21 - May 24th thru May 30th 1999, Vol
IX
Press
Conference with Prince Naseem Hamed
On
Monday evening, May 17, Yemen Times organized a press conference for the
world champion feather weight boxer Naseem Hamed at the Sheraton hotel
in Sanaa. Prince Naseem was concluding a visit to his country of origin
to participate in the first conference held for Yemeni emigrants. The press
conference was attended by many journalists from various official and opposition
newspapers. Despite the exhaustion that was clearly visible in Naseem's
face, he answered all the questions asked by the journalists. They covered
various aspects of his future plans and ambitions. Naseem left Sanaa later
the same day. Yemen Times Sports Editor Jamal Al-Awadhi filed the following
summary of the press conference.
Q: How well were you received by the Yemeni
people?
A: The people received me with
extreme happiness when I was going from the airport to the hotel. I saw
the people greeting me and I wished that could stop the car and hug every
Yemeni citizen I saw. I was also yearning to visit my family and loved
ones in Yemen.
Q: It has been claimed that your visit to Yemen
was conditional. Is this claim true?
A: This is a lie. How could I even
think of putting conditions on coming to visit my own family and friends?
The way we were invited to participate in the emigrants conference was
just like any other invitation sent to any other emigrant family abroad.
Contrary to what these people claim, I paid over seven thousand dollars
for the tickets and paid one and a half million rials to the participants
in the Naseem's Cup match, Where are the conditions that they talk about?
I love my country Yemen and my companions in it. I even had to cut short
my preparation for my next match to come and participate in the conference
here.
Q: What are your plans?
A: Currently I am preparing for
my next match, which will be against the Filipino boxer who holds an international
title. The match will be held in September, and I will present my next
victory to the Yemeni people. I am also planning to create an Arab union
for boxing to guide the professional Arab boxers, as well as the talented
amateurs, and take care of them so that they can become international champions
in the future.
Q: Why did you leave your previous coach and
manager?
A: My previous manager and I were
not seeing eye to eye on my share of the revenues from matches, and I was
not benefiting very much from each match, but I am benefiting much more
since leaving him.
Regarding my previous coach, he wrote a novel in which he wrote about
my life without my permission, but we still are good friends. Circumstances
caused us to end our partnership.
Q: Has your marriage affected your performance?
A: No, but it has increased my
strength and concentration. As a matter of fact, my marriage is a positive
element and my wife is a great woman, and she has presented me the loveliest
child (Sami). None of this stops me from working to improve my performance
in boxing, in order to prove to every one that I will continue to be the
champion for a very long time
|