BoxRec

By Clive Bernath: Even though he never officially retired I always felt I knew the real reason Naseem Hamed never fought again after out-pointing Spaniard Manuel Calvo in May, 2002.

On Sunday my suspicions were finally proved correct when Naz revealed to BBC Radio 5’s Live Sports week programme that damaged hands forced him stop practising the sport he loved.

"I had hand trouble and could not take the power of my punch," Hamed BBC 5 Live.

"I needed cortisone injections to take away the pain when I fought, then after every fight the gloves would be whipped off and my hands would be as big as balloons.



"It was getting ridiculous and you can’t go on with no ammunition. I was one of the hardest punchers ever known but if the hands are quite brittle and you do damage, then it’s hard to carry on."

There were a number of reasons why my suspicions were aroused concerning Hamed’s lack of activity after the win over Calvo, and it was not just because he stunk out the London Arena with arguably the worst performance of his 37 fight career. No, I vividly remember being ringside that particular night on May 18, 2002 and rather conveniently overheard Hamed confide to promoter Barry Hearn that ‘my hands are f**ked’. As Hamed walked down the steps from the ring he whispered into Hearn’s ear, ‘my hands are f**ked, there’s just nothing there’.

It all makes perfect sense when you think about it because although Hamed was gifted with lightening fast reflexes, especially in the early days, he possessed even greater fire power in those fists he aptly named ‘Rocket Launchers’. Think about it? 31 ko’s from 37 fights. At just 5ft 4 and 9st Hamed hit harder than some world class welterweights. In fact he probably knocked out more fighters with a single shot than any other British boxer so its no wonder those fists ended up being damaged beyond repair.

As mentioned earlier Hamed has never officially retired but after piling on the weight, settling more and more into family life and the fact he has now come clean about his damaged hands I think we can safely assume he will never fight again.

Naseem Hamed may not have been the most popular British boxer in history but one could argue that pound for pound he was one of the hardest hitters.

7 yrs later and we finally get an explanation.

give us the link for the interview.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... 0_08_2009/

here's the link.

go to 42 minutes and you'll hear it.

like all fat retired sportsman he now plays golf.

just gotta bring a book out now naz.

i'd buy it first day it came out tbh. :>

Hand trouble? I seriously doubt the trouble was so bad that it forced Naz to retire. Effectively, a certain Mr Marco Antonio Barrera retired Hamed! He was never going to be the same again after that defeat. He, & quite a great deal of people did not see the defeat to Barrera coming!

Barrera took him to school & then some. By that time, Naz had made a lorry load of money, was fianancially secure & the hunger & desire had waned!

GREAT INTERVIEW

Naz came across very well, especially his Comments about ALI

You only miss someone when they're not there anymore!

Naz's pride took a real beating against Barrera, even if he himself did not. Thats what reitred him, no doubt about it!

his hands may of been bad but marco antonio broke his heart,thats why he never exercised the rematch clause that was in the original contract

Rocky Balboa wrote:Hand trouble? I seriously doubt the trouble was so bad that it forced Naz to retire. Effectively, a certain Mr Marco Antonio Barrera retired Hamed! He was never going to be the same again after that defeat. He, & quite a great deal of people did not see the defeat to Barrera coming!

Barrera took him to school & then some. By that time, Naz had made a lorry load of money, was fianancially secure & the hunger & desire had waned!

I wouldn't call a shot to bits clown losing by 3/4 rounds as taken to school. I Hindsight, it's a surprise Nas never lost earlier. His preperation before bouts became ridiculous after he sacked Ingle, Similar as to what happened to Tyson when he sacked Rooney.

If u want to see a schooling, see Hopkins v Pavlik.

Naz does not seem the sort to cry over a Loss. He seemed more intrested in making the money, hence, no caring if he played the villain or not.

At just 5ft 4 and 9st Hamed hit harder than some world class welterweights

Expand please.

Hmm, it took until now to reveal the reason was as simple and common as brittle hands? I'm not buying it.

oliverfennell wrote:Hmm, it took until now to reveal the reason was as simple and common as brittle hands? I'm not buying it.

Same here - look at the way JC adjusted his style to overcome his hand problems. Naz was certainly capable of doing the same - he'd proved exactly that earlier in his career.
As with other posters here, I think the Barrera defeat took a lot out of him (in terms of heart rather than physical attrition) and you only have to look at his fight prep in the latter years to see he'd lost a lot of his hunger for the game.

I think he had lost a lot way before the Barrera fight which wasn't that bad a defeat, Certainly not as bad as the way some people go on!!

As I have said before he was ignoring trainer's advice and taking unnecessary shot's just to get his own power shot's off, This is what finished him not the Barrera fight......

Classic mistake, I seem to remember a certain Mike Tyson making exactly the same one!

HH

stevieb_8006 wrote:
There were a number of reasons why my suspicions were aroused concerning Hamed’s lack of activity after the win over Calvo, and it was not just because he stunk out the London Arena with arguably the worst performance of his 37 fight career.

