Naseem Hamed's insatiable desire to attain boxing greatness via the kamikaze route almost led to his undoing in the unlikeliest of circumstances on Saturday night.

There were times when it seemed Hamed's number was up in the bingo hall of the Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut before he rallied to stop underdog Augie Sanchez after two minutes and 34 seconds of the fourth round and retain his WBO featherweight title for the 15th time.

Hamed, who finished up bleeding from the nose and mouth and with welts under both of his eyes, was decked by a long right-hand from Sanchez in round two.

Although referee Michael Ortega ruled Hamed had slipped rather than suffered the fourth knockdown of his career, the champion admitted he was caught. ''It was a knockdown,'' he said later. In the same round Hamed was all at sea from a looping left.

A scything right from Sanchez in the third drew blood from Hamed's nose and although the champion too had success with big right hooks which forced Sanchez to clinch, the no-chance challenger briefly looked the most likely winner.

This defence was supposed to be one of the easiest for the 26-year-old champion.

Sanchez, whose fast, powerful hands and slick counter-punching caused the Prince problems, performed way above expectation.

But primarily it was Hamed's alarming penchant to brawl which turned the prospect of a quick and clinical victory into an exhilarating high-risk gamble in the biggest casino in the world.

''You see a man get hit, you see a man get put down, then you see a phenomenon,'' said the battered but still bombastic Hamed afterwards.

''No matter what happens in there, I always prevail.

"If you put me down, you're going to get hurt. I don't just want to get in there and pitter-patter and take you out early, I prefer a fight.''

Hamed, who had a point deducted in the fourth for pushing Sanchez onto his knees, is never more dangerous than when he is up against it

Ask Kevin Kelley, who decked Hamed three times before losing

Ask Paul Ingle, who pushed Hamed to the brink before walking into a booming round 11 finishing punch. Again on Saturday night, Hamed drew on his great power to end the fight in chilling fashion.

Four punches, two from each fist, bludgeoned Sanchez to the floor and referee Ortega did not even bother with a count.

Sanchez, lapsing in and out of consciousness, was put in a precautionary neck brace and whisked to nearby Backus Hospital.

He was released two hours later after a CAT scan showed no irregularities.

Hamed, who smiled through his bloodied lips at worried brother Nabeel throughout the contest, appeared to have revelled in such a slugfest.

''It is the sign of a warrior,'' Hamed added. ''You can tell my heart and my character in the way I fight. Augie came in here with a great record but that was a devastating knockout.''

The manner of Hamed's win boosted the commonly-held consensus that he is the hardest punching nine stone boxer of all time.

But as part of the wider picture his display provided a lot more questions than answers.

Hamed is tiring of straight-forward, clinical knockdowns. He craves more than that. What he craves is the ultimate test of manhood, a toe-to-toe give-and-take war.

Sanchez, 22, for all his modest talent and unproven record, was the biggest puncher Hamed has faced in his 35-fight career.

Given Hamed's desire to turn his fights into tough-man contests you can hardly blame his brother and business manager Riath for careful match-making.

But chiefs of the American TV giant Home Box Office, which has two fights left of its current contract with the Prince, are beginning to tire of the excuses about the apparent inability of his camp to make the matches which matter.

HBO's senior vice-president Seth Abraham said: ''What we're not satisfied with is that we would like to see him fight an opponent who would put him at risk."

While Riath may indeed be unduly protective of his money man, there is no doubt that Naseem wants those ultimate tests.

In November he is due to face light-punching Hungarian Istvan Kovacs, his mandatory challenger. A walkover?

With Hamed in this mood, who knows what will happen next