Naseem Hamed, also known by his nickname “Prince” Naseem or “Naz”, is a former professional boxer, born on 12th February 1974 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. He was the holder of world championships at featherweight, including IBF, WBO and WBC titles. He was also the lineal champion, IBO champion and held the European bantamweight title. He is ranked as the 14th best British boxer of all time.
Have you ever wondered how rich Naseem Hamed is? According to sources, it has been estimated that Hamed’s overall net worth is $33 million, accumulated thanks to an extremely successful boxing career. During his active years of boxing, Naseem was multiple-awarded and praised, which significantly raise his popularity and net worth.
Naseem Hamed Net Worth $33 Million
Hamed was born to Yemeni parents who immigrated to the UK. He started practicing sport when he was seven years old, when his father sent him to a gym to learn to defend himself as he was very small. However, his talent and southpaw style soon marked him out, and he started boxing professionally at flyweight in 1992. Naseem rose through the ranks rapidly, knocking out numerous opponents. When he was 20, he won the European bantamweight title, and the WBC International super bantamweight title the same year. Thanks to his unique style and talent, Hamed soon won a large fan base and great popularity. In 1995, although he had never boxed at featherweight category, he was named the WBO #1. Two years later, he won the IBF title by defeating long-time champion Tom Johnson, however, due to boxing politics which involve the IBF’s mandatory challenger, Hamed was forced to give up his title. Later that year, he made his US debut, covered by numerous media outlets as he defeated former WBC title holder Kevin Kelley, starting a series of his fights on HBO.
In March 2000 Naseem easily overpowered Vuyani Bungu, the former undefeated long-reigning IBF super bantamweight title holder, one of the most impressive wins of his career. Following a hand injury requiring surgery, two months before the fight for the International Boxing Organization World featherweight title against Marco Antonio Barrero, Hamed was 40 pounds overweight. Despite trying to intensify his trainings, he didn’t manage to defeat his opponent, thus losing his Lineal championship. In May 2002, he returned to the ring, for what turned out to be his final match. He unconvincingly defeated European champion Manuel Calvo and was booed by the 10.000 fans who were watching. Hamed announced his retirement soon after, stating that the reasons for his retirement were mostly due to chronic health problems. His record ended at 36-1, with 31 knockouts or TKOs.
When it comes to his private life, Naseem has been married to Eleesha since 1998. Naseem is a Muslim and often recited the Takbir out loud before entering the ring. In 1999, he was awarded the M.B.E in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List for his services to boxing, but it was removed in January 2007 following a conviction for dangerous driving in the UK. In 2015, Naseem was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
