LONDON, 2 September 2006 — Former world featherweight champion ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed learned yesterday that he will be released after serving just 16 weeks of a 15-month prison sentence.
Hamed, 32, was jailed at Sheffield Crown Court on May 12 this year after being convicted of dangerous driving following an incident in May 2005.
But Prison sources confirmed he will be released on an electronic tag next week under the Home Office’s home detention curfew scheme. The boxer had destroyed his Mercedes McLaren car in a high-speed crash in the English Peak District after driving at around 90mph on the wrong side of the carriageway while approaching a blind dip in the road.
Hamed’s car smashed into a Volkswagen Golf driven by Anthony Burgin, who suffered fractures to every major bone in his body as a result, while his wife Clare was also seriously injured.
Khan Benefits From French Connection
Olympic silver medalist Amir Khan is confident his French sparring partner can help him become a world champion. English boxer Khan, 19, takes on Ryan Barrett in front of his hometown fans in Bolton tonight with a fresh confidence thanks to his time training with Souleymane M’baye.
Khan will be competing in just his ninth professional fight, having won the previous eight, and has been keen to learn from Parisian M’Baye as he sets his sights on a future world title bid. He said: “Souleymane is one of the best fighters in the world and it has been great to work with him.
“Just by watching him train and how he controls his work-rate I learned a lot. He has a good loose style like me and in many respects I think we are similar.
“I’ve learned a lot from him and this is a chance to show everyone how far I have progressed and how much my style has changed.” M’Baye has been impressed by Khan, who won his Olympic medal in Athens in 2004, and has no doubts he can go on to dominate his weight. He said: “He can be a world champion like me. I had heard a lot about Amir and everything they said was true.
“He is very fast and very disciplined, and I am surprised by how good he is given the experience he has had.” M’Baye, 31, is also on the bill at the Bolton Arena as he fights for the WBA light-welterweight title against Argentina’s Raul Balbi.
