Naseem Hamed is late.

It is not, as you might expect, because the former world champion has travelled halfway across the country to meet. He lives 10 minutes down the road from the Fairmont Windsor Park, one of his favourite hotels.

‘I’m only late because I live so close,’ he jokes. ‘What can I say, you know me, I like making an entrance.’

Hamed strolls into the library room in a black T-shirt and black shorts, grabs a cup of tea in a rather more elegant china mug than most people would settle for, and drops into his chair.

There is still a presence about him. A big energy. The kind that made him one of British boxing’s biggest stars long before social media existed.

We are here to talk about Moses Itauma, who this weekend will attempt to become the youngest British heavyweight champion in history when he faces Filip Hrgovic for the vacant IBF title.

Daily Mail Sport sat down with Prince Naseem Hamed to speak about Moses Itauma

Hamed was full of praise for young British superstar Itauma, who is fighting Filip Hrgovic 

The pair are facing off for the vacant IBF heavyweight title at London’s O2 Arena this weekend

And Hamed has barely settled in before he delivers a verdict that would have been unthinkable for the man who once called himself The Prince.

‘I’m going to say something I’ve never said before. I think Moses is better than me. I haven’t said that about many fighters. Actually, I haven’t said that about any fighters. But, I think Moses has a very bright future. He is going to be the best that’s ever lived.

‘Listen, I can’t just put him right there in front of every greatest fighter that’s ever lived right now. He has to face some challenges and everybody needs a dancing partner in boxing. You know, Muhammad Ali had Joe Frazier, and Thomas ‘Hitman’ Hearns had Roberto Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard. But, Moses has got the ability to go all the way and beyond.’

And Hamed is talking about more than just boxing. He sees the makings of a sporting star in the mould of the biggest names in the world.

‘I’ve seen Moses has become the face of Nike. Let me tell you something about Nike: they don’t really get it wrong too much. They pick the right guys. When they picked Michael Jordan, they chose right. When they chose Tiger Woods, they chose right. They’ve got Moses now and they’ve chosen right.’

Think about that for a moment. The Prince Naseem Hamed, a man whose entire persona was built around the certainty that he was the most talented fighter in history, has just volunteered another man for the throne.

He is not saying it because he has been pressed into a comparison or because he is trying to be generous to a young protege. He is saying it because, having watched Itauma, he genuinely believes it.

‘I’ve always waited for somebody to come along that I could say is going to be better than me,’ he says. ‘And I can honestly look at Moses and just think, yeah, this guy’s the one. There is no one else I could even think about saying that about.’

So why Itauma?

Hamed points to something beyond the knockouts.

‘He’s more of a correct and complete fighter compared to what I was. Mine was a natural force of ability. It was all ad-lib. You didn’t know what was going to happen, it was one of a kind and although Moses has that too, I think he’s more calculated. More correct. His speed is blinding for somebody who’s six foot four. He’s so light on his feet, can move and has got blistering speed. Then there is the power. That’s why it’s going to be really hard for anybody in the sport of boxing today to get anywhere near him.’

Now Itauma has the chance to show the world why Hamed is so convinced.

At 21 years and seven months, he is only fractionally older than Hamed was when he challenged Steve Robinson for the WBO featherweight title. Hamed went into that fight 19-0 with 17 knockouts, having boxed 68 professional rounds.

Itauma is 14-0 with 12 knockouts and has boxed just 31 rounds.

It is an extraordinary lack of experience for a man about to fight for a world heavyweight title, particularly against Hrgovic.

The Croatian is 34, has won 20 of his 21 fights and stopped 15 opponents. His only defeat came against Daniel Dubois. He is bigger, older and vastly more experienced than most of the men Itauma has faced.

And there is a question hanging over the unbeaten Brit: what happens when somebody finally makes him uncomfortable?

Hamed had to answer it himself against Kevin Kelley in New York.

It was Hamed’s US debut, with HBO heavily promoting his arrival and plastering his face across Times Square. But instead of the quick finish he had expected, Kelley dropped him three times – only for the Brit to rise each time and win.

Itauma has never faced that kind of adversity. He has not boxed beyond the sixth round and, after stopping his last two opponents inside five rounds, has spent barely sixteen minutes in the ring over his last two outings.

Hamed knows there is no way of predicting how someone will react when they are finally forced into that territory but believes Itauma is equipped to handle it.

‘I’ve always said you don’t know how somebody is going to react until they get hit with a huge shot.

‘Everybody talks about Moses not having enough rounds, but I didn’t have loads of rounds either. We both didn’t have that learning phase in the same way a lot of fighters do.

‘With the Kelley fight, it was the first time I found myself in that sort of situation really and I dealt with it. I got knocked down, I got back up and I won the fight. That’s experience in itself.

