Prince Naseem Hamed's brother Ali believes his considerable weight gain is due to stress over a £12million family feud.
The former featherweight champion would have to tip the scales at just nine stone during his fighting heyday, but after retiring at the age of just 28 he has cut a very different figure. He has stayed out of the public eye in recent years, but when he was spotted out and about near his new Windsor home he was much heavier than past sightings.
And his brother Ali, a 44-year-old personal trainer in Sheffield, believes that the boxer has been "eating and eating" due to guilt over a bitter legal battle with his family. "His weight is a result of the trauma and stress," Ali told The Sun. "He’s turned in on himself and has just eaten and eaten."
During his boxing prime, Hamed is believed to have given his parents an unknown sum to invest in property, which has appreciated to being worth around £12million. He believes that it was an investment, and as such he is entitled to the money after his mum's passing two years ago.
But his eight siblings argue that it was a gift, and as such it should be split. The family haven't spoken outside of communication since lawyers after a brutal falling out, with his Dubai-based brother Riath leading the charge against him.
Their battle over the nine-figure fortune is expected to play out in a Dubai courtroom, with Ali declaring that his brother has become "greedy" in recent years. “He’s just being greedy," Ali added. "The more you eat in life, the more hungry you are.”
The Sheffield-based personal trainer believes that his brother also spent his money too frivolously, adding: “So much of his wealth was p***ed up a wall, including on buying the biggest mango farm in Yemen that is now all dead and dishevelled."
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Hamed has remained quiet publicly on the feud, but disputes that he has become some sort of recluse, insisting that he has never been happier and that he is often recognised in public. "I’m the happiest I’ve ever been," he told the Daily Mail last month. "I’ve never been in a better place."
His son Aadam has been working towards a boxing career of his own, aiming to replicate the successes of famous fighting sons such as Chris Eubank Jr, Campbell Hatton and Conor Benn in recent years. The pair were spotted training together back in February, with the 22-year-old often sharing clips on social media.
With the likes of Floyd Mayweather and Ricky Hatton making ring returns for lucrative exhibition bouts, Hamed even floated the idea of a boxing comeback when meeting with YouTube star Slim Albaher in Dubai last year. The social media star, who has gone 3-0 as a boxer, claimed that he was told by the boxing legend that he wanted to come out of retirement after watching him fight.
