“Show the bastards you're better than them.”
Honestly? I miss when sports movies could say stuff like that without irony. When characters meant it—and we felt it. Not because of the orchestral swell or a montage, but because we believed the guy barking it through nicotine-stained teeth had lived it. Enter Pierce Brosnan, of all people, dragging a brogue and a boxer's ghost into the ring for Giant, the new biopic about Prince Naseem Hamed.
Yeah, that Prince Naseem. The featherweight lunatic-genius who flipped into the ring like a WWE import and fought like a human glitch in the Matrix. A British-Yemeni showman who swaggered through the ‘90s with leopard-print trunks and laser-fast hands. He wasn't subtle. He wasn't humble. But damn, he was unforgettable.
And now he's getting the movie treatment. Finally.
Brosnan with a Beard, a Bell, and Probably a Speech About “Heart”
In Giant, Amir El-Masry steps into Naz's shoes (or dancing slippers, really), and from the quick flashes in the trailer—he's got the moves. The confidence. The thousand-yard stare of a guy who knows half the world hates him and doesn't care. But the real surprise? Pierce Brosnan, ditching the Bond tux for tracksuits and side-eye, playing Brendan Ingle—the Irish trainer who molded Naz from Sheffield street rat into world champ.
If you don't know Ingle, that's fair. He wasn't a spotlight guy. He was the gruff, awkward, quietly radical coach who didn't just build fighters—he built characters. Misfits, mostly. The way the movie frames it, the Ingle-Naz dynamic isn't just mentorship—it's emotional scaffolding. The odd couple, boxing edition.
And weirdly? It works. At least in the trailer.
Of Course Stallone's Involved. Of Course.
Because it's 2025 and every boxing film must now pass through the Temple of Sly. Sylvester Stallone is listed as executive producer on Giant, which either means he cares deeply about boxing legacies… or he can't resist a good training montage. Either way, his fingerprints are probably on the punching bags and the lighting cues.
But what's interesting here isn't the packaging—it's the story they're telling under the surface. This isn't just about fights. It's about belonging. Culture clash. Ego vs. system. Naz wasn't just fighting opponents—he was fighting British media, racism, tradition, and sometimes, himself.
The trailer hints at that. A little. Just enough to make you hope they won't sand the edges off.
The Boxing Biopic Problem (and Why Giant Might Duck It)
Let's be honest—we've seen this arc a dozen times: scrappy kid, rise to fame, ego gets big, crash, redemption, credits. It's the genre's curse and comfort. But Naz wasn't just another Rocky clone. He was the genre flipped on its head. He taunted. He danced. He got knocked out once and never came back. Not really.
So if the film's honest? It might not end how people expect. And that's a good thing.
Rowan Athale is behind the camera—writer-director of Wasteland and Strange But True (solid, underrated stuff), plus some of Gangs of London, which means he knows how to do grit with a pulse. Hopefully he leans into the contradictions. The flash and the fear. The swagger and the sadness.
Because that's where Naz lived. In the tension.
No Release Date. Just a Clock Ticking.
As of now, Giant doesn't have a premiere date. No festivals. No fancy screenings. Just a trailer, a buzz, and a promise that it's “coming later in 2025.” That's fine. Let it simmer. But if they botch this? If they make it another forgettable underdog tale with a training montage and a lukewarm ending?
Naz deserves better.
Give us the fights—but give us the weirdness too. The flamboyance. The flashbulbs. The drama in the locker room. Give us the full Prince.
Otherwise? It's just shadowboxing.
