Boxing: Prince with few subjects as crowd leaves farce early

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Hamed's bluster now sounds like an old, scratched record

On Saturday night something unique in boxing took place during the Naseem Hamed and Manuel Calvo fiasco at the London Arena in Docklands when for the first time ever at a championship fight the crowd started to leave in large numbers long before the final bell.

The crowd of 12,000 had welcomed Hamed and his toned- down entrance with joy, but by the end of round four the boos and jeers dominated, the obscenities started in round six and the exodus began after round eight. Hamed even held his hands up in a pleading and comic manner when he saw his fans leaving, but he must have been sick in his heart at the sight.

However, the little fighter from Sheffield, who once dominated the British boxing public, added to his considerable shortcomings in the ring by opening his mouth outside it. It was the one time in his truly exceptional career when he needed to display some sense and keep his thoughts private.

"I understand the booing, but they don't know the craft and the art of boxing. There was a lot of ignorance out there, but that is not a problem. I am the world champion again and I am the most exciting boxer in Britain," he said.

He is wrong and it is now hard to see a way back for Hamed in a ring anywhere in Britain because Saturday's crowd had come to see him and they would have left happy if he had knocked out Calvo in 10 seconds. They were a modern, young crowd and not a gathering of hardened boxing fans. They were there because they believed that a Hamed fight was a good night out and a decent way to spend £200 for a ticket. They voted with their feet on Saturday and the next time Hamed goes in front of the cameras to ask for their patronage they will vote with their wallets.

"I don't care about the crowd because if you're a professional and you care about the crowd why are you fighting?... If they want to boo let them," continued Hamed, who blamed an injured hand and Calvo's chin for the dreadful performance.

However, many fighters have survived more gruelling bouts with injuries far worse than a swollen hand. In one of Saturday's undercard fights Manchester's Mike Brodie fought with one eye closed for nine rounds and recovered from a sickening knock-down in round 10 to beat Argentina's Pastor Maurin over 12 rounds. Brodie won the World Boxing Federation featherweight title, which is even more worthless than the International Boxing Organisation version that Hamed left the ring with.

When a boxer has been away from the sport for an extended period like Hamed, who has not fought since Marco Antonio Barrera exposed him last April in Las Vegas, he has to adjust quickly. But Hamed's ring rust was obvious and his hapless corner were unable to convince him to alter his style.

The crowd booed, jeered, swore and a few thousand left because they wanted a magical experience with the so-called "Fresh Prince". Had there been 12,000 purists in the London Arena on Saturday night it is doubtful if any would have survived the 36-minute extension of Hamed's exile from fighting. It was 12 rounds of tedium and it will ruin 10 years of hard work.