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00:00:00...of the Prince's game for which you either love him or you hate him.
00:00:10This will be the thrilling and the most dramatic fight in the history of all the fights.
00:00:17Muhammad Ali was boxing's original and undisputed king of self-promotion.
00:00:22The greatest was the messenger for more attention and excitement in the sport than anyone before or since.
00:00:28His inspirations came from another ring lord, seen in the earliest days of television.
00:00:33I am the greatest!
00:00:35Everything Muhammad had done inside the ring and outside the ring captured the attention.
00:00:40But his actual self-promotion, obviously what I'm convinced came from the 40's wrestling icon, Gorgeous George.
00:00:46The coach of the coach, Gorgeous George!
00:00:50Gorgeous George was a master of style over substance en route to becoming pro-wrestling's first star.
00:00:55Ali picked up on his outrageous predictions and flamboyant ring manner to help change boxing.
00:01:01And now, three decades later, it's Prince Nassim Hamed imitating his idol, Ali.
00:01:07I'm never ever gonna lose, blatantly. I ain't losing nothing.
00:01:12Never talk about who's gonna stop me or ain't nobody gonna stop me.
00:01:16He brought the sparkle back in them days.
00:01:18It takes more than just a fighter to be an exception, to be an attraction, to make people switch on, to make people turn up to a fight.
00:01:26What Nassim does is that he brings an element of surprise and predictability to the whole boxing game, as well as, you know, show business.
00:01:34As early as the late 1980's, British fighters began turning up the razzmatazz, boosting low TV ratings with spectacular ring entrances.
00:01:42Chris Eubanks was the first of many.
00:01:44Straight out of a circus, isn't he?
00:01:46I take nothing away from any fighters in Britain at all that have done certain entrances.
00:01:52Even though there's motorbikes, there's cranes, there's this and that.
00:01:57When you look back on my entrances, I don't think you can compare.
00:02:01One of Hamed's incomparable stunts is his trademark ring flip, a move longtime friend Ryan Rhodes taught to him.
00:02:09Ryan Rhodes was the founder of that ring entrance, but the first one to do it in a fight, and the only one to do it in a fight, is myself.
00:02:20You look in it.
00:02:21Whatever it takes to get people in the tent, George.
00:02:25That's right.
00:02:26But for this world champion of hype, his bravura walkouts are about much more than just selling tickets.
00:02:33It takes big kahunas to walk all the way down to that ring, dancing to your music.
00:02:39The ultimate boxing showman.
00:02:42So, for the crowd to scream and shout and dance, that just makes me more, it lifts me more higher than anything.
00:02:50It gives me such a buzz. It makes me feel top of the world.
00:02:55His over-the-top-of-the-world entrances borrow from some humbler origins across the Atlantic.
00:03:00And now, in return, American prize fighters are responding to NASA's stepped-up challenge.
00:03:07The Prince has loosened everybody up a little.
00:03:09Maybe Angel will invest in some confetti and a ramp.
00:03:13If you're going to ask me to compare it to the Prince, it's a work in progress.
00:03:17Since his earliest televised ring walk in 1995, the Prince followed British networks in mutual planning and decision-making.
00:03:25Now, he promises a change.
00:03:28We're now completely different.
00:03:31I'm making the decisions. I'm saying, this is going to happen, that is going to happen.
00:03:37I want this, I want that.
00:03:40What do you think of the colour now?
00:03:42And so, what's next?
00:03:44With Nassim, you never know. I mean, you could have him coming on a magic carpet soon.
00:03:48Maybe the greatest showman as a boxer since Muhammad Ali.
00:03:51What we do know is that Prince Nassim Hamed is determined to be the prince of self-promotion,
00:03:55borrowing from the colourful past and pushing showmanship to its limits.
00:04:00Walking the walk as entertainer and as champion.
00:04:06Back live in Atlantic City where both fighters are still in their dressing rooms,
00:04:10but preparing to walk out in a matter of minutes.
00:04:12Prince Nassim Hamed on the left.
00:04:14Wayne McCullough, the pocket rocket, on the right.
00:04:17Meeting tonight at 126 pounds.
00:04:20Four pounds up from McCullough's previous weight class of 122.
00:04:24So the feature piece asks the question, with regard to the prince's theatrics, what's next?
00:04:30Well, Larry Merchant, in further emulation of Muhammad Ali,
00:04:33he not only now predicts the round in which he will knock his opponent out,
00:04:37but predicts the exact minute and second at which he will do so.
00:04:42Is there a method in this particular madness?
00:04:44Well, there must be because he's getting two and a half million bucks tonight.
00:04:49A record for a featherweight.
00:04:51He is a phenomenon.
00:04:52He can get away with stuff that other fighters can't get away with.
00:04:58But this has been a kind of a fright week before fright night
00:05:04on this fighting occasion for him.
00:05:07The British media has been beating him up for what it considers his boorish behavior.
00:05:12He's been feuding with his promoter,
00:05:14who he believes promised him a lot more money even than that record purse,
00:05:18and he's not getting it.
00:05:20And, of course, then there's his eccentric, long-time trainer, Brian Engle,
00:05:25who wrote a book, and in the book he said that his fighter was arrogant,
00:05:30money-crazed, and didn't train very well.
00:05:33And he's been going around with a bullhorn, this trainer,
00:05:36announcing to the world, in Atlantic City anyway,
00:05:39that this is going to be a one-round knockout.
00:05:41Ever hear of a trainer calling a one-round knockout for his fighter?
00:05:44Not since before my third marriage, but that's the only time.
00:05:47So, in any event, he's made the prince look modest by comparison,
00:05:52because he says this fight will end in exactly 2 minutes and 28 seconds of the third round.
00:05:59You can say anything and do anything.
00:06:01When you can punch, you get away with anything.
00:06:04We'll keep a clock on the 2.28 part.
00:06:06Meanwhile, the man he's getting ready to fight, of course,
00:06:09ridicules all of this and says that it is nonsense.
00:06:13And, George Foreman, you and Wayne McCullough go back away.
00:06:15You saw him in 1992 in Barcelona when he fought his way
00:06:19to a silver medal in the Olympics, fighting with a broken cheekbone.
00:06:23What was it that you saw in him then that is still a part of his game now?
00:06:26I saw the love of the motherland.
00:06:28I could hear, it makes you feel like you were from Ireland that night.
00:06:32Everybody that evening, everyone wanted him to win for Ireland.
00:06:36Now, if he can recapture just a little bit of enthusiasm
00:06:39and have that something to fight for, we can have a good night tonight.
00:06:42Boy, you could have been there. It was wonderful.
00:06:46Well, and McCullough, to the promoter's chagrin,
00:06:49suggests that this fight should have taken place in Belfast or in London,
00:06:54which is an interesting point when you consider that he himself
00:06:57has chosen to live in Las Vegas.
00:07:00There are rumblings now which indicate that maybe McCullough
00:07:03will ultimately go back to the motherland.
00:07:05But for the time being, he is a man constantly in transition,
00:07:09as you're about to learn right now.
00:07:13Fighters are men who gamble their futures every time they step into the ring.
00:07:19Men who voluntarily risk their well-being in the pursuit of glory.
00:07:23Former Bantamweight champion Wayne McCullough
00:07:25knows a little more about the will of the gambler than most fighters.
00:07:29Growing up in his hometown of Belfast was a life lesson in long odds.
00:07:35It's just everyday life. Somebody gets killed.
00:07:37Somebody's heart of bone goes off every few months.
00:07:39Or the bomb goes off every few months.
00:07:42If you hear a bomb going off, you just say there's another bomb.
00:07:45I've seen a bomb in our neighborhood.
00:07:47It smashed all the windows in everybody's home.
00:07:50And I've seen people being shot and stuff.
00:07:53It's just everyday life in Belfast.
00:07:56Most people were unemployed. There was no work over there at all.
00:07:59So you just had no job. You were just living off the government.
00:08:03Once you get a job in Belfast, you've got to hold on to it,
00:08:05because there's no more.
00:08:07Since 1968, over 3,500 people have died.
00:08:12Caught in the middle of a violent political and religious conflict
00:08:15which centers around differences between Protestants,
00:08:18largely British Loyalists, and Catholics
00:08:21who want Northern Ireland to rejoin the rest of the country,
00:08:24free of British rule.
00:08:26For Wayne McCullough, fighting became a way of life.
00:08:29Just kept me off the streets.
00:08:31I say I boxed all my childhood.
00:08:34I was about 15 or 16.
00:08:35But I knew I had the ability to go to the Olympics
00:08:38and get a medal there and then become a professional fighter.
