MANUEL MEDINA came as near as makes little difference to being the first man to beat "Prince" Naseem Hamed at The Point in Dublin on Saturday night and in doing so endeared himself to the Irish boxing public.

But Naseem was quick to point out afterwards that, whereas he was unmarked after a fascinating battle, the challenger was bearing the marks of a man who had been - through a very bruising encounter indeed.

Naseem certainly proved that he has a tremendous amount of skill and endurance to go with the lavish behaviour. He also proved that he can take a punch as well as give one and has the mental strength to think his way out of a difficult situation. In short, this was a highly impressive performance.

And yet it was somebody who wasn't even invited into the ring who managed to distract the attention of a near sell-out crowd from time to time during the fight.

No sooner was Naseem Hamed introduced than the crowd took up the chant "Wayne McCullough.... Wayne McCullough" and the little Belfast man responded with a two-handed wave. This was to be repeated several times and there was the usual speculation afterwards about the possibility of a big money match between the two.

By the end of the night, however, the talk was mostly of a unification fight between Naseem (World Boxing Organisation featherweight champion) and Tom Johnson (International Boxing Federation title holder). Yet the spirit of McCullough was still there in the wings.

By the end of the 10th round of the Naseem/Medina fight, it seemed a surprise outcome was on the cards. Many shrewd judges had Medina ahead on points by a slender margin in spite of the fact that, he had been on the floor three times.

It was later before we were told that Naseem had been suffering from a chest infection over the previous few days but the fight itself, was certainly not going his way as Medina illustrated once again that there is no such thing in boxing as an easy fight against a Mexican.

He had managed to drive Naseem back many times and there were, blew times when Naseem felt confident enough to drop his hands and indulge in his usual clowning.

Even after Medina was floored with a right-left combination in the second and forced to take a count of eight, Naseem did not look comfortable. Medina seemed a clear winner of the next two rounds and if the central rounds were fairly evenly balanced it was Medina who took the initiative in the eighth round at the end of which and allowing for the knock-down he was marginally ahead on this observer's card.

Another visit to the canvas after a really superb right hook from Naseem turned the tide back in Naseem's favour in the ninth round and the plucky Mexican was clearly running out of steam and ideas towards the end of the 11th when the referee stepped in to call a halt.

It was a just decision which was underlined afterwards when it became clear that Medina had at least three cuts, any of which might have been sufficiently serious to have caused a stoppage in any event.

What was clear to all, however, was that Naseem was seen to be vulnerable and he took more punches, both to the head and body, than he had in his previous 22 fights.

Leaving aside the problem with the chest infection, later confirmed by Mel Christle, of the Boxing Union of Ireland, this was a fight which may well have marked a very important stage in Naseem's development as a truly good world champion. This time he was forced to take his opponent seriously and this cut his clowning to a minimum as the Mexican darted forward at every opportunity, leaving little if any opportunity open for "show-boating".

Due credit must be given to Naseem for soaking up quite a bit of punishment without flinching. Given that medical advice suggested that he might pull out of the fight, Naseem must also get kudos for insisting that the fight go ahead.

The taller Mexican with the longer reach made the most of his physical superiority and he frequently scored with a looping right to Naseem's head.

Indeed had that punch generated enough power it is doubtful if Naseem could have survived but it showed also that he can take and ride a punch. In the seventh round one of these punches actually knocked the gumshield out of Naseem's mouth and the referee called a halt to allow the gumshield to be washed and replaced.

Those few seconds certainly proved a boon to Naseem at a stage of the fight when Medina seemed to be on the verge of taking control. Naseem rallied, however, and from then to the premature end his superior strength, as well as his resilience and undoubted skill, brought him to a successful conclusion.

Although most of the rest of the bill failed to live up to the standard of the main event there was plenty to mull over at the end. Of greatest interest was the IBF featherweight title bout between Tom "Boom Boom" Johnson, from the US, and Ramon Guzman, from Venezuela. The bout went the distance without ever generating any real excitement.

Johnson had Guzman down for counts of eight in the third and seventh rounds but he seemed too sluggish or unable to press home the advantage. He still managed a pretty clear points decision.

Michael Carruth was clearly the better boxer in his bout with Mark Brannon, from the US. Brannon had little to offer and it came as no surprise when the referee stepped in to stop the bout in the last minute of the third round with Brannon in severe trouble as Carruth went for a knock-out.

Paschall Collins, with his brother Steve in the corner, had a clear-cutt points victory over Johnny Duckworth in a four-round middle-weight contests and Paul Griffin, Mark Winters and Marty Reneghan, making his professional debut, made it a clean sheet for the Irish.

In the WBA cruiserweight title, bout, Nate Miller, from Philadelphia, beat James Heath, from North Carolina, with the referee stepping in to save Heath further punishment in the seventh round.

The war of words between McCullough and the promoter, Frank Warren, which had started at, the weigh-in on Friday night continued with Warren repeating his offer of $1 million. He had put this in writing on Friday night and demanded again that McCullough's manager accept the challenge.

Naseem too, got in on the act later. Referring to the continuous chanting of McCullough's name by Saturday night's crowd, he said "they can shout all they like about McCullough. I will take him. I'll come back here in November and I'll beat him. I'll beat him anywhere," he said.

McCullough said the offer would have to be clarified. "Is it pounds or dollars? Let us do this properly. Let Frank Warren contact my manager Matt Tinley on Monday. I'm ready," he said.

Naseem revealed that he had picked up a chest infection during the week and had sought medical advice. He said he had to be careful about what medication he took so as not to infringe the drugs regulations.

"I was told that I could pull out of the fight if I wanted to but I felt that I owed it to everyone to go ahead."