Prince Naseem Hamed landed on his feet when he somersaulted into the ring. It wasn’t long after the bell rang Friday night that he found himself on his backside.
And much to the delight of a Madison Square Garden crowd of 11,954, the British-born Arab found himself in a real fight against Kevin Kelley.
Each of the left-handers was knocked down three times before Hamed won by knockout at 2 minutes 27 seconds of the fourth round and retained the WBO featherweight championship.
Hamed, who made a 10-minute entrance to loud music, spotlights and a shower of confetti, was cocky to the end.
“I proved myself,” said Hamed. “I’m 29-0 (with 27 knockouts) and still champion of the world. I told him he’s the best I’ve faced and I was the best he’s faced and he agreed.”
In another title match, Kennedy McKinney knocked down Junior Jones and stopped him in the fourth round to win the WBO super bantamweight championship.