00:08:42And after the Commonwealth Gold Medal,
00:08:44that's when I met my wife, Cheryl.
00:08:46So it turned out great.
00:08:48I'd seen him on TV and I thought he was cute.
00:08:50So I wrote him a letter and told him that I wanted to be his number one fan.
00:08:54And he wrote me a letter back and said that he'd like to meet me sometime.
00:08:58She came to one of my fights in Belfast.
00:09:00She came to meet me for a photograph and an autograph.
00:09:03And when she was walking away, I asked for her telephone number.
00:09:06When I seen him on TV, I thought he was cute.
00:09:08But in reality, it was so much better, a hundred times better.
00:09:12Yeah, I loved him from the first minute.
00:09:14I loved her from the start.
00:09:15And she's the best thing that happened to me, really.
00:09:17We got married three years later.
00:09:19So it was like a fairy tale.
00:09:22The fairy tale led eventually to a 1992 Olympic silver medal.
00:09:27Upon turning professional, Wayne and Cheryl
00:09:29left the gamble of life in Belfast behind
00:09:31for an entirely different kind of wager in Las Vegas,
00:09:34where Wayne could best pursue his boxing dreams.
00:09:37And while his career thrived,
00:09:39under the tutelage of his ex-trainer, the legendary Eddie Futch,
00:09:42McCullough's heart ached for the more familiar streets of Belfast.
00:09:46I felt homesick every single week.
00:09:49I lived in an apartment and I was almost crying every week.
00:09:52And Cheryl was strong.
00:09:54She liked it here and she got homesick too, but didn't show it.
00:09:58You know, Sundays was the day when he didn't go to the gym.
00:10:01Most Sundays were pretty much down days for him.
00:10:05I don't know what he missed, just being at home.
00:10:09I think he just felt like Vegas wasn't home to him.
00:10:12He still misses home.
00:10:14There's nothing really back there that he'd want to go back for.
00:10:17Without her, I wouldn't have made it.
00:10:19She kept me here and kept me strong.
00:10:21Over five years later,
00:10:23Vegas feels a lot more like home to Wayne and Cheryl McCullough,
00:10:26due in large part to the arrival of their daughter, Winona,
00:10:29seven months ago.
00:10:31She's just fantastic.
00:10:33She's with us every day as well, 24 hours a day.
00:10:36Not a lot of parents can do that, but she comes to the gym.
00:10:40If I could tape her to my back, I could take her running with me.
00:10:44It's amazing that now she's here.
00:10:47How could you ever do it without her?
00:10:50She's a gift from God.
00:10:52He's great with her, loves her to death.
00:10:54We're a team inside boxing and out of boxing we're a team.
00:10:59Winona arriving has just brought it to a full circle.
00:11:04So far, Wayne and Cheryl's Las Vegas gamble seems to be paying off big.
00:11:09And although a large underdog tonight against Nassim Hamed,
00:11:12he's already beaten much bigger odds just getting here.
00:11:18Tale of the tape now for Prince Nassim Hamed and Wayne McCullough.
00:11:22Four-year age difference in favor of the young prince.
00:11:26Four-inch height advantage for McCullough,
00:11:29but Hamed uses his small stature to his advantage
00:11:32by bobbing up at odd angles and throwing from unbelievable angles.
00:11:37Hamed would not allow us to weigh him in his dressing room tonight.
00:11:41We know that Wayne McCullough gained eight pounds since yesterday's weigh-in,
00:11:45and there's a three-inch reach advantage for McCullough,
00:11:47who also, Larry Merchant, will throw, according to his form,
00:11:51a lot more punches than the prince.
00:11:54Of course, the question is whether he is going to be able
00:11:57to find the prince to land those punches.
00:12:00These numbers come from recent fights against top opponents,
00:12:04Hamed against Lafredo Vasquez,
00:12:09McCullough against Daniel Zaragoza.
00:12:11You can see McCullough is used to throwing twice as many punches
00:12:15and twice as many power punches,
00:12:18but his power punches are perhaps half as powerful as Hamed's.
00:12:23Rules of the bout with our unofficial ringside scorer,
00:12:26Prince Harold Lederman.
00:12:28Once again, Jim, the Prince Naseem Hamed-Wayne McCullough fight
00:12:32is scheduled for 12 rounds using those unified rules
00:12:35for all world championship fights.
00:12:37There is no standing eight count, no three knockdown rule.
00:12:40Only the referee can stop the fight,
00:12:42and you cannot be saved by the bell in any round,
00:12:45including the 12th and final round. Jim.
00:12:49All right. Well, there were questions early in the week.
00:12:54But now both fighters are here.
00:12:57McCullough enters to the strains of his countryman U2.
00:13:06Will he be able to move in mysterious ways tonight?
00:13:11It's just surprised me, Jim, how the conventional wisdom seems to be
00:13:18that because of his aggressive style,
00:13:21he's just going to walk into a Prince punch and fall apart.
00:13:27Aside from the story that George told earlier
00:13:30about his fractured cheekbone when he fought in the Olympics,
00:13:33when he fought Zaragoza,
00:13:36it turned out he had a fractured jaw early in the fight.
00:13:41He's still throwing 100 punches around at the end of the fight.
00:13:45This is not a guy who can't take a punch.
00:13:52He threw 262 punches
00:13:56in the last two rounds of his loss to Zaragoza,
00:14:00a fight he firmly believes to this day that he won.
00:14:03But then, because of battles with his promoter,
00:14:06he went more than 15 months without fighting.
00:14:09He says he was in the gym the whole time.
00:14:14He's fought twice since then to get himself into position
00:14:17for this shot against the Prince.
00:14:1822 wins, the one loss to the then 39-year-old Zaragoza.
00:14:2314 knockouts. McCullough is not a knockout puncher.
00:14:26He knocks you out after he has rained blows on you
00:14:30round after round, dozens at a time.
00:14:35And some of the Irish contingents in the crowd,
00:14:38faces painted green or partially green.
00:14:41When the Prince tried to put him down by saying,
00:14:44you lost to a 37-year-old man,
00:14:48McCullough calmly looked at him and said, no, 39.
00:14:51He definitely has a sense of humor.
00:14:55Delightful young man when you sit down and chat with him.
00:14:58As for that matter is the Prince.
00:15:00Now, we said there were questions.
00:15:02Nassim had a visa problem when he tried to leave England Friday.
00:15:06Ultimately arrived here in the United States this past Tuesday,
00:15:10later than he had expected to arrive.
00:15:13Some who have seen him say he looks soft around the belly.
00:15:16The people in his camp say he always looks that way.
00:15:19One thing is for sure.
00:15:21The entrance will be unforgettable.
00:15:25And very soft around the belly.
00:15:47Wee!
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00:19:18Oh, boy.
00:19:29Log on to www.hbo.com
00:19:32slash boxing
00:19:34to chat, score each round of tonight's action,
00:19:37and to view the post-fight press conference.
00:19:39You'll also have a chance to predict the winner
00:19:41of the November 21 Oscar de la Hoya
00:19:43Ike Torres championship fight
00:19:44and get a preview on TVKO.
00:19:48www.hbo.com slash boxing.
00:19:54And now let's take a look
00:19:56at the overall ring record
00:19:58for Prince Nassim Hamed.
00:20:0030 wins, 28 knockouts,
00:20:0211 and 0, 11 KOs in championship fights.
00:20:05That is the real excitement.
00:20:08Now let's go to ring announcer Michael Buffer
00:20:11for his Halloween night presentation.
00:20:14Ladies and gentlemen,
00:20:16by way of Valley's Park Place, Atlantic City,
00:20:19a Hilton Casino Resort,
00:20:21Cedric Kushner Promotions
00:20:23with Mr. Frank Warren
00:20:25in association with America Presents
00:20:27are proud to bring you
00:20:29the main event of the evening,
00:20:3212 rounds of boxing
00:20:34for the WBO featherweight championship
00:20:38of the world.
00:20:40Sponsored by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board,
00:20:43Boxing Commissioner Larry Hazard Sr.,
00:20:46Chairman Jerry Gormley,
00:20:48Board Members Gary Shaw and Steven Katz,
00:20:51Deputy Commissioner John Greco,
00:20:54Timekeeper at the Bell, Roosevelt Gilbert,
00:20:57Counting for the knockdown seconds,
00:20:59Alternate Referee Tony Orlando,
00:21:01Positions at ringside,
00:21:03Dr. Dominic Coletta Jr.,
00:21:05Dr. Charles Wilson,
00:21:07Dr. Richard Snipper,
00:21:09and Dr. Howard Taylor.
