The mural has been painted ahead of the release of a biopic starring Pierce Brosnan
A controversial mural of Prince Naseem Hamed has been painted in Sheffield ahead of a movie charting his meteoric rise to boxing immortality hitting the big screen.
Giant, directed by Rowan Athale and starring Pierce Brosnan and Amir El-Masry, follows the remarkable story of British-Yemeni boxer Prince Naseem, who rose out of Wincobank in Sheffield to conquer the boxing world. The film will premiere tomorrow (Friday, January 9).
In collaboration with Adidas, Elle Koziupa was commissioned to paint a large mural of El-Masry playing Prince Naseem on a building in Charles Street in the city centre. The mural features the words: “The Prince never left”. However, the mural has not gone down well with many people in Sheffield.
Prince Naseem was stripped of his MBE and handed a 15-month prison sentence when he smashed into another car while driving dangerously at 90mph in his McLaren Mercedes sports car. The crash left Anthony Burgin “like soup”, breaking every major bone in his body and leaving him with injuries to his brain.
Prince Naseem fled the scene and was arrested near his home as he tried to leave in another sports car. He served just 16 weeks of his 15-month prison sentence and had previously been banned from driving after speeding at over 100mph.
In response to the mural being shared on social media, Steel City Snapper, a local photography Instagram page, said: “I love the artist and it’s a really well done artwork, but the subject is awful.” Sheffield-based community arts studio Neck of the Wood Studio said: “This man might be a great sportsman but his actions outside the ring are disgusting and certainly not someone who represents the city for me!”
Famous Sheffield-based painter Phlegm simply replied with a green sick-face emoji. Another mural creator, bubba2000art, said: “Tired now of seeing the medium I love hijacked yet again by advertising using murals to push the capitalist agenda further.
(Image: TRUE BRIT ENTERTAINMENT)
“I think the ‘Never left’ tagline is deliberately provocative too, considering his alleged involvement in the incident documented here and leaving the scene of the crime. Surely someone had to sign off on this piece? These murals masquerading as street art are getting silly now!”
Giant comes out in cinemas on Friday, January 9.
Get all the latest and breaking Sheffield news straight to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter here.
Subscribe to The Sheffield Drop for all things Sheffield
Email and online newsletter, The Sheffield Drop, highlights the very best news across the Steel City, regardless of the source.
Edited by Yorkshire Live’s Sheffield reporter Andrew Dowdeswell, the free bulletin has no adverts and features the city’s most important news, all curated in an easy-to-read, digestible format.
You can read The Sheffield Drop in two places – on our website, here, or delivered straight to your email inbox by subscribing using this link.