Life inside prison cell # 15 -Moorland Open Prison.

MightyWarrior · Post by **MightyWarrior** » 22 May 2006, 09:28

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EXCLUSIVE: Prince Naseem in prison - News of the world

DADDY DID WRONG

By Chris Tate & Matthew Acton

JAILED boxing champ Prince Naseem Hamed has sensationally confessed: I deserve to be locked up.

The one-time hero of the ring dramatically poured out his soul to his two young sons after being imprisoned for dangerous driving.

The boys, aged six and seven, had been shielded from the scandal and trial over Naseem's high-speed head-on smash that left another driver crippled for life.

But last Saturday, on the first day of his 15-month sentence in Moorland Open Prison, South Yorkshire, the fallen idol finally faced his youngsters. Surrounded by other convicts and visitors Naz looked them in the eye and admitted:

"If you do something wrong in life, this is what happens to you—you come to a place like this. That's why Daddy is here."

As he spoke, the lads did not take their eyes off him for a second.

Later he admitted: "It was a very difficult thing to do. But it's important that they learn a valuable lesson for life from my terrible mistake. The boys understood it was a very serious moment."

Regret

Slowly Naseem's sons will realise the full horrific impact of what happened last May—how their dad also wrecked another family's lives when he overtook on the brow of a hill and slammed his high-powered £320,000 McLaren Mercedes SLR into an oncoming VW Golf.

The innocent driver, decorator Anthony Burgin, 39, was left with virtually every bone in his body broken, brain injuries and one leg two inches shorter than the other. His wife Claire, 36, was sitting beside him and was also hurt.

The former world featherweight champion said: "I'm so very, very sorry and will regret it for ever.

"I wish I'd never got in the car that day. I know I did wrong and must pay the price for what happened. The punishment is right and proper and I won't complain. I just want to get through it quietly.

"And any difficulties we have are nothing compared to what the Burgins are suffering.

"I'd never ask for any special treatment. I don't deserve it and I don't want it. But if the prison ask for help in any sporting project of course I'll gladly give it."

Details of the one-time hero's remorse and soul-searching in jail were exclusively revealed to the News of the World by his wife Eleasha, 32 and seven months pregnant, in her FIRST EVER interview.

And today we also publish the FIRST PICTURES of Naseem inside, taken by a prison source, which show how the cocky Yorkshire lad who held the world crown for five years is now a broken, sorry sight. Our photos (opposite) show Naz at a picnic table with mail from well-wishers, reading best-selling book A Life Inside: A Prisoner's Notebook, by lifer Erwin James, and pounding a treadmill in the gym.

But our insider said the former superfit athlete—who has ballooned from 9 to 12 stone—barely has energy to work out more than 20 minutes.

"He's told people he wants to get back to prime condition in here but he's living in dream land," said the source. "He's puffing and blowing in minutes.

"He started to do a bit of shadow boxing but hardly had the strength to lift his arms and soon packed it in. But there's always someone waiting to have a go at you in here if you've got a reputation as a hard man. Naz will have to keep one eye over his shoulder for the rest of his sentence."

It's all a far cry from the wealthy lifestyle Naz enjoyed outside. He has a TV in his cramped cell—Number 15 on landing three in B-unit—but it's a grainy portable rented from the prison for £1 a week. Alongside are his Koran and Muslim prayer mat.

Fashion-conscious Naz loves designer gear but will have to restrict his spending to £10 a week from the jail's mail-order catalogue. The plumbing was a shock, too. There's a shared toilet and a couple of sinks along the landing.

Wife Eleasha, who knows nothing about our exclusive jail pictures, was last seen publicly sobbing after the court case nine days ago.

Her voice cracking with emotion, she last night told us what sparked those tears. "That split second when the sentence was read out, I felt utterly alone and vulnerable," she said.

"Both our families have always been very supportive but I'm a mother and my first thought was, ‘Now I've got to go and tell the boys.' We'd protected them by not telling them what was going on.