00:21:11This belt is also sanctioned
00:21:13by the Boxing Organization President,
00:21:15Francisco Barcasel,
00:21:17WBO Supervisor at ringside,
00:21:20former World Champion Boxing Hall of Famer,
00:21:23Jose Torres.
00:21:25The three judges scoring this belt
00:21:27on a 10-point must system
00:21:29will be John Stewart,
00:21:31Clark Sammartino,
00:21:33and Nelson Vasquez.
00:21:35And when the bell rings,
00:21:37your referee in charge of the action working
00:21:39in his 110th world title belt,
00:21:41Joe Cortez.
00:21:44And now, ladies and gentlemen,
00:21:46for the thousands in attendance,
00:21:49and the millions watching around the world,
00:21:53let's get ready to rumble!
00:22:07Fighting out of the blue corner,
00:22:10wearing silver,
00:22:12and weighing in at 124 pounds,
00:22:15his professional record,
00:22:17an outstanding 22 victories
00:22:19in 23 bouts,
00:22:21including 14 knockouts
00:22:23with only one loss in his career,
00:22:26and a world title belt.
00:22:28This evening,
00:22:30he is looking for title belt number two.
00:22:33Ladies and gentlemen,
00:22:35from Belfast, Ireland,
00:22:37here is the challenger,
00:22:38former Madame Raid,
00:22:40champion of the world,
00:22:42the pocket rocket,
00:22:44Wayne McCollum!
00:22:57And across the ring,
00:22:59fighting out of the red corner,
00:23:01wearing leopard with Adidas trim,
00:23:03and weighing 125 pounds,
00:23:06he brings the perfect professional record
00:23:08to the ring, consisting of 30 victories
00:23:10in 30 bouts,
00:23:12including 28 knockouts,
00:23:1418 KOs in three rounds or less.
00:23:18Tonight, he enters the ring
00:23:20looking to, once again,
00:23:22emerge victorious,
00:23:24and demonstrate to all
00:23:26that he is among the best pound for pound
00:23:28in the world today.
00:23:31Ladies and gentlemen,
00:23:33from the steel city of Sheffield, England,
00:23:35presenting the reigning
00:23:37and defending undefeated
00:23:40W.O.V.O. featherweight
00:23:43champion of the world,
00:23:45Prince Nassim Khamenei!
00:23:52Prince Nassim.
00:24:12All right, gentlemen.
00:24:14We went over the rules in the dressing room.
00:24:17I expect a good, clean fight.
00:24:19Obeying my commands at all times.
00:24:21Do you understand how to challenge a champion?
00:24:23I do.
00:24:24Okay, give him a clean fight.
00:24:25Shake hands. Touch him up.
00:24:26Good luck. God bless.
00:24:27The prince has knocked out his last 18 opponents.
00:24:32McCullough's task is to get him into a long, grueling fight.
00:24:39Can he do it?
00:24:41Wayne McCullough has never been knocked out.
00:24:45Prince Naseem Ahmed says McCullough goes at 228 at the third.
00:24:50His trainer Brendan Engle said no, he'll go on an uppercut in round one.
00:24:54And already Naseem has landed an uppercut.
00:24:57Now I want you to watch Joe Cortez.
00:25:00I call him Cindy's daddy.
00:25:02Born on Halloween, you know.
00:25:04You watch a referee. Stays out of the picture.
00:25:07Let the fighters do the work.
00:25:09And gets his paycheck afterwards.
00:25:11Good referee.
00:25:13Go Joe Cortez.
00:25:15Our best to Cindy's.
00:25:17Happy birthday.
00:25:18All right, from HBO and all of us.
00:25:25The prince's total absence of boxing structure.
00:25:29Again, evident as he switches from a southpaw stance
00:25:32now to a conventional stance
00:25:34and throws his wild punches at odd angles.
00:25:37Now with the prince, keeps his hands down low.
00:25:40Mohammed would do that.
00:25:41You've got to watch him for his hands.
00:25:44If you see where they're coming from, you can really get hurt.
00:25:48So far McCullough can't reach him to hit him.
00:25:54McCullough the kind of guy who when he's in rhythm
00:25:56can throw 90, 100 punches around, land 50 or 60 of them.
00:26:01No target there for that kind of activity now.
00:26:06Get him up, get him up, get him up, get him up, get him up.
00:26:12See the prince, look at his ankles there.
00:26:14This guy's got some of the strongest calves
00:26:16you'll see in that weight division.
00:26:18That's where he's getting that power from.
00:26:20And Nassim mugging for the crowd.
00:26:23McCullough has to try to ignore all that.
00:26:25But how difficult is it, George,
00:26:27for an opponent to ignore the wild theatrics,
00:26:30the obvious ploys intended just to make you mad.
00:26:34This may be the time to get mad and just wade in there.
00:26:38Don't try to be orthodox at this point.
00:26:40Do something wild.
00:26:43In the long run, it's still fighting, you see.
00:26:46Fight. Stop trying to box.
00:26:50Nass taking his time but dominating the round so far
00:26:54with a series of hard shots
00:26:56and laughing as McCullough pauses and is unable to find him.
00:27:00And finally, Wayne McCullough lands
00:27:02a solid right-hand shot inside.
00:27:15You can see why so many boxing purists
00:27:18are dying for the Yemeni-born Englishman
00:27:20to get his comeuppance.
00:27:25The thing about the prince, he knows he has power.
00:27:31Hard left hand landed for Nassim
00:27:34after he stuck the right hand up the middle of McCullough's guard.
00:27:40McCullough's face already red
00:27:42from some of the blows he has absorbed.
00:27:45Solid punches in round one by Prince Nassim Hamed.
00:27:48One good right hand by McCullough.
00:27:50But other than that, he was flailing in air much of the time.
00:27:54Nice, Wayne. Nice.
00:27:56No, but don't get careless with him.
00:27:58Don't get careless with him.
00:28:00No, he's all right.
00:28:04Deep breathe. Deep breathe.
00:28:07Just off your stiff jab like you're doing with Benigno.
00:28:10And then hit him with your bar.
00:28:13Just a little bit. Just a little bit.
00:28:15Bing, bing, bing.
00:28:17You can't open up your hand.
00:28:20I didn't want you to go to him in the first few rounds,
00:28:23but it's happening.
00:28:27Okay, here's the sum of McCullough's round.
00:28:31That one punch.
00:28:41CompuBox numbers in round number one.
00:28:44Prince Nassim, 15 out of 36, 42%.
00:28:47Those numbers are fairly commonplace for him.
00:28:51Not unusual. That's about what he's trying to accomplish in each round.
00:28:55McCullough, 6 out of 54.
00:28:58Way down from his normal numbers
00:29:01as he tries to locate the elusive Prince.
00:29:05The thing about Prince, he gets too comfortable
00:29:07stalking him in one position,
00:29:09so he'll just change on you.
00:29:11Prince backhanding a jab up the pipe against McCullough.
00:29:15Lighting out of the southpaw stance right now.
00:29:17He'll switch to conventional.
00:29:20McCullough starts to try to find the Prince's body
00:29:23and lands a raking left on the Prince's right cheekbone.
00:29:30Two good body shots by McCullough as the Prince turned his back.
00:29:38Now McCullough starting to get things a little more his own way.
00:29:46Count began, but it's ruled a slip by Joe Cortez,
00:29:50who tells Ahmed not to hold the pocket rocket behind his head.
00:30:16McCullough working effectively to the body
00:30:18on two or three occasions here in round two.
00:30:21Prince Nassim occasionally able to counter up top,
00:30:24but this has been a much better round for the Irishman
00:30:26than was the first.
00:30:28And the Prince is having a field day
00:30:30because McCullough stays back and watching.
00:30:33You just can't stand back and watch him.
00:30:35If you're not doing anything, just run into him.
00:30:40Now that's a good job, McCullough.
00:30:44If you're not throwing punches, get out of his range at least.
00:30:48He's got a lot of power.
00:30:54Nassim switches to a conventional stance.
00:30:59Rotates his hands, looking for an angle
00:31:02from which to throw one of those wild shots.
00:31:12Right and a left, both landed for Nass.
00:31:15And another left.
00:31:19Right hand up the pipe by Nass.
00:31:21And he busts him with an uppercut.
00:31:24McCullough working to try to find opportunities,
00:31:27but taking a lot of leather coming in.
00:31:31That Prince, he bends those short, stocky calves.
00:31:35He's got power when he gets low.
00:31:38Well, his legs are just extraordinarily strong.
00:31:41Yeah, but once you see him make that bend,
00:31:43McCullough best get out of the way.
