The Shadows of Boxing: Prince Naseem Hamed & Those He Left Behind

by Geoffrey Beattie

Prince Naseem is the one of most charismatic boxers the sport has ever seen. From his early days at Brendan Ingle's gym in Wincobank, Sheffield, he fought his way to his first world title in 1995, and is now a household name.  The Shadows of Boxing  visits Prince Naseem's roots, chronicles the contrasting fortunes of the hard men of Ingle's gym, and looks at how the Hamed family have coped with the incredible pressures of fame. It also features the first major interview with Naz since his defeat at the hands of Marco Antonio Barrera.

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Marc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prince Naseem was one of the most compelling figures in the world of boxing over the past 10 years. This book is written from a psychology professor who has enjoyed personal relationships with Naseem's former coach Brendan Ingle and several of the boxers working out in his gym. Consequently the book offers some interesting insight on Naseem. Oddly enough the book deals only for about 50% with Naseem Hamed. The rest of the time Beattie digresses into personal anecdotes about hanging out in night clubs and boxing gyms with semi-professional boxers. Not missing a beat on boasting about what great and tough a guy he is (declaring himself as the modern-age Friedrich Engels in the process).
One of the main arguments Beattie tried to back up with this book was, that one of the main reasons for Hamed's downfall was his over-sized ego. The strange part is that you could get the same impression about the author, while reading this book.