BoxRec

Posted: **01 Sep 2009, 05:17**

If he did not retire and kept boxing with his unique style(where he left off) , where would you place him among all the others, maybe shifted him couple division up or down or who he might have stopped from going ahead or made a difference in any current's fighter's resume, my guess is that he was not gonna change much with Eric Morales or Antonio Barrera, but might have done a different in pac's and Mayweather's resume ! or at least Ricky Hatton's for sure !

Posted: **01 Sep 2009, 05:23**

If he'd have carried on he'd have eventually been beaten up and/or knocked out. His heart wasn't in it after the Barrera loss, and he was believing his own hype long before that.

Posted: **01 Sep 2009, 07:30**

verballistic wrote:
cj wrote:If he did not retire and kept boxing with his unique style(where he left off) , where would you place him among all the others, maybe shifted him couple division up or down or who he might have stopped from going ahead or made a difference in any current's fighter's resume, my guess is that he was not gonna change much with Eric Morales or Antonio Barrera, but might have done a different in pac's and Mayweather's resume ! or at least Ricky Hatton's for sure !
pac would destroy him & floyd would shut him out...the barrera that embarrassed naz was only 2 years older when he got beaten down badly by pacman & that was MAB's only loss during a 15-bout span that lasted from 2/00 until 3/07!!

barrera was clearly at the top of his game during that 7-year span & the MAB that showed up naz was the exact same fighter who got whupped by pacman!! floyd actually offered to meet naz at 128 & would have given him a boxing lesson that would make the barrera loss look like a close fight... :(

as for a hatton fight, that one can still be settled...at cruiserweight!! D

Verbs, you're being a little optimistic with that one. There is no way Hamed can make the Cruiserweight limit; have you seen him lately? He looks like a beach ball!

Posted: **01 Sep 2009, 10:15**

verballistic wrote:
sg1985 wrote:have you got a link to a news story about floyd offering naz a fight?
that was about 7-9 years ago...i would suggest googling floyd mayweather+naseem hamed+128 pounds & see if you can find anything or maybe throw in the word "catchweight" instead of 128!! i'm pretty sure i heard that mentioned during the telecast of one of floyd's fights on HBO, so if you could get some videos of his fights between 2000-2002 that may the best bet!!

I remember it being mooted too, but it was nothing substantial. Hamed wasn't the biggest featherweight, so a match higher up, against someone much bigger, and as good as Mayweather, was always a non-starter.

Posted: **01 Sep 2009, 11:40**

I dont think he is nearly as good as Barrera or Morales when he fought the best he came up wanting he lost that fight on funementals. I think he was exciting and powerful but not great by any stretch of the imagination against the best I think he would of lost on every occasion

Posted: **01 Sep 2009, 14:25**

cj wrote:If he did not retire and kept boxing with his unique style(where he left off) , where would you place him among all the others, maybe shifted him couple division up or down or who he might have stopped from going ahead or made a difference in any current's fighter's resume, my guess is that he was not gonna change much with Eric Morales or Antonio Barrera, but might have done a different in pac's and Mayweather's resume ! or at least Ricky Hatton's for sure !

i think to be fair he was an exciting showman, although he overhyped himself, to be fair he didnt ever get ko'd so you cant say he couldnt cut it with the elite. But he went into the ring against barrera thinking he could mug him off and embarass him like he did his other opponents however his other opponents were pretty poor, barrera was elite.

When you look at his resume hatton has fought better fighters. He was caught short a bit but he didnt dodge fights, you cant ask for anything more from a fighter i think he would have taken Nas.

Posted: **01 Sep 2009, 14:56**

feargalocuinneagain wrote:
kingfinn wrote:
cj wrote:If he did not retire and kept boxing with his unique style(where he left off) , where would you place him among all the others, maybe shifted him couple division up or down or who he might have stopped from going ahead or made a difference in any current's fighter's resume, my guess is that he was not gonna change much with Eric Morales or Antonio Barrera, but might have done a different in pac's and Mayweather's resume ! or at least Ricky Hatton's for sure !
i think to be fair he was an exciting showman, although he overhyped himself, to be fair he didnt ever get ko'd so you cant say he couldnt cut it with the elite. But he went into the ring against barrera thinking he could mug him off and embarass him like he did his other opponents however his other opponents were pretty poor, barrera was elite.

When you look at his resume hatton has fought better fighters. He was caught short a bit but he didnt dodge fights, you cant ask for anything more from a fighter i think he would have taken Nas.
True Hatton has fought the Two best P4P boxer, but why didn't he fight J Witter.

J witter did too much bad mouthing about hatton and i dont really believe he is on the same level. He practically made his career out of rambling on about hatton. If he was a big money maker then i think he would have got a chance but as hatton said "why reward a guy for his disrespect by giving him his biggest ever payday".

