15 months' jail term for boxer 'Prince' Naseem

LONDON: Naseem Hamed, Britain's former world boxing champion, was jailed for 15 months on Friday after pleading guilty to dangerous driving in his sports car.

The 32-year-old was also banned from driving for four years. Judge Alan Goldsack, the Recorder of Sheffield, northern England, handed out the punishment at the city's crown court.

The self-styled 'Prince' Naseem pleaded guilty on March 31 to dangerous driving after a crash in May last year involving his McLaren-Mercedes sports car and two other vehicles, which left one man seriously injured.

Hamed was arrested and charged following the incident. He showed no emotion as he was sent down but members of the boxer's family, who were sitting in the packed public gallery, broke down in tears.

Hamed left the dock with two security guards. The one-time world featherweight champion lost only one of his 37 professional contests and had been considering a comeback this year having not fought since 2002.

Born to Yemeni parents, Hamed made his professional debut in 1992 and remained unbeaten until April 2001, when he lost on a unanimous points decision to Mexico's Marco Antonio Barrera.

He won the European bantamweight title and the World Boxing Council international super-bantamweight championship in 1994, before capturing the World Boxing Organisation world featherweight title in September 1995.