EXCLUSIVE: Famous businessman, sporting royalty behind exiled Aussie boxer's bid to reduce ban for 'embarrassing' act

Exiled Australian boxer Hassan Hamdan has spoken of his "regret" for an assault he's described as "embarrassing" as his team lobbies to have a three-year suspension slashed on the premise that, in its view, the punishment does not fit the crime.

The 27-year-old Jeff Fenech-trained boxer has also admitted he's "thankful for what happened" because of the introspection it prompted, claimed he's now "a whole different person", and detailed his mentorship of young boys at Sydney gyms, including the PCYC stable in Woolloomooloo.

A three-year suspension spanning February 2024 until February 2027 stipulates that Hamdan must not attend any premises at which a combat sport contest or weigh-in is being held.

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The suspension is in relation to a ring-side incident at Canterbury-Hurlstone Park RSL Club in September 2023 in which Hamdan, who was watching his brother in a boxing fight, threw a water bottle at a male referee and then pushed him.

Court documents also state that Hamdan made physical contact with a female referee, although while his actions against the male official were deemed intentional, whether or not he intended to make physical contact with the female referee was unclear.

The drama was prompted by Hamdan leaning against the boxing ropes and the two aforementioned referees telling him to step away.

Two days after the incident, he was charged with common assault relating to his actions against the male referee.

In January 2024, Hamdan pleaded guilty to the charge and was put on a two-year bond with no conviction recorded.

The Combat Sports Authority of NSW then ruled Hamdan was "not a fit and proper person" to be registered with professional boxing and imposed the three-year ban.

And despite the fact that a host of glowing character references were submitted in support of Hamdan, including letters from Australian boxing greats Danny Green and George Kambosos junior, as well as celebrity Australian businessman Mark Bouris, a tribunal ruled in March 2025 against a bid for the suspension to be reduced.

A fresh bid to have Hamdan's suspension reduced is being orchestrated by John Steffensen — the former elite Australian sprinter who won Olympic silver in the 4x400m in 2004. Steffensen has become Hamdan's manager since the March 2025 ruling was made.

Hamdan is the son of Australian boxing great Nader Hamdan, who featured in a world-title bout against Anthony Mundine in 2008 and another in 2012 against German Robert Stieglitz.

'I'm a whole different person'

"I regret it. If I could go back and change it, I would, you know?" Hamdan told Wide World of Sports.

"Doing what I done was embarrassing, but learning from people like my father, like Luke [Jackson, Fenech's assistant], like Jeff and Johnny, it's helping me grow.

"Sometimes I'm thankful for what happened. As weird as it sounds, it's helped me grow more than I could ever imagine, you know? I've matured a whole lot, I reckon, and people around me are noticing differences in me and my approach to things these days.

"I'm a young man, I'm just growing, I'm only 27 now. I made that mistake when I was 24. I'm learning every day, becoming a better person every day."

Hamdan, who grew up in Sydney's west, has a professional boxing record of 10-0-0, which includes three wins by knockout.

He hasn't fought in Australia since defeating Danvers Cuschieri on the Gold Coast in October 2023.

In Hamdan's previous fight, he beat Justin Frost on the Gold Coast in June 2023 to be crowned Australian super-lightweight champion.

"They [the Combat Sports Authority of NSW] spoke to me when it [the incident] happened; they should come and speak to me now," Hamdan added.

"I'm a whole different person and I've grown from this situation. I'd love to sit down with them, catch up with them and just show them some respect and show them the type of person I've turned into.

"It's just about turning a new page, moving on and becoming a better person from it.

"If they do allow me to fight here [in NSW] sooner than the date that they've given me, I'll be very grateful."

Hamdan has had three fights since the combat authority slapped him with a three-year suspension: two in Thailand and one in Saudi Arabia.

A 10-centimetre tear to his left biceps from a punch in the second round of his bout in Saudi Arabia couldn't stop him from beating American Jose Luis Sauceda. He showed remarkable resilience to tough his way through the remainder of the six rounds to secure victory via majority decision.

At the time, Australian boxing commentator Ben Damon described it as "one of the gutsiest performances ever seen in Australian boxing".

Six months after going under the knife to have his biceps repaired, Hamdan's rehabilitation is complete and he's buzzing to return to the ring.

'Massive impact' at PCYC gym

He tackles some of his training sessions at the PCYC gym in Woolloomooloo in Sydney's east under the guise of Luke Jackson, who represented Australia in boxing at the 2012 Olympics, and others at a gym in Five Dock in the city's inner west.

