Naseem Hamed: does the apple fall far from the tree?

Aadam and Sami Hamed are both intent on carving out boxing careers and hope to mirror the spectacular achievements of Winobank world champion Naz.

But does the apple fall far from the tree in this most demanding sport?

No, says Sheffield promoter and Star columnist Dennis Hobson.

Today he addresses the 'sons-of-Naz' question and other topical issues.

Sheffield legend, Naseem Hamed’s sons are making a start in boxing - can they get to the heights of their dad?

No! Naz was a one-off, an absolute talent, he wasn’t everybody’s cup of tea but an amazing talent.

It’s so difficult for a son to follow in their father’s footsteps, just look at Campbell and Ricky Hatton.

Naz also had a fantastic mentor in Brendan Ingle who developed that special talent – they haven’t got that, yes they’ve got their dad but they haven’t come from the same background as Naz.

So, it’s very difficult to reproduce all that - there’s a lot that goes into the makeup of being an amazing fighter.

Chris Eubank Jr and Connor Benn have done very well but they aren’t Benn or Eubank senior – they are still not as good as what they were.

I wish the sons well and want them to do well, but they need to create their own persona and their own style.

They’ll have their dad’s DNA, to a degree, but don’t try and mirror it because they’ll make themselves look stupid and get found out.

I wanted to sign Campbell, but they (Hattons) got offered a big deal with Eddie Hearn and Sky, which would have been hard to turn down.

But I believe the better way forward would have been under the radar with us on Fightzone, and then go for the bright lights and bigger money.

It was difficult for us to compete but I think if Ricky talked to you on his own, he’d tell you that he’d probably have preferred him to have signed with us and kept him under the radar while he was developing.

This is what we’re trying to do Adrian King, building his profile but not expecting anything soon.

Campbell got pressured into the bright lights and was high up on big bills and high-profile events, early on.

And that’s a big pressure for a kid who’s had relatively little experience as an amateur, to turn professional with a dad like Ricky. It's the same with Naz’s kids and it’s going to be interesting to see how they do.

Sheffield’s Keanen Wainwright has now lost two fights in a row, after his July defeat to Billy Pickles, can you pinpoint where things have gone wrong for him?

Not really, I’m starting to think it might be a confidence thing, that he’s lost his way a little bit.

I thought he were very unlucky against Louis Horn and, on the flip of the coin, for me he won that fight.

I knew it would be a great fight against Billy, and we could do that one again. But Billy deserves a shot to try and get him towards a full Commonwealth Title, whereas Keanen needs a confidence-building fight.

He needs to go back to the drawing board in a six or eight rounder and then go again in an eliminator or something like that.

He’s still got the same ability but we’ve got to get his confidence back and get him on track because he still capable of being a great fighter, but he’s lost his way and I think confidence is a big thing with him.

Adrian King recently picked up his fourth win on your Beverley Show - what did you think of his performance and will you be returning to Beverley?

Adrian’s a work in progress because of his lack of experience in the amateurs, he only had I think two amateur fights.

So, you know we’re playing a bit of catch-up. Curtis Woodhouse is getting him around all the gyms and he’s sparred some big name fighters - I think he’s been doing a bit with Daniel Dubois for his fight with AJ.

So, going back to the question, he did what he had to do and the kid didn’t just come to lay down, but Adrian put it on him and got him out of there. So, he did what a decent heavyweight should do and got the kid out of there.

I’d like to go back to Beverley, it’s not the biggest venue but we created a great atmosphere and it was a good show, despite Craig Derbyshire’s top-of-the-bill fight falling through.

Doncaster’s Craig Derbyshire was supposed to be top of the bill defending his Commonwealth title but his fight fell through - how disheartening was that and what’s next for him?

It was disappointing obviously because it was the top of the bill and it’s a small venue at Beverley. We didn’t have the largest card so we didn’t have a lot of fights to fall back on but, as it turned out, the replacement we got for Craig was very competitive, so it ended up being a really entertaining fight that kept Craig on his toes.

The next thing is for Craig to defend his Commonwealth against his original opponent, Paul Roberts, on October 11th which will be a cracking fight, so we’re looking forward to that. And then, after that, if he comes through, we’ll look around.

I think the IBO World Champion is South African; I want to see what he is up to next but I would like to manoeuvre Craig into a shot at a version of a world title.

That would be great for him, especially at this stage of his career.

When you look at his record, he’s having an Indian summer. I’m so glad we’ve managed to win something with him at this stage when he was more or less as a journeyman.

Obviously, he isn’t because his record is very deceiving but it just shows that given the right opportunity that kids, if they’re with the right people, can win major titles.

He is a great example and his story is obviously not over yet.