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Pastimes : Boxing: The Sweet Science -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LPS5 who wrote (1260)	11/17/2000 7:38:51 PM
From: LPS5	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10489

Hamed books Barrera 'to prove myself by boxing' against best By Dan Rafael, USA TODAY One of the mega fights boxing fans have been clamoring for is on. Prince Naseem Hamed meets Marco Antonio Barrera on TVKO pay-per-view March 3. Although neither holds a 126-pound title, the winner will be recognized as the world's top featherweight. Hamed (No. 1 USA TODAY, 35-0) recently relinquished his belt to avoid the boxing politics that were keeping a bout with Barrera (No. 2, 51-3) from being made. "I'm really glad to have the fight," Hamed said from England. "I requested the fight, and I gave up the belt specifically to get that fight. I was a champion reigning for five years, but I gave it up just to prove myself by boxing the best." Riath Hamed, brother and manager of the fighter, will be in the USA next week to negotiate a site for the bout, which is expected to land in Las Vegas or Los Angeles. "It will be a very good fight, and it's a fight everyone has been demanding," Riath Hamed said. The fight will only happen if Barrera wins a Dec. 1 HBO bout vs. Jesus Salud. Original foe Jorge Monsalvo fell out for unspecified reasons. "In my mind the fight is set as long as Barrera does not lose," Riath Hamed said. "The most important thing is we have all agreed on the structure of the deal. But I won't be totally comfortable until their signature is on paper." The Prince is antsy about Barrera taking an interim fight. "I'm not real happy about it because if he loses it will be a real downer," Hamed said. "I don't know why he's picking up chump change before fighting me for big money." Hamed plans to attend the fight in Las Vegas, but he's leery because of his last experience watching Barrera. "Last time I watched him live, I saw him get knocked out," Hamed said of Barrera's stunning 1996 loss to Junior Jones. "I don't want to see that again." One detail that needs to be settled is whether the fight will be 10 rounds or 12. It probably will be 12, the championship distance Hamed prefers. HBO's Kery Davis, who helped make the deal, is glad Hamed is finally taking on the top fighters. "I think Naseem realized after the (Augie) Sanchez fight (in August) that it was time for him to step up and fight the best," Davis said. "We had very extensive discussions, and he made it clear to me that this doesn't stop with the Barrera fight. He wants the Erik Morales fight right after this. "He's not doing this fight only for the money. We had a long conversation about why athletes do fights and at a certain level, it's past money. "Right now, Naseem wants to prove to everyone that not only is he the best featherweight in the world but that he has no fear of anybody. That's what he said to me. He told his brother make the fight, make it happen and that's how it got made." Hamed added, "I'm trying to prove myself, make my career. The big fights defined the careers of Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, Marvin Hagler, and I want to prove myself like that. I'm going to be proving a point to the doubters out there. But even if I fight King Kong and knock him out, people won't be satisfied."