He shares advice on boxing and life with the youth while he's there.

"I've been going and just mentoring the young boys and helping them with their sparring sessions, giving them advice," Hamdan said.

"They love when guys like myself and other professional fighters come in. To me I'm just another guy, but to them I'm someone that's fought on TV and stuff, and they want to be just like me.

"I love it. It's rewarding. I never thought I'd be in a position like that, and for them to be happy to see me, it's cool, you know?"

Many of the boys he mentors at the PCYC gym come from troubled backgrounds.

"He's had a massive impact on them," Jackson told WWOS.

"These kids look up to him. They've seen him fight recently. They love him and they're inspired by him."

Fenech said of Hamdan: "He's a guy who has done something wrong, but that thing that he done wrong made him want to be somebody different, and I'm so, so proud of him."

'I'm chasing the top dogs'

Although Hamdan is barred from fighting in NSW, he's hopeful of locking in a bout in Brisbane on the undercard of the Nikita Tszyu-versus-Michael Zerafa clash on January 16.

He's moved into the welterweight class and is eying off Australia's best.

"I'm in the best shape of my life," Hamdan said.

"I'm ready to go, I'm sparring, I'm in a new weight class, and I'm chasing the top dogs," he added with a laugh.

"I'm at welterweight and I don't mind skipping the queue and jumping straight in with Liam Paro. That's the goal. Liam, Brock Jarvis — any of them."

'This is where I'm born and bred'

But Hamdan wants to be able to fight in his home city.

"It's my number one goal in my life right now," he said.

"I wanna be able to fight in front of my family and in my home town. This is where I'm born and bred."

Fenech trained Hamdan's dad, who finished his career with a professional boxing record of 44-14-1, including 19 knockouts.

"Lionheart", as he was nicknamed, never got a chance to fight for a world title at the peak of his powers, falling victim to the threat he posed to the top boxers of his era.

'We don't think the punishment fits the crime'

Steffensen made the camp's stance clear.

"The camp agrees that officials and volunteers and everyone involved need to be protected, and we agree that a punishment was warranted," Steffensen told WWOS.

"But we don't think the punishment fits the crime."

Green, Kambosos and Bouris are among the high-profile figures who've again backed Hamdan with sparkling character references in his fresh appeal.

Fenech's huge Hamdan call

Hamdan junior didn't take up boxing until he was 19. Fenech began as his trainer when he was 20.

"The first day I trained him, I said to his dad, 'Man, this kid's going to be better than all of them, this kid is amazing'," Fenech said.

"But he never really got to where I thought he was going to get to. It was him mentally.

"Now he's older, he's calmer, he's mentally a million times better.

"Although he's going to do it later than I thought he could do it, I believe this kid is going to fight for a world title and I believe he can be successful.

"The power he showed me that day I met him was crazy."

Fenech reckons Hamdan will become a world champion within the next two years.

He said he noticed a mental switch in his protege in Saudi Arabia, where he won with a 10-centimetre biceps tear.

"It's like winning a world title, doing what he did ... Imagine the tools of your trade, you don't have one of them, and the other guy has two and he can fight," Fenech said.

"So when it finished, I think he finally realised that he can be somebody very, very special in this sport, if he does what he did before that last fight. To lose that weight and do everything he did [in his training camp], it takes a guy who's very, very strong upstairs. He's done that once now, and now I think he knows if he sticks at it and uses this [pointing to his head] to operate everything else, I think he can be one of our special fighters.

"It's great to be this big, strong, tough guy that's not scared, but if you have a great mindset on top of that and you can think of things, it's a million times better. In previous fights he won because he's that arrogant, tough guy. This time, he had to mix them both up; he used his head, as well, which for me makes a great fighter.

"He wants to show the Australian public that he's a true Aussie. This guy represents Australia with pride and his family with pride, and I'm rapt to be part of it."

What's driving Hamdan

Hamdan said his against-the-odds victory made him believe he could "do something special".

"After the fight I was thinking, 'Look, I've done what I've done with one arm, imagine if I had two', and that's what's driving me," Hamdan said.

"And just being the best is driving me. There's ups and downs in the sport. I've gone through big downs and I know that ups are just on its way.

"Being a world champion for my dad, for Jeff, for my team and giving my dad a world title that he never got to win — all of that is driving me."