The brother of ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed has heaped criticism on the former superstar for falling into gluttonous habits since his retirement. Sheffield native ‘Naz’ was back in the headlines this week after pictures emerged of him walking around Windsor, where he’s understood to be renting a £1.4million townhouse.
Most boxing fans will be well aware of Hamed’s weight gain since hanging up his gloves in 2002, though the 48-year-old insists he’s the ‘happiest he’s ever been.’ At the height of his career, Prince Naseem reigned supreme as one of his generations best featherweights, retiring with an almost pristine 36-1 record.
But younger brother Ali has accused his world-renowned sibling of lacking the intelligence to preserve his legacy in the sport. The boxing and personal trainer also dubbed Naseem a shut-away whose “non-stop” eating habits have made him “morbidly obese.”
“He was boxing royalty but the shame and the sadness is that he was too arrogant to hold onto that,” Ali told the Daily Mail. “He did not have the intellect to match the unique talent he’d been given. Now he has turned himself into a recluse who has spent 20 years eating non-stop and becoming morbidly obese.”
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It was at the peak of Naseem’s powers that he broke away from long-time coach Brendan Ingle in 1997. The trainer behind other champions like Johnny Nelson and Kell Brook was discarded, a decision Ali referred to as an “absolute betrayal.”
“He can do what he wants and I am going to do what I want,” said Ingle at the time of the split. “I’ve had enough. His ego has just gone completely out through the roof now. He has become a legend in his own mind at the moment and he won’t listen to reason.”
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