Complete shut out of the then European champion, won every round, hardly troubled at all. And anyway, how dare anyone whinge about that night when Dunne Rigby was on the undercard!!

Wales wrote:Complete shut out of the then European champion, won every round, hardly troubled at all.

fella, you're not seriously defending Hamed's performance that night are you? By his own high standards he was absolutely awful. Calvo wouldn't have lasted three rounds with a peak Naz.

I think Naz quit because he probably thought "What's the point?"

Despite what his detractors say he did beat some very good fighters(not great fighters granted but still world class) but as his career went further, his name got bigger and his bank account fatter his attitude towards training changed and was eventually beaten by a man who will be remembered by boxing fans as one of the greatest of his time.

After his clear but dull win over Calvo he probably thought there was no point in carrying on and rightly so. He probably thought "I've been a world champion, made more money than I'd have imagined, have a beautiful wife and kids so why carry on doing it if I don't have the hunger to train anymore?"

Naz was on his way out before the Barrera fight, he always had ridiculous power, but towards the end of his career he was too happy to rely soley on his power. The Barrera defeat was more of a catalyst for retirment than the reason. I think the desire had gone long before he got in the ring with Barrera. The Barrera fight was a great peformance from Barrera, but its taken on this whole mythical status of some sort of dramatic beatdown never before witnessed in the ring. Naz chose to let that fight end his career beacause his heart wasn't in it anymore. I doubt his hands were a major factor in his decision to retire.

if he had bad hands he shouldn't have relied on power, he should have got back to his boxing. but it's alright being wise afterward

i think his big fat ego did him in. the warning signs were there for ages but he didn't change

also, as with many sheffield talents, he just wants to fight in little spurts and go walkabout. even at his best, it was about stealing openings. not about controlling, holding the middle of the ring, etc

Deserter wrote:

Wales wrote:Complete shut out of the then European champion, won every round, hardly troubled at all.

fella, you're not seriously defending Hamed's performance that night are you? By his own high standards he was absolutely awful. Calvo wouldn't have lasted three rounds with a peak Naz.

Am I defending his performance... errm... I was a s dissapointed paying £15 for it as the next person, and im sure many that went wouldve been gutted it wasnt the bobbing, swaying, lunging naseem of old. But to say it was a terrible performance is a bit unfair. He totally outboxed a european champion using boxing skills. Had almost any other british featherweight done that to calvo in that fashion people wouldve applauded the boxing finesse. People wanted the showboating and unpredictable naseem of old and they didnt get it. And thats where the performance is dissapointing. I personally believe Naseem wouldve won a world title boxing like that, but it just wasnt naseem was it.

Wales wrote:

Deserter wrote:

Wales wrote:Complete shut out of the then European champion, won every round, hardly troubled at all.

fella, you're not seriously defending Hamed's performance that night are you? By his own high standards he was absolutely awful. Calvo wouldn't have lasted three rounds with a peak Naz.

Am I defending his performance... errm... I was a s dissapointed paying £15 for it as the next person, and im sure many that went wouldve been gutted it wasnt the bobbing, swaying, lunging naseem of old. But to say it was a terrible performance is a bit unfair. He totally outboxed a european champion using boxing skills. Had almost any other british featherweight done that to calvo in that fashion people wouldve applauded the boxing finesse. People wanted the showboating and unpredictable naseem of old and they didnt get it. And thats where the performance is dissapointing. I personally believe Naseem wouldve won a world title boxing like that, but it just wasnt naseem was it.

Fair enough mate. I think we're actually pretty much in agreement.

naz seems to have really grown up

It's quite funny reading some of the opinons on here.......most posters are way out

Quixall wrote:It's quite funny reading some of the opinons on here.......most posters are way out

Jesus, have you been to the 'Spud school of posting'
If we're all so "way out", please enlighten us...

naz would always state he'd be undefeated, his ego was ridiculous, and that god would ensure he'd never lose.

When Barrera showed him 'who the daddy' was it broke Naz's heart, squashed his ego and gave his faith a big slap in the face.

He could no longer spout his bull**** - tongue in cheek or otherwise (to be honest I think he believed his own hype more than anybody and meant every word)

Deep down I always suspected he was quite a needy immature person and losing to Barrera as he did reinforced that - EVERYONE would have had more respect for Naz for taking the rematch - if he loses again then at least he stood up and was a man - in the end he shrunk away like a little boy scorned.

By memories of naz will always be tainted due to the above

davidas wrote:naz would always state he'd be undefeated, his ego was ridiculous, and that god would ensure he'd never lose.

When Barrera showed him 'who the daddy' was it broke Naz's heart, squashed his ego and gave his faith a big slap in the face.

He could no longer spout his bull**** - tongue in cheek or otherwise (to be honest I think he believed his own hype more than anybody and meant every word)

Deep down I always suspected he was quite a needy immature person and losing to Barrera as he did reinforced that - EVERYONE would have had more respect for Naz for taking the rematch - if he loses again then at least he stood up and was a man - in the end he shrunk away like a little boy scorned.

By memories of naz will always be tainted due to the above

That pretty much sums it up for me too.