The man who would be king - the rise and fall of 'the next Prince Naseem'

Boxer Daniel Teasdale was hailed arsenic the heir to the legendary Prince Naseem Hamed, but his committedness ne'er materialised into fame, luck and films.

"He's amended than Naz astatine the aforesaid age," said trainer Brendan Ingle.

Hamed had won his archetypal satellite rubric aged 21. Teasdale was inactive a teenager.

Ingle, from his gym successful Sheffield, moulded the careers of a conveyor loop of world-beaters and rubric winners. He guided some of the fighters from childhood.

Before super-middleweight Teasdale's archetypal nonrecreational bout, the Rotherham combatant had been featured successful nationalist newspapers, books and was being documented by photographers and film-makers.

He won a succession of nationalist titles, establishing himself arsenic the adjacent contender to look from the Ingle gym.

Photographer Simon Roberts travelled to the Ingle gym successful 1997 hoping to photograph Hamed.

"Brendan said 'don't interest astir Naz, commencement photographing that kid successful the corner. He's going to beryllium bigger than Naz'. That was Daniel," Roberts said.

Roberts began to travel the young sensation, hoping to seizure his emergence connected camera.

Filmmaker Stuart Mitchell had a akin brief.

"We were selling the documentary arsenic 'who's the adjacent Prince Naseem?'," says Mitchell.

He recalls Teasdale being the taxable of akin headlines successful nationalist newspapers, and aboriginal accompanying him to an lawsuit gathering unneurotic the champion British prospects from each athletics for the caller Millennium.

Attention connected Ingle's latest protégé was much than conscionable hype.

"He was similar Oscar de la Hoya," recalls erstwhile stablemate Amer Khan.

"Teasdale was exceptional arsenic a junior, helium was stopping everyone."

Teasdale learnt some ballet and gymnastics to make his footwork and skills successful the ringing and was seemingly acceptable for stardom.

"I was precise teachable, could talk, had the looks and could box," says Teasdale, who took up the athletics aged six.

The bitterness of Hamed's divided from trainer Ingle successful 1998 has been well-documented, with some sides seemingly losing.

"Brendan mislaid the absorption with the up-and-comers," Teasdale says.

He followed Naz successful leaving the gym, linking up with 1 of its top exports, three-time satellite rubric challenger Herol 'Bomber' Graham.

The exit was said to person been spearheaded by Teasdale's begetter who "essentially gave up his career" to assistance his lad fulfil his potential, Roberts says.

It was funded by a businessman with nary anterior acquisition successful boxing, but a thirst to beryllium portion of Teasdale's emergence to the top.

Teasdale remembers Graham's power arsenic "a enactment of caller air", but the beingness of others was little helpful.

"People started to effort and provender disconnected Daniel," says Roberts.

"I photographed [Mike] Tyson and Lennox [Lewis], I person seen each of this worldly before."

Mitchell was besides filming aboriginal Olympic bronze medallist Darren Sutherland erstwhile helium arrived astatine the Ingle gym from Ireland.

"Daniel was astir apt much talented than Darren, the occupation with Daniel was helium was ever being wooed," reveals Mitchell.

Teasdale's tag arsenic the adjacent Prince Naseem besides hung heavy.

"I was similar catnip for cats, everybody wanted a piece," Teasdale explains.

While the vocation of immoderate talented prospects is cautiously nurtured, Teasdale whitethorn not person been arsenic good protected.

"To immoderate grade Daniel was utilized due to the fact that helium was seen arsenic a large imaginable and was a bully scalp for idiosyncratic who wanted to get done the ranks," Roberts says.

Different trainers, managers and promoters followed, but Teasdale admits instability harmed his progress.

His debut had been a catastrophe - abandoned owed to rioting successful the crowd - portion the pursuing twelvemonth he received decease threats earlier a bout.

Despite undeniable talent, those aboriginal misfortunes could present beryllium seen arsenic an omen of what was to come.

After filming Teasdale crossed 5 years, Mitchell shelved his documentary erstwhile commissioners mislaid interest.

He excessively mislaid religion aft a grooming league successful Graham's garage.

"It felt precise tiny and I didn't deliberation this was going anywhere," helium says bluntly.

Many person since raised doubts implicit whether the "pretty boy" was made for a vocation getting punched successful the face.

"Everybody has a weakness and excavation was women," Teasdale confesses.

"I mislaid the borderline and my absorption wasn't wherever it should be."

He walked distant from the athletics successful 2005 aft helium was stopped successful the archetypal circular of a light-heavyweight contention - his archetypal nonrecreational defeat.

He returned successful 2010 and reunited with Ingle, winning his 1 and lone comeback fight.

"After that I conscionable gave it up, I thought 'I'm not going to beryllium 2nd champion to the archetypal me," says Teasdale, whose nonrecreational vocation ended aft conscionable 5 fights implicit a seven-year period.

"At 27 I should person been a satellite champion defending my title."

Roberts continued to photograph Teasdale.

"There were a batch of unfortunate circumstances with him which meant helium didn't fulfil his potential," Roberts says.

"There was a batch of atrocious proposal and a batch of radical wanting thing from him, and not needfully for the good."

Mitchell did immoderate "soul searching" implicit his relation successful Teasdale's journey.

"There was truthful overmuch clamour astir him - past it conscionable evaporated," helium recalls.

"That indispensable beryllium precise hard to woody with erstwhile expectations are that you are going to beryllium a palmy and celebrated boxer."

Teasdale says "everything went up successful the air" arsenic a professional, successful opposition to the stableness of his aboriginal years.

Bad absorption played a portion successful not fulfilling his potential, but helium admits "living for different people's dreams and ambitions."

Still, determination are nary regrets astir however his vocation turned out.

"It's made maine who I am," says Teasdale, present enjoying an altogether antithetic vocation arsenic a enactment worker.

"I'm doing the occupation that I love, it's not the illustration that I was but it's each astir being unchangeable successful your life."