00:31:49Thank you, thank you.
00:31:51Deep breath, deep breath.
00:31:53Now listen to me.
00:31:55You're giving him a little bit too much room to work.
00:31:58You've got to work off a stiff jab.
00:32:00Work off a stiff jab.
00:32:02Then you catch him with your arms.
00:32:04Just put your hands down.
00:32:06Just relax yourself.
00:32:08You're dropping your hands in distance.
00:32:10Don't drop your hands in distance.
00:32:12Just jab him.
00:32:14Just stop jabbing him.
00:32:16I'm not going to do him a vidilio
00:32:18because he's throwing in with his hands.
00:32:20Here we go.
00:32:22I don't want to be reaching.
00:32:24When I miss him, step back and regroup yourself.
00:32:27Okay?
00:32:29A lot of face, a lot of jab, a lot of face.
00:32:31Put your foot in the right place.
00:32:36Prince, quicker, more elusive, stronger.
00:32:40Get back in your corner.
00:32:42He's seeming to get some kind of measure
00:32:45of his rhythm in that round.
00:32:48CompuBox numbers in round 2.
00:32:50McCullough, 19 out of 63,
00:32:52much better than the 6 out of 54 in the first round.
00:32:55Prince Nassim, 29 out of 58.
00:32:59Hard left hand by Naz.
00:33:02Naz seemed to listen to his corner man
00:33:05and just to say...
00:33:07Why are you here?
00:33:09Yeah, what are you talking about?
00:33:11You can imagine that the marriage
00:33:13between Prince Nassim and Brendan Engle,
00:33:15the only trainer he's ever had,
00:33:17is going to continue after this bout.
00:33:19They treat each other as though
00:33:21they're on separate planets now,
00:33:23but stranger things have happened.
00:33:28Now, the Prince has been knocked down a lot of times
00:33:30because he's out of balance a lot.
00:33:33So don't...
00:33:36Kevin Kelly had him down three times.
00:33:39Deficiency apparent there
00:33:41as McCullough knocks him back on his heels.
00:33:44But Wayne is not seen as a hard puncher, George.
00:33:49He's getting a lot of encouragement
00:33:51from the crowd here tonight.
00:33:53That could change him tonight.
00:34:00Naz mocking McCullough's feints.
00:34:04Do you think that the Prince
00:34:06is gonna make a big effort
00:34:08to make his prediction come true,
00:34:10or do you think he's completely forgotten about it, George?
00:34:12Yeah, once the fights start like that,
00:34:14this guy's jumping all over you
00:34:16with these weird movements from McCullough
00:34:18with his hands, you better forget about predictions
00:34:20and just...
00:34:22just get out there and do your jab
00:34:24like your trainer told you.
00:34:26Solid left hand shot by Nassim.
00:34:28The prediction was 228 at this round, right, Larry?
00:34:30Correct.
00:34:32I think he's got a stopwatch with a buzzer
00:34:34inside the trunks.
00:34:36The buzzer will go off at about 215,
00:34:38giving him 13 seconds to knock McCullough out.
00:34:40Just a guess.
00:34:44Well, there may be a buzzer in his corner,
00:34:46but I'm not sure it's legal.
00:34:48Some typical Prince Nassim balance, or lack of it,
00:34:50as he almost falls down,
00:34:52dodging away from McCullough,
00:34:54but typically comes in with his feet on the ground
00:34:56and punches flying off.
00:34:58He throws two over top,
00:35:00two over top,
00:35:02then he tries to come in with something powerful underneath.
00:35:04McCullough's fight plan
00:35:06was to try to feint the Prince
00:35:08into bad positions
00:35:10and then find him for punches.
00:35:12I had that uppercut.
00:35:14I told him he shouldn't allow him to bend his knees.
00:35:16You know, that right uppercut
00:35:18was the punch he thought
00:35:20was gonna finish McCullough.
00:35:22He threw it almost exactly
00:35:24at 228.
00:35:26I know. That's when the buzzer went off.
00:35:28Ha-ha.
00:35:30Like a jockey
00:35:32who they say has a club in his head.
00:35:42Straight left hand by Nassim
00:35:44just pushes McCullough back to stride.
00:35:48And a hard right hand
00:35:50to finish the round.
00:35:52Prince Nassim Hamed
00:35:54in control of the first three rounds
00:35:56of the first round.
00:35:58McCullough, having made it past
00:36:00the third round knockout prediction,
00:36:02holds his gloves in the air.
00:36:06You ready, baby? Huh?
00:36:08Trainer Kenny Croom is the man
00:36:10talking to Wayne McCullough here.
00:36:12Oh.
00:36:20Just a stiff jab.
00:36:22Hit him with a delayed counter as he comes on.
00:36:24Do you understand?
00:36:28Get your breath. Right up. Right up.
00:36:30Right up.
00:36:34Early in the round, McCullough got
00:36:36close enough to throw that right hand.
00:36:38The prince's feet
00:36:40tangled up,
00:36:42driven back.
00:36:44The prince
00:36:46said he can't get the third round
00:36:48out of his head all week long.
00:36:50It's out of his head now.
00:36:54And between rounds,
00:36:56Prince Nassim actually
00:36:58looked Brendan Engle in the eye
00:37:00as the trainer spoke to him, so
00:37:02maybe they're making up.
00:37:04Yeah, you need your trainer.
00:37:06It's a good idea, isn't it?
00:37:09In round 3
00:37:11by CompuBox numbers,
00:37:13the prince landed 25 of his
00:37:1533 power shots.
00:37:17That's quite a number. Harold Lederman,
00:37:19what are your numbers? Hey, Jim,
00:37:21the South African's winner this fight,
00:37:2330-27, 3 rounds to death
00:37:25for Prince Nassim Ahmed. Jim, I gotta tell you,
00:37:27Prince has hit them with the power shots,
00:37:29but when the prince throws that jab,
00:37:31it's coming out backhand. He doesn't snap it out
00:37:33the way it's supposed to, and a backhand jab
00:37:35is illegal. I'm telling you, Jim's gonna want him soon.
00:37:39Come on.
00:37:56The prince just bullying McCullough
00:37:58from pillar to post with occasional
00:38:00power shots. Dance,
00:38:02fire a power shot, knock the man
00:38:04back, dance a little more.
00:38:06It's a wild performance.
00:38:14Improvisational boxing
00:38:16at its
00:38:18most,
00:38:20some might think least.
00:38:22As any
00:38:24fight trainer would say, don't try it at home.
00:38:26This is for him and nobody else.
00:38:28McCullough misses.
00:38:30One punch, he's hit with one
00:38:32punch, he tried to return three more.
00:38:37And when he throws the return of three,
00:38:39generally one gets in.
00:38:42Nassim landing a right and a left
00:38:44coming from underneath.
00:38:46Swings wildly, goes all the way
00:38:48past McCullough and turns his back,
00:38:50gets back into position before
00:38:52Wayne can count him.
00:38:54And what Nassim will try,
00:38:56do two things on one side
00:38:58and come in with a power shot on the opposite.
00:39:24Kevin Kelly,
00:39:26who had that brawl with
00:39:28the Prince of Nassim Square Garden,
00:39:31actually sparred
00:39:33with McCullough for two weeks
00:39:35in Las Vegas
00:39:37trying to simulate
00:39:39the Prince's style.
00:39:41Do you think he did him any good, George?
00:39:43I think the benefit here is that
00:39:45McCullough has an iron chin.
00:39:47He's got the
00:39:49iron chin.
00:39:51He's got the iron chin.
00:39:53Iron chin.
00:39:56You don't get that in a training camp.
00:40:10He couldn't do that much.
00:40:12Don't give him no free shots at all.
00:40:14Debris.
00:40:16Right in.
00:40:18Let me do your eyes.
00:40:20Stop jabbing to his face.
00:40:23Don't worry about it.
00:40:25No, you're alright.
00:40:27Break him up in the jab.
00:40:29Break him up, break him up.
00:40:31Then you'll hit him with the bombs coming in.
00:40:37McCullough
00:40:39threw that surprise right hand
00:40:41and
00:40:43it almost gets nailed
00:40:45once again as he poses.
00:40:49We've seen a lot more of that.
00:40:52We've seen a lot more of that throughout this fight.
00:40:55Round 4.
00:40:57McCullough averaging 60 punches per round.
00:40:59That's good for Prince Nassim.
00:41:01Nassim averaging 52 punches per round himself.
00:41:03That's good for Prince Nassim.
00:41:05So the rhythm of the fight
00:41:07playing into Hamed's hands so far.
