The Prince of … pacifism?

Dean Juipe

Friday, April 6, 2001 | 10:45 a.m.

It's a side of him that's rarely seen, and one that requires the spotlight to be off.

In the privacy of a back room within the MGM Grand, Prince Naseem Hamed was almost anxious to discuss his philosophy of life and how his day-to-day existence bears little resemblance to his public self.

Branded by some as obnoxious and by others as a definitive megalomaniac, Hamed says he's neither when he isn't on stage.

"It's not that I keep my private life quiet, it's just that people want to write about other things," the world's top-rated featherweight fighter said. "I'm married and have two kids and a wonderful home life, but most writers want to write about my arrogance or my grand entrances."

He's right, of course, yet he also makes it easy to pinpoint and examine his more flamboyant side because with few exceptions he's constantly working the crowd.

But in the sanctuary of a quiet room and with only a handful of writers present, Hamed let it be known he isn't always the outrageous, cocky slugger that his image undeniably suggests.

Nor is he afraid of losing or blemishing his undefeated (35-0) record.

"I'm not living for my (boxing) career," he said. "The core of my life, my paradise, is being a Muslim.

"I have to be a good Muslim and live for the hereafter.

"I've made my money by punching people, but it's all for a reason that has nothing to do with boxing. It's because it's what Allah has written for me."

If Allah has determined that Hamed will lose his Saturday fight with Marco Antonio Barrera in the MGM Grand Garden, so be it.

"Even if I lose, I lose," he said, a bit more earnestly than you might suspect. "What big deal is it? It's written from Allah.

"The greatest fighters in the world have lost."

There was more, much more, about Hamed's interaction with his Islamic faith and his belief that everything is preordained. For instance, he said "I can do it all (as a boxer) because I have a gift from Allah and I use that gift to the best of my ability," and "When I thank anybody, I thank Allah first," but this isn't the church page and, lest we forget, Hamed is a popular attraction because of his talents with his fists.

He's a minus 340 betting favorite for what might well be the toughest fight of his nine-year professional career. Barrera, 52-3, is a plus 280 underdog.

It's a minus 110 either way that the scheduled 12-round fight will or won't make it past 8 1/2 rounds.

As exhibited by his interaction with Barrera at the final prefight press conference, Hamed has no animosity toward this or any other rival.

"I've got nothing against him," he said. "I'm a professional. I'm not going to hate anybody. He's only trying to do what I'm trying to do."

Smiling broadly, Hamed had earlier mugged with Barrera and exchanged small talk with the Mexican. There was nothing to suggest they would soon be stepping into the ring before a sizable crowd and a pay-per-view audience at home and smack each other with crushing blows.

"I'm truly blessed," Hamed said. "Why should I be angry or on edge?"

The pressure of fighting in Las Vegas for the first time doesn't seem to be any pressure at all.

"Things happen when they happen," Hamed rationalized, when asked why his debut in the boxing capital has been so long in coming. "This is as good a time as any. I'm in the prime of my life."

A native of Sheffield, England, and a product of Yemeni parents, Hamed is a wealthy man who may be far more endearing in private settings. As an example, actor Tony Curtis said he shot pool with Hamed in the latter's suite Wednesday morning at the MGM and he found the fighter to be very personable (even in defeat).

But Hamed, who is a 27-year-old southpaw with an array of almost indefensible moves, is paid big money via HBO because of his ferocity in the ring, which has resulted in a slew of highly rated TV shows and 31 knockout victories.

He expects to add Barrera to his list of victims.

"He's tailor-made for me and Saturday night I'm going to be his tailor," Hamed said. "I want a complete and utter knockout ... a devastating knockout.

"I'm planning on throwing some unbelievably hard punches from the first bell."

The fact that he can support this type of braggadocio appeals to his trainer, Emanuel Steward.

"I love knockout fighters, so I'm very blessed to work with possibly the best knockout puncher I've ever been with," he said. "He always finds a way to win, usually by knockout."

Like many who find this fight with Barrera appealing, Steward says it's no sure thing.

"This is the biggest fight in Naseem's career," he said. "I think he realizes that both guys are in the prime of their careers, and that this is apt to be the fight by which they'll be remembered.

"I think it's going to be very dramatic."

Hamed will attempt to accentuate that drama with one of his patented, if lengthy, entrances into the ring for the 8 p.m. fight.

"It's going to be something special," he says of his choreographed arrival, the showman in him once again rising to the surface.