Boxer Prince Naseem Arrested After Car Crash

The former boxing world champion Prince Naseem Hamed was arrested yesterday after a car crash in which a man was seriously injured.

Police were last night questioning the 31-year-old boxer and two men aged 26 on suspicion of leaving the scene of an accident involving an injury and allegations of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

The boxer was arrested after his Mercedes was involved in a collision with a Volkswagen Golf and a Ford Mondeo in Ringinglow Road, Sheffield, at around 2.30pm yesterday.

The Volkswagen driver, who is thought to have fractured both arms and a leg, was taken to the Northern General Hospital. His female passenger suffered cuts and bruises.

A South Yorkshire police spokesman said: "As a result of a road collision, three men have been arrested."

He added: "The accident involved a Mercedes and a Ford Mondeo travelling away from the city and a Volkswagen Golf travelling into the city."

The spokesman described the three-car accident as "complicated" and said that one of the 26-year-olds under arrest had been taken to hospital.

The Mondeo's occupant was not seriously injured.

Naseem was born in Sheffield to Yemeni parents. He shot to prominence in the early 90s and became as famous for his trademark leopard-skin trunks and limitless confidence as for his boxing.

He made his professional debut in 1992 and remained unbeaten until 2001when he lost to Mexico's Marco Antonio Barrera. He won the European bantamweight title and the WBC international super-bantamweight championship in 1994, taking the WBO featherweight in 1995. He was awarded an MBE in 1999.

Despite vowing to beat Barrera in a rematch, he appeared to tire of the ring after a disappointing comeback fight in May 2002.

The devout Muslim boxer is thought to be worth £20m. He owns a boxing gym in the Abbeydale Road area of Sheffield, near the £3m mansion he shares with his wife, Eleasha, and two sons.