should be too critical of the kid.

He virtually copied what his hero did, Muhammad Ali.

Style, showmanship, etc.

Now he should come back and prove how great he thinks he is.

I wish him luck, better than watching some of the boxing dross on telly.

Boxing tonight: - Further update later.

....Now.

More boxing tonight. Update - later.

Too late for me Tommy.

Been up since 6-15.

Quiz on at the moment

Jump in.

Is Hernandez fit?

More boxing tonight.

AITL, you'd better keep your eyes on certain threads today if you can. I will already have to ask Kq for one when I see him.

^

Guys, remember this name...KEVIN MITCHELL.
He's a 20 year old super featherweight who lived in my road as a kid and who's career I've followed avidly since. I used to see the little chap lugging his boxing gear in a bag as big as him to the bus stop whilst his mates terrorised the area and are now mostly all banged up. Not Kev, he has only one ambition in life, to be a world champion...and he WILL do it. Better judges than me are also predicting it.
I spoke to him just after Frank Warren had signed him up and the boy had become a man, a tough one at that.
Check him out on Sky TV next month.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following is from the BBC website:


Super featherweight prospect Kevin Mitchell will return to action on 23 September after recovering from an injury to his left hand.
The 20-year-old from Dagenham sustained the injury last December and aggravated it in beating Karim Chakhim in April.

He will fight on the undercard of the vacant English welterweight clash between Ross Minter and Matthew Hatton at the Hilton Hotel Park Lane.

Mitchell is unbeaten in 14 professional contests with nine knockouts.

"As any boxer will tell you, sitting out because of an injury is the most frustrating thing in the world," said Mitchell, who hopes to fight four times between now and Christmas.

"I was desperate to fight but I couldn't because every time I hit the heavy bags or sparred my hand blew up to twice it's normal size.

"No disrespect to my last three opponents but had my hand been OK they would not have lasted the distance with me.

"It was good experience going the distance and getting the rounds in but at this stage of my career I want to be blasting them out of there early and really making a name for myself."

Mitchell, who won the ABA Senior title at his first attempt at 18, has been seeing a specialist who previously worked with Naseem Hamed.

Kq.

is anybody laying prices for future events ?

May as well have a financial interest if I follow his career.