00:41:09You can see that Harold Letterman
00:41:11still scores at a shutout
00:41:13every round so far for the Prince
00:41:15and his awkward power shots
00:41:17like that.
00:41:19Boy, when you're in a fight like this
00:41:21the Prince is throwing so many powerful shots.
00:41:23You bound to have some sore hands
00:41:25by the time the 8th round
00:41:27comes along.
00:41:29Those hands get pretty sore.
00:41:31But he is following instructions
00:41:33in this round, George.
00:41:35He's throwing the jab well like that.
00:41:44McCullough swinging wildly with the left.
00:41:46Left himself open and Nassim
00:41:48stepped in and countered with a left-hand shot of his own.
00:41:50Now the pocket rocket goes back
00:41:52to using the jab.
00:41:56You know, there's something
00:41:58really unusual going on in the ring, folks.
00:42:00You can't hear.
00:42:02McCullough snorts
00:42:04like a hippopotamus
00:42:06in the ring, and
00:42:08normally the Prince
00:42:10has no sound
00:42:12coming out of him at all, except for
00:42:14the slap of his punches.
00:42:16But all of a sudden he is starting
00:42:18to poke fun at McCullough
00:42:20by doing little snorts.
00:42:26Like a Monica Stellis opponent
00:42:28who decides to grunt with every passing shot.
00:42:30Right.
00:42:32We've seen lots of fighters
00:42:34who snort, getting energy
00:42:36as they throw the punches.
00:42:38McCullough's got to be a mystery
00:42:40to the Prince, right?
00:42:42He doesn't want to land a good shot.
00:42:44He's hit him in some hard shots,
00:42:46but he's got to find the right point
00:42:48to hit McCullough in.
00:42:50It's not high.
00:42:52Then again, it could be high,
00:42:54but it's got to be a straight shot.
00:42:56It can't be any looping shot.
00:42:58These punches have knocked a lot of other
00:43:00fighters down, George.
00:43:02That's what Kevin Kell and a lot of guys
00:43:04didn't know.
00:43:06That's what Kevin Kell and a lot of guys
00:43:08didn't have with his chin of McCullough.
00:43:10Wayne McCullough's never been
00:43:12knocked down.
00:43:16But a lot of people felt,
00:43:18okay, well, he's never been knocked down
00:43:20at 118 or 122, but now he's going to come up
00:43:22to 126, and he's going to feel
00:43:24the most powerful punches ever
00:43:26at the 126-pound weight level.
00:43:28So how's he going to stay up?
00:43:30Well, so far, he has stayed up,
00:43:32but he's taking a lot of shots to do it.
00:43:36A rare body shot from the prince
00:43:38is a little low.
00:43:40McCullough, seemingly frustrated,
00:43:42swings wildly and misses.
00:43:46As round 5 comes to a close,
00:43:48we'll take this moment to tell you
00:43:50that Prince Nassim's promoter,
00:43:52Frank Warren, has told us
00:43:54that if the prince wins this fight
00:43:56tonight, his next opponent is likely
00:43:58to be the recently resurgent
00:44:00and the most powerful
00:44:02of all time.
00:44:04He's likely to be the recently resurgent
00:44:06Marco Antonio Barrera.
00:44:08You'll remember Barrera
00:44:10from his two losses on HBO
00:44:12to Junior Jones,
00:44:14but those are the only two losses of his career.
00:44:16Earlier this evening, he knocked out
00:44:18Richie Winton at the end of three rounds,
00:44:20knocking Winton down twice in the third
00:44:22with his trademark punch,
00:44:24the left hook to the body.
00:44:26So all expectations now
00:44:28are that if the Prince Nassim
00:44:30can get past Wayne McCullough tonight,
00:44:32he'll be able to win this fight.
00:44:34Marco Antonio Barrera's Mexican left
00:44:36hook to the body next.
00:44:38It isn't absolutely certain, Jim.
00:44:40What we've heard is that a stablemate
00:44:42of Barrera named Marquez,
00:44:44a very good young fighter,
00:44:46is a mandatory for the prince.
00:44:48Those things can always change, of course.
00:44:50It depends on how Barrera's
00:44:52management team thinks he looks
00:44:54tonight,
00:44:56whether he's ready to step in
00:44:58with the bigger prince.
00:45:00He's going to go across the ring
00:45:02to bust a left off the jaw of McCullough.
00:45:06McCullough had popped out of his corner
00:45:08looking as though he wanted to mount the attack,
00:45:10so the prince just sprinted over and said,
00:45:12no, me first.
00:45:14If someone has got to land the first shot,
00:45:16it may as well be you.
00:45:20Are we excited about this fight, guys?
00:45:22I mean,
00:45:24the lead-up was pretty good.
00:45:26Well, the Kevin Kelly thing was more entertaining
00:45:28because you had guys flopping all around
00:45:30the canvas every 20 or 30 seconds.
00:45:32You've got a guy
00:45:34in McCullough's corner, Hedgman Lewis.
00:45:36This guy is shifting,
00:45:38he's smart, and you let the fight
00:45:40go into a campground, and he can come up
00:45:42with something tricky
00:45:44for the prince.
00:45:46Well, if the prince is not in top shape,
00:45:48as some
00:45:50have suggested,
00:45:52perhaps,
00:45:54but McCullough isn't hitting him enough
00:45:56to test that shape.
00:45:58The prince seems to watch
00:46:00everything, keeps his eyes open,
00:46:02steps in with hard shot,
00:46:04jams whatever
00:46:06he wants to.
00:46:08He doesn't want any action, he just moves away.
00:46:22Closest thing in style to Muhammad Ali
00:46:24since Muhammad Ali.
00:46:26Prince Yassin.
00:46:28He said he wanted to meet, more than anything,
00:46:30anyone in the world, Muhammad Ali.
00:46:32And I think that he should have a chance
00:46:34to meet him because this is as close
00:46:36as I've seen an athlete to be so naturally
00:46:38good as the great Muhammad Ali.
00:46:40You can arrange
00:46:42for him to meet Ali. Yeah, I'm gonna make sure
00:46:44I'm gonna call him up
00:46:46and meet him.
00:46:48He loves the man.
00:46:50He's a big admirer of yours as well.
00:46:52Yeah, but he told me he prefers
00:46:54Muhammad Ali to me.
00:46:56Well, the styles are similar.
00:47:02I'm sorry guys.
00:47:04I think there's a superficial resemblance.
00:47:08Ali would use
00:47:10his defensive prowess to break
00:47:12down his opponents
00:47:14and then he would
00:47:16go after them. I don't see the prince
00:47:18doing that.
00:47:22Well, you gotta understand,
00:47:24this is not a heavyweight.
00:47:30Whoa.
00:47:32Sixth round has been more of the same.
00:47:34Prince Yassin
00:47:36using his unusual style,
00:47:38his remarkable agility
00:47:40to bob and duck
00:47:42and stay away from McCullough's punches.
00:47:44Occasionally stepping forward to land
00:47:46his own power shots.
00:47:48He's been pretty accurate with both hands
00:47:50throughout the round again.
00:47:52Hasn't invested any body shots.
00:47:54The prince has not.
00:47:56It's almost as though
00:47:58it's beneath him
00:48:00to work to the body.
00:48:02Well, he does have that
00:48:04in common with Ali.
00:48:12You see that?
00:48:14You know in your boxing,
00:48:16he doesn't know what to do with you.
00:48:18Deep breathe.
00:48:20Let me look through your face.
00:48:22Deep breathe.
00:48:24Get a drink.
00:48:26Get a drink.
00:48:28His face is swelling up.
00:48:30He's banging him up.
00:48:32Just that.
00:48:34A little there and a little there.
00:48:36Just dig your feet.
00:48:38Up we go.
00:48:40No, no.
00:48:42I gotta keep my hands high.
00:48:44Okay?
00:48:46Look at him. You read him.
00:48:48You read him.
00:48:58George, by raising expectations
00:49:00so much,
00:49:02does it become
00:49:04a kind of moral defeat
00:49:06if this goes the distance?
00:49:08No doubt about it.
00:49:10He's not going to want to go home
00:49:12and allow this guy to go in the distance with him.
00:49:14He's going to pursue a knockout.
00:49:16Some redemption here.
00:49:18But I would like to see him go the distance
00:49:20because he's powerful.
00:49:22He needs to time him.
00:49:24He needs to work.
00:49:28Prince Nassim hasn't gone the distance
00:49:30since his 12th fight.
00:49:32It was back in 1994.
00:49:3418 consecutive knockouts
00:49:36coming into tonight's fight.