"That's why I cried. Now I'm keeping strong for the boys...and I'm answering all their questions as honestly and openly as I can about why their daddy's not there.

"Of course I want my husband by my side and the boys want their dad —but Naz has got to serve his sentence for what he's done wrong."

The Hameds' comfy ordered home life at their £3 million mansion on the outskirts of Sheffield ended the moment Naseem, 32, was arrested.

"But the main thing on our minds was our worries for the injured man," said Eleasha. "That's all anyone could think about.

"Although Naseem desperately wanted to visit Mr Burgin in hospital and personally say sorry he was told, for legal reasons, he wasn't to have any contact.

"But he pleaded guilty in the first statement he ever made and said in that how deeply sorry he was.

"He was never going to lie and he didn't want to cause any more upset for the Burgin family. My heart goes out to them and I feel so sorry for them.

"There's not a day goes by when we don't think about them."

Eleasha now faces giving birth without Naseem at her bedside.

"He was present at the birth of both our boys," she said. "And I'm so sad he won't be there for this one.

Damage

"I miss him terribly already and he's obviously missing us. He's a great dad and dotes on our sons. They're the real apples of his eye.

"They have a normal life and aren't spoilt. We try to make everything as ordinary as possible."

But Eleasha insisted they would never play on Naseem's celebrity status to win extra privileges.

"We're not getting any special access to him," she added. "I've had the one visit with the boys and one phone call from him.

"Naseem keeps a lot of his emotions deep inside. And now he's got a lot of time to think about the damage he's done.

"But as a Muslim his religion is also a great strength to him."

Since quitting the ring in 2001, Naseem, 32, has thrown his energies into building a property empire giving him a personal wealth of around £25 million. But Eleasha said his love of boxing was as strong as ever.

"He adores the sport—it's still the love of his life and he studies it all the time," she added.

"He never publicly retired and although nothing's been discussed about going back to boxing it's still deep in him, so who knows.

"I'm counting the days until we're together again, but I want people to know that the reason I've chosen to speak openly is to say how sorry we are and leave no one in any doubt of our real regret.

"I've never spoken to the press until today. We've not sought publicity before and I'm NOT seeking sympathy now. It's just important that people know how truly sorry Naseem is for the tragedy that's happened."

The Hamed family has received no payment for this interview.

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/story_p ... ews1.shtml

jamesmcdonnell · Post by **jamesmcdonnell** » 22 May 2006, 09:33

Fair play to Naz, he's taking it on the chin as it were. Despite all the brashness, he took defeat against Barrera well, and seems to be accepting responsibility for his actions rather than railing against the "injustice" of the situation.

May come out of this a better, and possibly slimmer man.

pasty_spud · Post by **pasty_spud** » 22 May 2006, 10:05

i'd stay on that treadmill if i was him

nickd · Post by **nickd** » 22 May 2006, 10:07

Fair enough, I thought Hamed was going to appeal but seems he's taking it like a man. Lets hope this experience humbles him a little, something he could well do with you would think.

E · Post by E » 22 May 2006, 10:17

nickd wrote:Fair enough, I thought Hamed was going to appeal but seems he's taking it like a man. Lets hope this experience humbles him a little, something he could well do with you would think.

OK - but was Hamed ordered by the judge to pay a fine?

He can afford it, and the victim should be stongly compensated considering his life is in tatters.

nickd · Post by **nickd** » 22 May 2006, 10:18

E wrote:
nickd wrote:Fair enough, I thought Hamed was going to appeal but seems he's taking it like a man. Lets hope this experience humbles him a little, something he could well do with you would think.
OK - but was Hamed ordered by the judge to pay a fine?

He can afford it, and the victim should be stongly compensated considering his life is in tatters.

No I dont think so but there was something in the papers saying the victim was making a civil claim, Hamed will no doubt end up paying him a substantial amount if that happens.

E · Post by E » 22 May 2006, 10:38

One more thing - I read in the Sunday Mirror that Hamed had failed a Cannabis test.

Any more on that?