‘Of course I’d love Moses to have more experience. I’d love him to go through those hard rounds and learn what fighters normally learn. But boxing is about levels.

‘And when you’re already on the level Moses is on, you don’t necessarily need to go through everything everybody else has gone through to get where you’re going.’

Hamed (pictured in 1999) finished his career with a record of 36 wins and one defeat

Hamed believes Itauma is better than he was and argued the young Brit could become as big a sporting star as the likes of Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods

Hamed points to Itauma’s demolition of Dillian Whyte as evidence.

Whyte was 36 and well past his best when they met, but he was still a former world title challenger with years of heavyweight experience and a record that included fights with Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.

Itauma took him apart in just a few minutes.

‘Who would have thought that the fight with Dillian Whyte, with all his experience and with the trouble that he gave AJ and everything else, was going to be such a one-sided fight over in, I don’t know, minutes?’

There is another part of Itauma that Hamed keeps returning to.

His humility.

‘I love the fact of how humble he is,’ Hamed says. ‘His parents must have brought him up to be the man that he is today, because it shows. And he’s a breath of fresh air in boxing.’

That matters because the attention around Itauma is already enormous.

Frank Warren, Hamed’s old promoter, has called him the most talented boxer he has worked with at that age – even more talented than Hamed – and the nation are already crowning him the next face of British boxing.

Hamed knows what it is like to be placed under that kind of spotlight, so I ask him whether the expectations ever weighed on him. His answer is characteristically Hamed.

‘I didn’t know what pressure meant. I never felt pressure. I didn’t understand pressure. I couldn’t even spell it.

‘So, I never felt that I was that type of guy to let things like that get under my skin, or be nervous, or feel pressure in any way.

‘And we always say pressure makes diamonds, so I don’t think that’s going to happen with Moses.’

It was a different time in British boxing, but Hamed was not alone in carrying the weight of expectation. Ricky Hatton, who was on the undercard against Kelley that night in New York, would go on to become one of the biggest names in the sport alongside Hamed.

‘I loved everything about Ricky. Ricky was a people’s person. I never, ever saw support for a fighter in this country the way they loved Ricky. The amount of people that used to come out to Vegas to watch him fight, there was too many people! He just took over everything.

‘When he’d fight in Manchester, there’d be over, I don’t know, 50,000. We never saw crowds come out like that for any fighter in the history of boxing in the UK. Ricky had something special in regards to the love in people’s hearts, how he made people feel and how he was just one of the boys, and just how genuine he was. He’d say what he felt, similar to myself.

‘But he was an exceptionally good fighter. He was an amazing body puncher, and he did unbelievable in his career. He’s one of the fighters that we can all say will go down in history as one of the best fighters this country has ever produced.

‘It was just so sad to find out when we did about him. God bless him and his family. His family, I can’t even imagine what they’ve been through and what they’re going through. He’s sadly missed. He’ll never be forgotten, and he lit up Manchester in a way that nobody did.’

Itauma (right) is 14-0 with 12 knockouts and has boxed just 31 rounds in his career (pictured in action against Ilja Mezencev in May 2024)

Itauma will hope to prove Hamed right when he takes on Hrgovic in the much anticipated bout

For all the memories, the conversation brings Hamed back to the present and to his frustration that two of Britain’s biggest current stars have chosen to take their long-awaited showdown away from the fans who helped make them.

Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury look set to meet at Madison Square Garden on November 20, but Hamed thinks the fight belongs somewhere else.

‘I think that’s a UK fight. I think that’s a big UK fight, and I think it should sell out Wembley. Madison Square Garden is an amazing place, and it’s history, isn’t it? And it will always be history in the making for any big fight.

‘But I would prefer to watch that fight on our own soil, in London, and I think the British public deserve that to be in this country. You’ve got great British fighters that had a huge name in boxing a little bit before now, but in my eyes, that fight’s better to be in London than in the States and in New York.’

As for who wins, even Hamed refuses to make a definitive call.

‘That’s a good question. I think any of them can win. For me, if Tyson Fury fights like he did against Wilder the first or the second time, it’s going to be hard for AJ to beat that kind of guy.

‘But we don’t know who we have today in regards to Tyson Fury and where he’s really at, and we don’t know which AJ we have, especially after his last fight and everything he’s been through.

‘Look, it’s going to be a big fight. Is it around about three, four, maybe five years too late. But regardless, I think the British public still want to see it.’

And that, ultimately, is why Hamed’s excitement about Itauma feels so significant. He remembers what it was like when British boxing had fighters who could command the attention of an entire country. He believes Itauma could be the next one.

There is only one thing left for Itauma to do: prove him right.