Prince Naseem Hamed would have loved to remain in the sport but, after repeatedly experiencing an “obscene amount of pain”, he ultimately decided to retire in 2002.
The mercurial talent had become a world featherweight champion in 1995, dethroning Steve Robinson with an eighth-round stoppage to claim the WBO title.
‘Naz’ then went on to unify his division and make multiple iconic title defences, most notably scoring a fourth-round finish over Kevin Kelley in 1997.
Their thrilling battle saw both men climb off the canvas at Madison Square Garden, where Hamed endeared himself to the American audience with his flamboyance in and out the ring.
Another stunning fourth-round stoppage came in 2000, when the Sheffield man was once again sent to the deck, this time by Augie Sanchez, who is perhaps best known for defeating Floyd Mayweather in the amateurs.
In the end, Hamed emerged victorious but suffered his only professional defeat, against Mexican great Marco Antonio Barrera, in his following outing.
Yet it was not for this reason that he retired at 28 years old, but rather because the sport had taken its toll on his hands.
Speaking with talkSPORT, Hamed explained that such injuries prevented him from having another roll of the dice at world level.
“I would’ve loved to carry on … but I just felt like: what’s the use in trying to do what you [want to] do [when] it won’t work?
“If your hands keep breaking, and every time you hit [someone] you get an obscene amount of pain … I won the world title and defended it 15 times. What more should I want?”
Following his unanimous decision defeat to Barrera, ‘Naz’ convincingly outpointed Manuel Calvo but nonetheless called time on his career in 2002.
