NASEEM’S DIFFICULT WIN [Archives:1999/15/Sports]
April 12 1999
THE FACTS:
The contenders were the current champion, Nasseem Hamed, a British national of Yemeni origin, and Paul Ingle, the challenger and champion of Europe and the Commonwealth.
At the end of the match, round 11, the Prince was able to knock-out his challenger. But it was a long and hard fight.
For the first time, Prince Nasseem was exposed to direct hits, and there were occasions when there was a feeling among his fans that he could lose the match. “Many of us were gripped as the challenger put up a good fight, and badly hurt the Prince on several occasions,” said the sports editor of Al-Thawrah newspaper, Mr. Khaled Al-Sowdy, and a passionate fan of the Prince.
This fight reminded me of the match between Muhammad Ali and his challenger Joe Fraser in the world heavyweight boxing championship, some decades ago.
In the first round, Nasseem started by bouncing around feeling out his opponent. He also kept his distance while trying for openings. But it was clear that Paul was ready.
In the next three rounds, the Prince continued to attack, but was not able to break-through. In fact, Ingle fought back ferociously, and for the first time, it was clear that this was an even fight.
In round five, NAZ tried to change his tactics and style. Instead of attacking the face, which was protected, he started attacking the sides, hitting the ribs. At this stage, Paul was satisfied to cover himself and tire out the champion.
In the sixth round, Ingle changed his defence tactics and began to attack. This allowed the Prince managed a direct hit, sending his opponent to the floor.
The seventh round witnessed a lot of activity. Ingle was attacking from all sides. Nasseem was barely defending himself from the on-slaught.
The fight between the two boxers was getting more fierce in the 8th round, though they were more careful. But, Paul Ingle obviously had the upper hand.
In the 9th round, in front of the eyes of his loyal fans who see him as an unbeatable boxer, Nasseem was staggering as his opponent, Paul Ingle, laid on him repeat attacks. The Prince was bleeding from his nose, and many parts of his body were subjected to severe punishment. The bell saved the day, at the end of the 9th round.
In the 10th round, though the Prince tried to launch an attack, there was a quick counter-attack with some hits reaching the face of Nasseem. Ingle was almost in full control of the ring. Following one attack, the Prince fell to the ground, forcing the referee to stop the game as the nose-bleeding continued.
Again the bell saved the day.
The 11th round saw dramatic developments. Ingle, trying to end the match went on his attacks pushing the Prince to a corner. In his push, he forget to protect himself adequately, thus giving the Prince a golden chance to land a deadly blow. Long experience prevailed over sheer power. Prince Nasseem landed a hook hitting the jaw of Paul Ingle, and throwing him to the floor.
It was a powerful knock-out.
That gives Nasseem his 32nd win.
THE ANALYSIS:
Paul Ingle is probably the strongest challenger to face the Prince. It was also clear that he had studied the tactics of Nasseem and prepared for them. That explains the Prince’s ineffective efforts in the early rounds of the match. That also explains why the champ re-directed his attacks to the sides rather the face. In two occasions, two direct rib hits affected the breathing of his opponents.
But the Ingle trainer quickly detected the new tactic and warned his fighter to protect his sides.
Nasseem has to understand that as his star rises, many contenders and challengers like Manuel Medina and Juan Manuel and others will study his tactics and prepare themselves accordingly. He has to keep improving his style and approaches and constantly upgrade them.
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