00:49:38In round 6, each fighter threw 61 punches
00:49:40by CompuBox numbers.
00:49:42McCullough landed only 10.
00:49:44That's a preview to what comes next
00:49:46as I turn you over to Harold Letterman
00:49:48for Harold's scorecard to this point in the fight.
00:49:50Hey, Jim, I'm excited.
00:49:52I think it's a pretty decent fight.
00:49:545-1, 59-55, Prince Nassim Hamed.
00:49:56Jim, I don't know why in God's name
00:49:58he ran away in rounds 5 and 6.
00:50:00He's doing nothing but running.
00:50:02He punched like heck for the first 4 rounds
00:50:04and around 5 and 6 he ran away.
00:50:06But still it all, just like he called it,
00:50:08the Prince won the 6th round
00:50:10and he stays in the middle of the ring like this
00:50:12and punches, he's great.
00:50:14Whoa, look at the footwork.
00:50:16Moments ago you saw him
00:50:18look away from McCullough
00:50:20and land a punch on McCullough's jaw
00:50:22while not looking at him.
00:50:28That kind of arrogance is designed
00:50:30to infuriate the opponent.
00:50:34Good body shot by McCullough.
00:50:36Nass looks away again.
00:50:40Oh, look at that.
00:50:46Remember, he's doing this
00:50:48against a world champion,
00:50:50a former world champion.
00:50:52Not like that he just picked
00:50:54an opponent off the street.
00:50:56Doesn't impress me, George.
00:50:58I mean, what was that?
00:51:00Cock-up.
00:51:06Spoken like a grandfather.
00:51:18All the time the Prince is moving around
00:51:20doing this fancy stuff,
00:51:22still sticking to his feet.
00:51:24All the time the Prince is moving around
00:51:26doing this fancy stuff, still sticking
00:51:28to a knockout, trying to frustrate
00:51:30this guy to the point that he...
00:51:32Yeah, it's a medal game.
00:51:34He wants to get McCullough out of his envelope
00:51:36so that he'll have more of a chance to land
00:51:38one of those wild shots, right?
00:51:40Yeah, but you know,
00:51:42I want to see a guy work for a knockout,
00:51:44not just look to leap in
00:51:46and throw a punch and get a knockout.
00:51:48If it hasn't come in that way
00:51:50up to now, he ought to be working for it.
00:51:52And he's not.
00:52:00That Joe Cortez has done a great job.
00:52:04The birthday boy.
00:52:06It's not enough.
00:52:08It's India's birthday boy, I mean.
00:52:10Big debrief.
00:52:12You've got to topside him.
00:52:14You've got to topside him.
00:52:16Two more rounds, that's it.
00:52:22Here's his no-look
00:52:24basketball pass.
00:52:26Ineffective
00:52:28push, jab, whatever it was.
00:52:30So he starts to
00:52:34do this.
00:52:38I think that suggests
00:52:40his own frustration
00:52:42when he started to do that kind of thing.
00:52:46He's a tough guy.
00:52:48He's a tough guy
00:52:50when he started to do that kind of thing.
00:52:54He's a dancing fool,
00:52:56but he hasn't been a fighting fool tonight.
00:53:02All of Prince Nassim's 47 punches
00:53:04in round 7, thrown one punch at a time,
00:53:06no combinations.
00:53:08Drifting precariously
00:53:10toward that stage at which
00:53:12he would seem to have to settle
00:53:14for a possible decision
00:53:16You've got to give some McCullough.
00:53:18He's taking some big shots tonight.
00:53:20He's still not backing up.
00:53:22And you heard
00:53:24Brendan Engle between rounds
00:53:26in a frustrated tone of voice
00:53:28asking Hamed not to clown around
00:53:30so much.
00:53:32But I don't think
00:53:34the Prince is listening much to Brendan Engle
00:53:36tonight. He has his own agenda.
00:53:38And for whatever reason
00:53:40this is part of it.
00:53:42He's dancing to his own music.
00:53:44But I sure don't hear it.
00:53:50And he's
00:53:52pitching perhaps a shutout.
00:53:56Hasn't given up on
00:53:58power punching yet.
00:54:00Looks away from McCullough.
00:54:18Loads the right hand
00:54:20and quickly tries to land it.
00:54:22McCullough as you can see
00:54:24is trying to stay within a boxing envelope.
00:54:26Frustrating work for him as well.
00:54:30You wonder
00:54:32if the bloom comes off
00:54:34the Nassim Rose a little bit
00:54:36if the knockout streak
00:54:38goes away.
00:54:40You're going to meet a lot of guys
00:54:42in your career who
00:54:44are just not going to knock out.
00:54:46Sometimes you've just got to be grateful
00:54:48to get out there and pitch a shutout.
00:55:00Hard to imagine
00:55:02given the cachet
00:55:04that the Prince has reaped
00:55:06from the long knockout streak
00:55:08that he'd have it in his head
00:55:10that he wants to go the distance
00:55:12against Wayne McCullough.
00:55:14Surely he wants to find a way
00:55:16to land a big enough shot
00:55:18to get the man in trouble.
00:55:20He's certainly looking for a knockout plan
00:55:22no doubt about it.
00:55:24He's got to be looking for a
00:55:26knockout plan.
00:55:28He's not willing to invest in that.
00:55:30He's moving too much.
00:55:32We've seen that McCullough
00:55:34is not going to go with one punch.
00:55:36McCullough is very strong.
00:55:42McCullough gaining support
00:55:44from the crowd
00:55:46as the Nass supporters
00:55:48are mostly silent now.
00:55:50Restless
00:55:52perhaps waiting for their man
00:55:54to produce more
00:55:56and bigger theatrics.
00:56:22Wayne, Wayne
00:56:24We've got to go now.
00:56:26We've got to win every round here.
00:56:28We've got to get him in a fight.
00:56:30And you cannot be careful.
00:56:32The punch is still there.
00:56:38Hold the middle of the ring this time.
00:56:40Hold the middle of the ring.
00:56:42And stiff jab off it.
00:56:44Time counters and delayed counters.
00:56:46Stop counters.
00:56:48Step outside and then hit him with a bomb.
00:56:50With your right hand.
00:57:10Well, the good news
00:57:12for Wayne McCullough in round number 8
00:57:14is that he got off 60 punches.
00:57:16The bad news is that he landed only 7.
00:57:20Prince Nassim awfully hard to find
00:57:22in that round.
00:57:24He himself, given credit for landing
00:57:2622 of 59.
00:57:28So numerically, it's still a one-sided fight
00:57:30in Hamad's favor.
00:57:32Yeah, you just can't fight a guy like the Prince
00:57:34with your hands up.
00:57:36You just can't see him.
00:57:38You almost have to drop him a little bit
00:57:40and just take a chance.
00:57:42Well, it sounded like Kenny Krumah's trainer
00:57:44was asking Wayne McCullough to take that chance
00:57:46as he said, A, you've got to win every round.
00:57:48B, you've got to draw him into a fight somehow.
00:57:50C, be careful
00:57:52because the punch is still there.
00:57:54He's just got to bullrush the Prince, George.
00:57:56He's got to drive him back into the ropes.
00:57:58He's got to forget all structure and make this a brawl.
00:58:00That's right. He's got to gamble.
00:58:02I mean, go for everything you have.
00:58:04You don't train for 8 weeks
00:58:06and then come out there and hold something back.
00:58:18Good right hand by McCullough.
00:58:20Up and under.
00:58:22Now, this is more like it.
00:58:24This is what the pocket rocket needs to do.
00:58:26Make Nassim fight.
00:58:40Whoa.
00:58:42Good combination.
00:58:44The Prince is fighting.
00:58:46This is the danger
00:58:48of making the Prince fight
00:58:50is that you give him an opportunity
00:58:52to land these shots.
00:58:54McCullough's face swelling and turning red
00:58:56as Nassim lands power buster
00:58:58after power buster
00:59:00in the ninth round.
00:59:02The more Wayne throws,
00:59:04the more he gets hit.
00:59:06I'm going to pinch this out, and I better hold
00:59:08this young man a little bit, too.
00:59:10Still drops his hand
00:59:12after all of this.
00:59:16Oh.
00:59:26Irish contention in the crowd,
00:59:28raising their volume level
00:59:30to try to spur their man on
00:59:32as he tries to make it into a fight.
00:59:40And now the Englishmen in the crowd
00:59:42as though at a soccer match
00:59:44the Prince bounces and paces
00:59:46to get his energy built back up into a fight.
00:59:48Good double left hook by Wayne McCullough.
01:00:08McCullough's best round.
