Boxing legend Prince Naseem Hamed has reopened old wounds, launching a fresh and emotional attack on his late trainer, Brendan Ingle, whom he accuses of brainwashing him as a child and treating him as a "meal ticket".
A Deal Made at Eleven
The former world featherweight champion, one of Britain's greatest-ever fighters, enjoyed a spectacular rise under Ingle's guidance in Sheffield from the age of seven. However, their relationship was shattered by a financial agreement made when Hamed was just a schoolboy. Hamed claims Ingle promised to help him earn £40 million in his career, in exchange for a 25 per cent cut of his earnings.
"He did a deal with me at the age of 11," Hamed stated. "He wanted to hold me down to speaking to me at 11, how can you shake a kid’s hand and say you owe me that? Brendan would call me his meal ticket, how could he treat me as a meal ticket?"
Failed Attempts at Reconciliation
Despite attempts to heal the rift before Ingle's death in 2018, Hamed says his efforts were repeatedly rejected. The release of a new film, Giant, which tells the story from Ingle's perspective, has prompted Hamed to share his side of their complex relationship.
"I tried for years to reach out to him and claw back, to sit down and just quash it," Hamed revealed. "But there was nothing there, there was no way he was going to do it." He even attempted to contact Ingle's family, including before the trainer's funeral, but received a hostile message from one of his daughters that made the estrangement final.
Credit Given to Another Ingle
Hamed, who was crowned world champion in 1995 by knocking out Steve Robinson in Cardiff and made 15 successful defences, insists the late Brendan Ingle deserves little credit for his success in the ring. Instead, he points to the trainer's son, John.
"It's so sad because the person who trained me, and who should get all of the recognition for doing most of the work, is Brendan’s son John," Hamed added. "He hardly got anything and nobody talks about him. But I've had a break and stayed quiet but this is my time to tell the truth."
The Sheffield star's career effectively ended after a points defeat to Marco Antonio Barrera in Las Vegas in 2001, with just one more fight before retirement. The legacy of his glory years remains forever intertwined with the bitter feud that he has now chosen to reignite.
