'Prince' Naseem jailed over 90mph crash
By Simon Freeman

Naseem Hamed, one of Britain's most celebrated boxers, has been jailed for 15 months for causing a horrific crash in his £300,000 sports car.

The former WBA world featherweight smashed head-on at 90mph into an oncoming VW Golf in May last year, wrecking his own Mercedes McClaren and leaving the other driver with fractures to every major bone in his body.

In what Judge Alan Goldsack told Sheffield Crown Court was an aggravating factor, the former featherweight champion, who escaped unscathed, then left the scene.

Hamed, who has four previous offences for speeding and was once given a three-month disqualification, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving.

Hamed, 32, told the court that he took a split second decision to overtake the car in front on the brow of a hill road through the Peak District, near his Sheffield home, because it was repeatedly braking.

He said he believed that the driver of the Ford Mondeo had recognised him and was slowing down to glimpse him in his rear-view mirror. He said that he was not fully aware of the power of his high-powered sports car, registration NAS 1.

Anthony Burgin, 38, the driver of the Golf, was in court to watch as Hamed was jailed. His injuries are still clearly visible: his right arm is held in place by a frame and the court heard that there are numerous pins and plates holding his shattered limbs together.

After the hearing, a spokeswoman for the couple said that they were content with the sentence. "This case is not about celebrity, it's about extremely powerful motor cars being driven dangerously," she said.

Mr Burgin's girlfriend Claire told the court that their lives had been wrecked by the crash and the trauma it caused. She said: "Our good lives together have been cruelly taken away."

The self-styled 'Prince' Naseem was made 15 defences of the WBO featherweight title before losing his unbeaten record to Marco Antonio Barrera in his 37th fight.

Known for his flamboyant boxing style and huge self-confidence, with his trademark leopardskin shorts and handsprings in the ring, Hamed fought only once more when, in May 2002, he was booed out of the ring after winning a close points decision over Manuel Calvo, of Spain, in London.

In November, 2005, he suggested he would like to make a comeback after being offered a deal by an American television company. Today, as he was led to the cells, that ambition was placed on hold.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/articl...2177724,00.html