Prince is a Marriage Made in Heaven

Yes, the title of this piece alludes to the upcoming pomp and extreme cost of a royal wedding to distract the shortsighted amongst us from the disintegration of everything the government should be safeguarding. But don't worry readers, there will be no more mention of such things on Beyond the Cliche save my personal view that Prince William is doing well for himself; Miss Middleton, I would. And at least you wouldn't get semi-inbred children out of it.

(Is it now treason to say things like that?)

No, the title in fact refers to a sporting prince. The very epitome of a boxing character, Prince Naseem Hamed is now back on our radar. In an interview with the BBC, Prince has talked of his new managerial intentions and also commented on the state of modern boxing.

Sadly, I can't put the video up directly so here is the link:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/9207302.stm

A man of much talk, it was often dificult to work out what Prince the boxer was passionate about. Was it his sport, or the money, or the attatched fame and lifestyle?

His actions during the 90's, when he was at the peak of his powers and very much in the public eye, certainly suggested that the temptations of celebrity were his main driving force. And his subsequent problems with various managers and time spent in prison seemed to mark the end for the Prince, back to having to answer merely to Naseem.

But Prince seems to have found a new kingdom. His words now ring out with a passion renewed. He has a clear vision for where he wants boxing to take him, and what he wants to bring to the sport himself. He wants to be back in the game.

He is already committed to managing at least one of the Commonwealth Games medal winners, the promising Scot light heavyweight Callum Johnson, and he has his sights set on expanding his fledgling managerial horizons.

And his opinions on boxing today are passionate and completely right in my opinion. Prince clearly wants to try and fix things, to bring excitement back to boxing and to rekindle public interest. He also seems to want to do it the right way, recognising the importance of developing the country's young talent and wanting to set up his own academy style setup.

A man that was perhaps difficult to interpret and hard to like in the past, Prince Naseem now seems to be on a clear path, one that will benefit British boxing in the years to come. You cannot help but admire that.


GM