AT LAST, FIGHTER FIT FOR THE PRINCE.

Byline: MICHAEL ROSENTHAL Boxing

Boxing fans have long clamored for Naseem Hamed to step into the ring with someone - anyone - capable of giving him a fight.

The closest he has come was a declining Kevin Kelley in 1997. And we know what happened there: Hamed had to get off the canvas to stop Kelley in four rounds. Beyond Kelley? A vast wasteland of mediocre opposition.

Now, finally, we'll see fairly clearly whether his ability is as prodigious as his mouth: The Prince of bluster faces tough, proven Marco Antonio Barrera on April 7 in Las Vegas - the most intriguing matchup on the current boxing schedule.

``I know people have said I dodged this guy and dodged that guy,'' Hamed said recently at a news conference in Century City to promote the fight. ``It's rubbish. I fear no man.

``(Barrera) is a strong, durable opponent. I give him all the credit. So I want all the credit when I knock him out.''

Some won't be surprised if he does.

Barrera's doubters dismiss him as too small to move up from 122 pounds to 126 and immediately face a fighter of Hamed's strength and punching power, as he is doing. Indeed, this is quite an assignment.

Also, the fact he was knocked down and hurt in the first of two losses to Junior Jones has left lingering questions about his chin. And if any featherweight hopes to hang with Hamed, he'd better be able to take a punch.

``I don't even think he thinks he can win this fight,'' said trainer Jose Morales Damian, whose son and protege Erik Morales narrowly outpointed Barrera last February.

That's going too far.

Barrera used the disappointment of two Jones fights - one he lost by disqualification, the other by a close decision - to spark a remarkable, even inspiring turnaround.

After a 10-month break and only seven fights, he defeated Morales in the eyes of almost everyone but the judges in the fight of the year. In the process, he reclaimed the respect of the boxing world and a place among the better pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

And about that chin?

``I've only been knocked down twice in my career,'' he said through an interpreter.

No doubt: Barrera does believe in himself.

``This is my opportunity to make up for what happened against Morales,'' he said. ``This will be a good fight too but it'll have a different ending.''

Again, Hamed gives Barrera credit, which works to his advantage: The more he builds up Barrera, the better he looks if he beats him.

However, he saw the same thing everyone else did when Morales fought Barrera: A well-schooled, tough-as-they-come fighter who refuses to give up.

``He beat Morales convincingly. Everyone knows it,'' Hamed said. ``That's why I'm fighting Barrera and not Morales.

``This is my defining fight.''

--Friendly rivals: Hamed and Barrera engaged in one of the more unusual news-conference photo sessions last week.

Most fighters use the opportunity to stare down their opponents as they try to gain a psychological edge. Hamed and Barrera? They fed each other cake like a bride and groom on their wedding day.

See, it was Hamed's 27th birthday that day. After those present sang Happy Birthday and presented a cake, the fighters actually interlocked arms and fed each other. Onlookers loved it.

``We're good friends,'' Barrera said. ``When we get into the ring, things will be different, though. Believe me.''

--New to town: Believe it or not, this will be the first time Hamed fights in Las Vegas in his nine-year career. He'll probably fit in.

``Vegas is entertainment, Vegas is me,'' the flamboyant Briton said. ``I don't really like gambling because of my religion (Islam). It brings a lot of drama, though.

``It's the perfect place for me to show I'm the best in the world. I can't wait.''

--Holyfield-Ruiz: Even at 38, Evander Holyfield is learning.

The WBA heavyweight champ, who defends his title against John Ruiz on Saturday, said he knows where he failed in his first fight with Ruiz and will make the necessary changes.

Holyfield won a close, controversial decision in August even though he appeared to be sluggish and was consistently beaten to the punch.

``Johnny's a very awkward type of fighter,'' Holyfield said. ``He keeps his head very low. I don't think he knew what he was going to do so it was hard for me to figure it out.

``I just sat around. I need to attack more than react. I need to get off first.''

Holyfield predicts a knockout.

--Excuse or reality? Holyfield said he wondered during the first fight with Ruiz what we all wonder, whether he's simply getting old.

However, he said he had burst an eardrum in sparring a week before the fight and then aggravated it by blowing his nose.

``When the fight was over, I said to myself, `Shoot, what's wrong with you?' '' he said. ``I couldn't get off, the guy was hitting me with his jab. I watched the fight afterward. I was so embarrassed. I asked myself, `Why wouldn't you move?' I was always off balance, I was always a second off. . . .

``I actually started feeling like I was really old. And then I went back to the doctor and he said, `Oh, you have a busted eardrum. At least I knew what it was.''

--What? Holyfield must be losing his mind. Asked who would win if Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson met, Holyfield picked Tyson.

``I think Tyson has the perfect style for Lennox. Tyson is very explosive and (Lewis) likes a guy that is reserved. If they fight like they usually fight, I would go with Tyson. . . . Lennox likes to go back and we know that Tyson fights fighters real well when they go back. Lennox will try to hold and all that, but when Lennox takes time to get ready to punch, I think Tyson will bust him.''

No way. Lewis is too big, too strong, too good for Tyson - especially this faded version.

Tyson and Lewis, ready to begin negotiations, could meet as soon as October.

--Jones-Harmon: Light heavyweight champion Roy Jones Jr., who beat Derrick Harmon on Saturday in Tampa, Fla., has a megafight with Felix Trinidad in his mind. However, it might not remain there long.

Jones said that if Trinidad takes William Joppy's WBA middleweight title on May 5 and then follows through on plans to fight the winner of the April 14 Bernard Hopkins-Keith Holmes fight, he won't face Trinidad at all.

``I'm not going to wait for him,'' Jones said. ``If that's the case, I'm going to look forward to fighting (Dariusz) Michalczewski. I'm going to move on.''

He added: ``I'm most upset over the fact he says he wants to fight me and I'm ready to fight him. I'm taking him seriously. And then he says he's fighting in this (middleweight) tournament. . . .

``I don't think it's going to happen.''

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Photo: Prince Naseem Hamed, right, has a worthy challenger set for April 7: Marco Antonio Barrera.

Richard Mei/Associated Press