01:00:14This is your address
01:00:16for boxing from now
01:00:18through December 19.
01:00:44I don't know if he'll get up.
01:00:58Somebody's bleeding
01:01:00because I've got blood spots
01:01:02on my scorecard.
01:01:04Who is it?
01:01:06Could have come from earlier this evening.
01:01:08I think McCullough
01:01:10has a bloody nose if there's blood in there.
01:01:12It's not stopping him at all.
01:01:16Well, he fought through a broken jaw
01:01:18against Daniel Zaragoza
01:01:20and a broken cheekbone in the Olympics,
01:01:22as Larry pointed out, so
01:01:24a bloody nose isn't likely to slow him down.
01:01:26Harold Letterman, how do you have it through nine?
01:01:28Jim, 87-84,
01:01:30six rounds to three, Prince Naseem Ahmed.
01:01:32I'll tell you something, boy.
01:01:34That ninth round, the Prince was just awful.
01:01:36He absolutely ran away, and most boxing judges
01:01:38I know would not score for guy that runs like that.
01:01:40Be as it may, the Prince has got too many early rounds
01:01:42in the bag. He won most of the early rounds.
01:01:44He still should be ahead on points
01:01:46because of the power punching.
01:01:50Funny enough,
01:01:52copy box numbers for round nine,
01:01:54McCullough threw 76 punches,
01:01:56landed 21.
01:01:58Ahmed,
01:02:00and Harold, you say he was awful,
01:02:02threw 71 punches, landed 37,
01:02:04so there are perception problems
01:02:06in trying to judge
01:02:08what Ahmed does during a round
01:02:10because of the unorthodoxy of his style.
01:02:14More flat footed here,
01:02:16trying to get some business done.
01:02:18Good solid left hand
01:02:20by the Prince there.
01:02:24And another left uppercut.
01:02:26Trainer Brendan Engle
01:02:28was correct in predicting that the uppercuts
01:02:30would land as McCullough came in.
01:02:32Yeah, but he said it would land
01:02:34in the first round and knock him out.
01:02:36He was half right.
01:02:38They landed in the first round.
01:02:46Nassim able to duck away and dodge
01:02:48and land a straight left hand
01:02:50as McCullough attacks.
01:02:52Hard left hand
01:02:54staggered McCullough.
01:02:56Best punch in the fight.
01:02:58Backs away just a little
01:03:00and comes forward.
01:03:14Right hand lands upstairs
01:03:16for McCullough.
01:03:18No apparent effect on the Prince.
01:03:24Nass stepping in to land
01:03:26a little short left up and under.
01:03:28Popping the jab,
01:03:30popping the jab
01:03:32almost illegally backhandedly.
01:03:44First body shot
01:03:46for the whole fight for the Prince.
01:03:56Here you see
01:03:58a package of
01:04:00Ahmed moves
01:04:02none of which
01:04:04are in any textbook
01:04:06but all of which
01:04:08or most of which
01:04:10are pretty effective
01:04:12for the Prince.
01:04:14Here you see
01:04:16a package of
01:04:18Ahmed moves
01:04:20none of which
01:04:22are in any textbook
01:04:24but all of which
01:04:26are pretty effective for him.
01:04:54Wayne McCullough
01:04:56was in trouble
01:04:58going into the last two rounds
01:05:00against Daniel Zaragoza
01:05:02he threw 160
01:05:04or 260 punches
01:05:06an average of 130 punches per round
01:05:08in those last two rounds
01:05:10122 in the 11th
01:05:12139 in the 12th
01:05:14He will not be able to unload that way
01:05:16in these rounds
01:05:18because the Prince just can't be found
01:05:20that often.
01:05:22The Prince is trying
01:05:24to go to the body now
01:05:26to set up a knockout
01:05:28George. Well you make him drop his hand
01:05:30a little bit to protect his body
01:05:32and then it's easier to get in a good
01:05:34shot on top.
01:05:38I think he would have been
01:05:40he would have done better to try
01:05:42to start this a little earlier though.
01:05:44Well his attack is so unstructured
01:05:46and his choreography
01:05:48is so unstructured
01:05:50and his choreography
01:05:52is so based on floating
01:05:54outside of his opponent's range
01:05:56that it's hard for him to step in
01:05:58and go to the body. He's not throwing short
01:06:00tight punches of the kind that conventional
01:06:02punches throw. He stands there
01:06:04and he can see the whole thing.
01:06:20Still trying powerful punches
01:06:22at this stage of the fight.
01:06:24Looking for a knockout.
01:06:26Keller locks the Prince back
01:06:28with a right hand
01:06:30see if Haas will make a corresponding
01:06:32statement for the judges.
01:06:36Yep.
01:06:38That's that uppercut right there.
01:06:40That's the uppercut right there.
01:06:42That's the uppercut right there.
01:06:44That's the uppercut right there.
01:06:46That's the uppercut right there.
01:06:48That's that uppercut he's been
01:06:50waiting on all night.
01:06:52Now he's got what he wants
01:06:54as McCullough begins to open up
01:06:56and throw more aggressively
01:06:58and Haas gets a bigger chance to land one of those
01:07:00wild leaping shots. Blood now flowing
01:07:02from the left nostril of Wayne McCullough
01:07:04after an uppercut
01:07:06landed there for Nassim.
01:07:18There's some blood
01:07:20also coming from the lip
01:07:22of the Prince.
01:07:24Lower lip. Looks like he might have a cut
01:07:26inside his mouth.
01:07:28When you let these fights go on
01:07:30and on and on when you have these knockouts
01:07:32available, the only thing left
01:07:34is to get a little scratch here and there.
01:07:36Might be a new experience for him.
01:07:40Haas trying to launch McCullough
01:07:42with that uppercut and then he looks
01:07:44ruefully out of it.
01:07:46McCullough's left eye
01:07:48gradually closing on him
01:07:50and it won't be a factor in this fight.
01:08:00One more to go.
01:08:16Sit down.
01:08:22He's gone.
01:08:24But don't get careless. If you hit him with straight shots
01:08:26you'll knock him.
01:08:28You're not buying the fight.
01:08:36Last round.
01:08:38Wayne. Wayne.
01:08:40Last round.
01:08:42Wayne.
01:08:44Wayne, keep my hands up.
01:08:46Keep my hands up.
01:08:48I need you to finish me.
01:08:50He's got the hammer
01:08:52and we took his chin off.
01:08:54Steve Jobs.
01:08:56And he's finished.
01:09:14Prince Naseem Hamad
01:09:16on the verge of being forced to go the distance
01:09:18in a title fight for the first time
01:09:20in his career.
01:09:2218 consecutive knockouts
01:09:24Wayne McCullough of Ireland.
01:09:27Wayne McCullough has a luxury position tonight
01:09:30because all he has to do is stay the distance.
01:09:34He has a victory if he just goes the distance.
01:09:37You mean a moral victory.
01:09:38Yeah, I don't know about moral,
01:09:40but it's a sudden sort of victory.
01:09:41Well, it's a symbolic victory,
01:09:44but it's not going to win him the fight
01:09:45on the scorecards, George.
01:09:47He will not be forgotten.
01:09:55You heard Brendan Engle asking the prince
01:09:57to throw straight shots,
01:09:58and again, it appeared that Hamed isn't much listening
01:10:01to Brendan Engle tonight.
01:10:06Try guys, when you see a fighter not doing those things,
01:10:09you're best not to bug him.
01:10:10Let him alone. Let him do his thing.
01:10:12You know, be his friend.
01:10:1412 rounds for the first time in such a long time.
01:10:17He needs a friend now.
