'Prince' happy to witness historic night for boxing

'Prince' Naseem Hamed (right) embraces Ahmed Seddiqi after 'The Fight DXB Uncovered.' -Supplied photo

Moments after the dust had settled and after local favourite, the Nigerian-born and Dubai-based Aliu Bamidele Lasisi had won the WBC International super-flyweight belt, the 28-year-old got some words of wisdom, ringside.
"Move your head, move your head, from bell to bell, move your head. It is always tough to punch a moving target," the man said with a heavy Yorkshire accent.
Lasisi stood humbly, listening to each and every word.
Those words held a lot of weight and it came from none other than 'Prince' Naseem Hamed, former featherweight world champion.
Naseem Hamed, better known as 'Prince' or 'Naz' in his heydays, was in Dubai on Friday night to witness 'The Fight DXB Uncovered,' and the 45-year-old, who became something of a British icon in the 90s, was delighted to be a part of something historic.
"I'm very, very proud to be able to witness the first big boxing event in the UAE, in Dubai," 'Prince' said in an exclusive interview with the Khaleej Times.
'Prince,' who held an astonishing record of 36 wins and 31 knockouts and is considered boxing royalty, was also thrilled to see Emirati Majid Al Naqbi win on his pro debut.
"I was so proud, the fact that I could come to Dubai and witness an historical night for boxing. And it was good to see up and coming fighters like Majid (Al Naqbi) and Lasisi, fighters from Round 10 Boxing Club come out and perform and win," he said.
And 'Prince' said it was a watershed moment for boxing in Dubai and the entire Middle East.
"In the Arab world, we have the hub of the Middle East right here. This is the start of something huge for boxing in the Middle East. And it is all because of one man's dream and one man's vision, this man here - Ahmed Seddiqi. I have nothing but love for him and I told him that I'm going to support him and give him my word. I want to see boxing become a success in Dubai and the UAE. It is time that we brought boxing to the forefront," he said.
'Prince,' who has Yemeni roots, said he would love to see more Arab boxers in the limelight.
"I want to see more Arab champions. We are about to see very, very soon an Arab Yemeni fighter who is going to fight for the world title. He's going to fight for my old belt - the featherweight title in the UK against Josh Warrington. He is called Kid Galahad. He's fighting for that title and there's a good possible chance he's going to win that," felt 'Prince'.
Meanwhile, Ahmed Seddiqi, the man behind the event, was moved to tears as he hugged his brother and Prince. And he promised more to come with another televised event in November.
"We have no time to take a break and rest on the laurels. We just got to stay busy with small shows. We are planning another show again together with our partners MTK Global, ESPN and Top Rank in November and in between that and after that, smaller shows, maybe not TV broadcast, local broadcast. And next time, we hope we will be able to host a world title fight," said Seddiqi.
And Seddiqi said that Prince taking Al Naqbi under his tutelage will change the young boxer's career.
"Seeing Majid having his pro debut on ESPN, it was unbelievable. It was historical for our country and Lasisi winning his international title which is a step closer to the world title. And him being based here, starting his professional career here, I think the country needs to know his story. How he started from the bottom and how he reached a first ever ESPN fight night in Dubai. It shows nothing is impossible in life," he said.
"Like Prince Naseem said, he is going to teach him from his experience. That would be fantastic for Majid and for boxing here," added Seddiqi.
james@khaleejtimes.com