Giant director tells of inspiration behind Prince Naseem Hamed film

Growing up above a corner shop in the Sheffield suburb of Wincobank, Naseem Hamed rose from humble beginnings to become a boxing icon and one of Britain’s most famous Muslim sporting stars.

The Prince, as he was known during his 1990s pomp, not only inspired a generation of fighters on his way to becoming world champion, but captured the attention of the world outside of the ring.

A new biopic following the highs and lows of his career, against the backdrop of his turbulent relationship with trainer Brendan Ingle, will premiere at the London Film Festival this weekend before its full release in January.

British Indian filmmaker Rowan Athale, who wrote and directed Giant, says Hamed proved anything is possible.

“He was someone I felt me and my brothers were represented by,” he says.

“Though Naz is Yemeni, not Indian, we were all treated the same.”

Athale, who was a teenager growing up in Barnsley during “Nazmania”, adds: “It felt like he was ours.”

Seeing his hero in the ring, on Top of the Pops and on the front of FHM magazine “meant the world” to Athale.

“There really aren’t that many people out there that represent our culture on screen, they aren’t on our radios and they are certainly not in our sports,” he says.

“It wasn’t like he was the next person, he was the only person. He meant a lot to a lot of people.”

Athale, now 44, fell in love with boxing after watching the Rocky films aged five. By 14, he knew he wanted to make movies himself.

Combining the two has been the culmination of a life’s work.

“I always had this notion I wanted to make a film about Naz,” says the director, whose previous credits include The Vault and Wasteland.

“The drama behind the superstar in the ring, that story was just as compelling as what happened in the ring.”

The story of Prince Naseem’s time in the spotlight reads much like a Hollywood script.

Raised in a working-class family in Sheffield, Hamed established himself as one of the brightest young talents in boxing after being introduced to the sport by his father aged seven.

He turned professional at 18 and was a European champion at 20, with world honours following a year later.

America, then boxing’s promised land, beckoned. More success followed, but the Prince’s downfall had already begun amid the increasing chaos and controversy surrounding his career.

At just 28 he looked a shadow of his former self and had lost his world title, his sacrosanct unbeaten record gone.

Humbled like so many of his opponents, his career was over.

“He achieved more than almost anybody and it’s such a tragedy because he could have achieved more,” says Athale.

An impressive cast sees Pierce Brosnan star as Ingle, while Rocky veteran Sylvester Stallone – who has previously worked with Athale and shares his admiration for Naz – is listed as the film’s executive producer.

Amir El-Masry, whose credits include Wolf Hall and The Crown, takes the title role.

Though not involved in the production, the Prince himself gave the unvarnished story of his career the royal seal of approval – and has already seen it twice.

“We flew out to Dubai to show it to him,” reveals Athale, describing it as “probably one of the most nerve-wracking experiences of my life”.

“He asked me to sit next to him while he watched it. I wasn’t really looking at the screen, I was looking at him all the way through.

“I didn’t know if he would come out cheering, crying or swinging.”

Flamboyant ring walks, showboating and headline-grabbing antics away from boxing meant Naz divided opinion, but his talent was never in doubt.

“Watching Naz, he was absolutely phenomenal,” says Amer Khan, who trained alongside Hamed at the Ingle Gym under the tutelage of Brendan Ingle.

“Instead of looking in the mirrors when training, Brendan would tell us to watch Naz when he was in the ring.

“You could learn a lot just from watching.”

Khan, who attended the same Sheffield school as Naz and his siblings, was just 13 when he joined the Ingle Gym and went on to enjoy an unbeaten 13-fight professional career as a light-heavyweight.

Now a boxing coach himself, the 44-year-old says he has not seen anyone as talented as the Prince in his 31 years in the sport.

“I don’t think anyone comes close to him.

“Naz had the world at his feet.”

Khan also recalls the “celebrity superstar” side of the Prince, who would sometimes drive his younger stablemate home from the gym in his Aston Martin.

“One particular day I finished school and was walking down to the gym.

“I spotted this blue BMW parked outside, I walked in and David Beckham was waiting to meet Naz.

“He made David Beckham wait, that’s the kind of pull he had.”

Khan, who has Pashtun heritage, believes Naz also blazed a trail for future Asian stars like Amir Khan, Hamzah Sheeraz and Adam Azim.

“Seeing someone that was the same colour as me, who only lived a mile-and-a-half up the road, you have to see it to believe it to become it.

“When I started, South Asian parents weren’t interested in boxing. My dad didn’t go to a single fight of mine.”

“Sport was something they thought was impossible,” says Khan.

“It was ‘you go to school, get an education and earn money’. Now, the parents are all supporting their kids and trying to develop them.

“It’s all come from Naz.”