BOXING
Deon Potgieter
“Prince” Naseem Hamed has pulled out of a proposed featherweight bouton November 10 in London withSouth Africa’s Mbulelo Botile.
Hamed said he felt that under the present political climate it would be better for him to delay his return to the ring until next year.Hamed, a devout Muslim,has made it clear he in no way supports the terror attacks in the United States.
Although both Hamed and Botile lost their most recent fights, American television giant HBO was keen on getting them in the ring together.
Botile lost his International Boxing Federation (IBF) title to Frankie Toledo over 12 rounds in April in Las Vegas and Hamed lost an International Boxing Organisation title clash to Marco Antonio Barrera the very next day, also in Las Vegas.
Until that loss, Hamed had an undefeated record of 31 knockouts in 35 fights. Although his handlers have condoned his decision to delay his comeback, there is a growing concern that Hamed’s skills are eroding and that the longer he stays out of the spotlight, the harder it will be for him to return.
HBO turned down the opponent suggested by the Hamed camp for the November 10 date. Hamed had wanted to take on a relative soft touch inEuropean featherweight champion Manuel Carvo, while HBO decided a match with former two-time world champion Botile would be more marketable.
“Hamed will beat Botile or Carvo,” says Hamed’s publicist George Azar “It would just be easier for him to find his legs against Carvo following his loss to Barrera.”
A possible Hamed-Botile fight had been on the cards prior to their respective losses. Hamed said he wanted to avenge Paul Ingle’s devastating loss to Botile. Botile knocked Ingle out in December last year to win the IBF featherweight crown.
Following their encounter Ingle was taken to hospital in a critical condition and a blood clot was removed from his brain. Although Ingle has returned home, it’s unlikely he’ll ever fully recover from his injuries. Ingle had previously given Hamed one of his toughest bouts.
Botile was inactive for a full year waiting for the Ingle bout to come off. Given Hamed’s decision, it looks as though he may have another long wait on his hands. One has to wonderwhether “The Prince” would have felt it necessary to delay his return, had HBO approved Carvo for his next fight instead of the South African.
n Zolani Petelo, who was to have fought IBF junior flyweight legend Ricardo Lopez on September 15 at Madison Square Garden, will still get his chance. The fight, which forms part of the impressive under-card of the Felix Trinidad-Bernhard Hopkins middleweight unification bout, will now take place on September 29 at the same venue. The bouts were postponed after the attacks in the US last week.