01:10:24Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go,
01:10:54solid left-hand shot lands for the prince
01:10:59mccullough keeps his hands up
01:11:06body shot again from prince and the left hook upstairs
01:11:10mccullough is one minute from going the distance with the reputed killer puncher
01:11:19it will be a moral victory for him
01:11:24mccullough lands a left hook and the prince smiles at him as he gets busted across the judge
01:11:48well the prince's critics won't be able to say he wasn't in condition to go 12
01:11:52he was in shape the best shape of his life
01:12:03and mccullough is likely to earn some other chances off that performance
01:12:10so
01:12:19lifts the prince into the air
01:12:26okay
01:12:38so a unique experience as we wait to go to the scorecards
01:12:43to see if prince nasim has retained his supremacy at 126 pounds harold how did you score it
01:12:51i'll tell you i don't understand it i'll tell you how i scored it 117 111 nine rounds to three
01:12:58prince nasim hamed based on clean punching but i just don't know why he ran away from rounds 5
01:13:03to rounds 12 jim he ran the last seven rounds i mean he doesn't have to be elusive we're going
01:13:08to fight being elusive mccullough made the fight but he didn't just he didn't land on a punch he
01:13:12didn't have enough power hamed wins it on power punching but i don't know he fought like a guy
01:13:17with a broken hand i just don't know why he ran away from something that may be the good answer
01:13:22he was landing such powerful shots so early after about eight eight rounds those fingers those hands
01:13:28start to hurt still got his gloves on you did suggest early on that he might hurt his hands
01:13:34punching the way he was george every round he had power that means he had a lot of conditioning
01:13:40takes a lot of condition to throw that many powerful shots if you knew your hand was broken
01:13:44you'd want the glove off right now yep that's right that is correct
01:13:57michael buffer has the numbers let's go up to it
01:14:05by way of valley park late atlantic city we go
01:14:08to the scorecard clark sammartino scores about 116 to 112 nelson vazquez scores it 117 to 111
01:14:20and john stewart has it 118 to 110 for the winner by unanimous decision still the undefeated wbo
01:14:30featherweight champion of the world from sheffield england prince
01:14:48and ladies and gentlemen a round of applause for the game effort
01:14:51from the challenger from belfast ireland wayne mccullough
01:14:56and final punch that numbers in this unusual bout you can see the margin by which the judges
01:15:06were giving the fight to prince nasim as according to compu box he lands exactly twice as many
01:15:12punches as mccullough throwing almost exactly the same number for a connect percentage that
01:15:18precisely doubles that of mccullough 46 to 23 the prince landed 55 percent
01:15:25of his power punches by compu box numbers
01:15:32lusty booing from the crowd and uh george the crowd response to the decision that as well as
01:15:39to the entire fight only goes to demonstrate that as is the case with many dramatic state
01:15:45of the art entertainers you either love him or you hate him you know one thing the prince we've
01:15:50been spoiled we've learned to expect a knockout sooner or later it didn't happen but all compliments
01:15:56are to mccullough he's got a chin of iron he's a brave warrior and a terrific sportsman but right
01:16:01now prince nasim hamed the victor in the bout stands by with larry merchant thank you jim
01:16:07congratulations prince why was this the first time after 18 straight knockouts that you had to get a
01:16:14decision well i've got to give it wayne he was uh it was quite strong you know i honestly thought
01:16:19i'd knock him out clean in the third round but as it says it was written from god for me to go 12
01:16:26round well done my man now at the end of the day i won that round i won easy basically i had to box
01:16:33it off to win he had a hard head the boy what can i say he's irish he did very very well and uh what
01:16:39can i say i won the fight easy so in my eyes i boxed i boxed good enough to win and win comfortably
01:16:47did you set the bar so high for yourself by predicting not only the round in a minute in
01:16:53the second which we all take in good fun that this will seem like an anti-climax to many people
01:16:59no not at all i mean i can predict these rounds but end of the day as i say it was written from
01:17:04god to go 12 rounds so it went 12 rounds now i honestly felt before the fight that i could take
01:17:09him out in around about in around about three rounds in the second minute in 28 seconds in the
01:17:15second minute but obviously it didn't happen there's no problem when it did champion in the
01:17:19world i'm the best by the way in the world man when it didn't happen did you decide then and
01:17:24there okay i'm gonna be here for a long time tonight well all i thought then is well you're
01:17:28gonna have to give him a bigger beating look at his face look at mine uh he took a good beating
01:17:33tonight he did very very well i want to give the guy a credit he came to fight and um he didn't
01:17:39let anything get to him and he he did what he had to do but end of the day i won easy
01:17:46do you attribute anything of what happened tonight to all of the distractions we've been talking
01:17:51about with your various things with your trainer with your promoter with coming over here late
01:17:57etc was this a lot for you to overcome i don't make excuses i don't make excuses i've told you
01:18:03i have to repeat myself many many times it was written from god to happen to our brands and that
01:18:08is it all the creator that's what happened and what can i say i'm the champion in the world
01:18:13and i'll always will be when you came over and fought kevin kelly you said i want to conquer
01:18:18america yeah fight the best fighters out there will you fight the better class of fighters out
01:18:26there from kennedy mckinney on up and backward and around i will not kennedy mckinney out trust me
01:18:32any featherweight in the world super feather i'm not bothered i box anybody we've heard that you
01:18:37might fight marco antonio barrera next do you know anything about that yeah i do he's another
01:18:43one that i get knocked out you've got you gotta listen to what i'm saying i'm telling the truth
01:18:47i ain't gonna get beat no matter if i go 12 rounds three rounds whatever i have i am not gonna get
01:18:54beat i'm gonna win till the end i'm gonna finish undefeated one of the greats trust me happy
01:18:59halloween thank you very much trick or treat thank you the prince has said that he is a
01:19:07super natural talent natural yes super still to be decided jim well and that was the third fight
01:19:18in his six fight contract with this particular television network so we'll have more chances
01:19:23to determine just how super his talent is we'll have a final word on boxing in just a moment
01:19:28right now let's look ahead to some upcoming programs here on hbo
01:19:33focused fearless and ready to dominate some upcoming programs here on hbo
01:19:41focused fearless and ready to dominate cool roy jones jr is on a power trip committed to
01:19:49supremacy over one of the toughest middleweights in the world otis grand world championship boxing
01:19:54jones versus grand live saturday november 14th the best fighters in the world fight here right
01:19:59here on hbo the night owl massacre this is a heinous crime that requires swift resolution
01:20:08in the city of angels six victims one of them one of our own free police i want confessions
01:20:14headman how i'll break them sir everyone's got a story you talk only to me on this one
01:20:18there's something wrong with the night owl you just can't prove it i didn't kill nobody
01:20:22and no one goes by the book you need evidence i'll get the evidence how about some payback
01:20:27big time you haven't improved the proof had his throat slit kevin spacey russell crowe
01:20:32guy pierce james cromwell academy award winner kim basinger and danny devito i just want to solve
01:20:39this thing even if it means paying the consequences la confidential premieres saturday november 7th
01:20:45on hbo and turn to hbo november 17 for the next edition of real sports with brian gumbel
01:20:52among the stories to be featured a look back at the 1958 nfl championship game between the colts
01:20:56and the giants and its sudden death impact on pro football a candid interview with john dalen
01:21:02and a story of obsession perseverance pain and victory about the extraordinary athletes who
01:21:07compete in 100 mile ultra marathon foot races real sports where nothing is out of bounds and
01:21:15then on december 8th hbo sports presents the next edition of sports of the 20th century
01:21:19sugar ray robinson the bright lights and dark shadows of a champion the documentary which traces
01:21:25the triumphs and tragedies of the boxer most experts called the greatest pound for bound of
01:21:29all time outside the ring robinson was a fearless and flashy showman but one whose final days were
01:21:35sadly marked by sickness and poverty sugar ray robinson bright lights and dark shadows of a
01:21:40champion coming december 8th only on hbo tonight live from the atlantic city convention center in
01:21:47atlantic city new jersey uyani bungu of south africa retained his junior featherweight championship
01:21:52with a majority decision over danny romero a fight in which romero seemed to control the early rounds
01:21:58but in the late rounds was outscored by bungu and a unanimous decision victory for prince nasim
01:22:05hamed snapping his 11 knockout streak in title fights his 18 consecutive knockouts overall
01:22:12as irishman wayne mccullough hung in and went the distance with the prince taking a lot of heavy
01:22:17punishment for his trouble coming up immediately following tonight's coverage of world championship
01:22:22boxing stay tuned on the east coast for the premiere of strippers the naked stages america
01:22:26undercover and on the west coast the premiere of i know what you did last summer
01:22:35what the hell do you want what what i haven't even had the time to sit down and get my damn popcorn
01:22:42you're just knocking people out i told you i'm a fighter man that's what i do
01:22:48the hell with your fight yeah i'll put a tangle whoop your behind any day you stop making me laugh man
01:22:58so now for larry merchant george foreman and harold letterman i'm jim lampley saying happy
01:23:02halloween and so long from the atlantic city convention center in atlantic city new jersey
01:23:06the executive producer of hbo sports is ross greenberg tonight's telecast of world championship
01:23:10boxing produced by rick bernstein and directed by mark peyton the feature producers john kriskal
01:23:15and max siegel associate producers greg backer and kendall reed assistant to producer matt bolen
01:23:20production manager was mark hayden the production or the technical supervisor was bob hunter
01:23:25and the technical director was doug gets
01:23:41so
01:23:51so
01:24:06this has been a presentation of hbo sports the network of champions