Posted: **01 Sep 2009, 16:35**

Naseem had about 6-7 prime years left. He may not have appeared to have his confidence when he fought Calvo, but he did win that fight, and if he continued fighting, he likely would have continued winning and regained his confidence. It's mildly difficult to say exactly how good Hamed was since he beat a lot of so-so opponents and lost to one great opponent.

I imagine he would've beaten about three good fighters throughout the remainder of his career. Maybe Soto, Casamayor, Diaz, Witter, who knows.

Posted: **01 Sep 2009, 16:53**

Hamed would have eventually ended up in the lightweight division with his power. I would have loved to see a Hamed/Frietas, Hamed/Casamayor, and even Hamed/Pacquiao. But its good that Hamed did indeed step away when he did, because the competition in that era, around the 126-135lbs class was very dangerous, and would have beat Hamed very convincingly like Barerra did, or worst.

Posted: **02 Sep 2009, 02:51**

glittermonkey wrote:If he'd have carried on he'd have eventually been beaten up and/or knocked out. His heart wasn't in it after the Barrera loss, and he was believing his own hype long before that.

Yeah i guess in any sport or anything you have to have your heart in it , i guess he was rich enough and didn't bother to come back . but he was such entertainer .

Posted: **02 Sep 2009, 02:59**

verballistic wrote:
cj wrote:If he did not retire and kept boxing with his unique style(where he left off) , where would you place him among all the others, maybe shifted him couple division up or down or who he might have stopped from going ahead or made a difference in any current's fighter's resume, my guess is that he was not gonna change much with Eric Morales or Antonio Barrera, but might have done a different in pac's and Mayweather's resume ! or at least Ricky Hatton's for sure !
pac would destroy him & floyd would shut him out...the barrera that embarrassed naz was only 2 years older when he got beaten down badly by pacman & that was MAB's only loss during a 15-bout span that lasted from 2/00 until 3/07!!

barrera was clearly at the top of his game during that 7-year span & the MAB that showed up naz was the exact same fighter who got whupped by pacman!! floyd actually offered to meet naz at 128 & would have given him a boxing lesson that would make the barrera loss look like a close fight... :(

as for a hatton fight, that one can still be settled...at cruiserweight!! D

one other thing that made NAZ who he was i guess his power punches ,but unfortunately Barrera was someone that could absorbed a lots of punches , maybe that was the case ? Hatton don't have that great of a chin , so he had a chance against him. on the other hand Floyd is not an aggressive fighter, so that could've made a different in the fight !

Posted: **02 Sep 2009, 07:19**

Interesting article on Naz's reason for retiring

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.

Posted: **02 Sep 2009, 17:32**

Chambers2 wrote:Interesting article on Naz's reason for retiring

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.

Thanks for sharing the interesting article , that sounds like a legit reason to me , but definitely sad, well, you never know after couple years his hands might heal and you see him again . :(

Posted: **03 Sep 2009, 05:44**

Hamed's problem was his lack of discipline and oversized ego. He could have beaten MAB, but he didn't train properly and was so confident that he could simply rely on his akward body movement and odd punch angles would be enough that he lost.
the key was MAB keeping focus, boxing simply and using his speed.
Both PBF and Naz have incredible boxing talent and athletic gifts, the difference being Naz having a huge punch but being lazy and undisciplined with a tendency to baloon up, while Floyd always comes 100% focused and is always very fit.

Posted: **03 Sep 2009, 06:53**

now, this is a kinda interesting story its up to you to believe it or not, but it came from a good source (Family friend) someone that lives in England and was kinda close to him, Everytime Hamed win a fight, he would get a huge gift from Arab Sheikhs , i heard he got couple brand new Mercedez and few mansions for every KO , but Naz promised them that if i ever lose once , he would never fight again, he lost to Barrera but still did another last one .

Posted: **03 Sep 2009, 13:25**

I don't understand why people use the Marco Antonio Barrera fight as the blanket fight for the Prince's career. Obviously it was his only loss so that puts it in the spotlight, but I think people tend to forget that MAB is one of the greatest fighters of his era, the guy is a world champion in 3 weight classes. Hamed lost to him, fair enough, he's not as great as Barrera. But he's certainly still an excellent fighter. Hamed was the first fighter to unify the featherweight division - yes not officially because certain belts were stripped, but if you look at who was champion when he fought them, he managed to unify the division. And he fought plenty of former, current and future world champions. Guys like Bungu, McCullough, Kelley, etc.

For the record, Hamed defeated Steve Robinson for the WBO title, Tom "Boom Boom" Johnson for the IBF, Cesar Soto for the WBC, and the WBA champion, Wilfredo Vazquez, gave up his belt in order to face Hamed, the biggest star in the division at that time.

Hamed participated in 16 world title fights. While some of his opponents in those bouts were obscure (Said Lawal, KO1, March 1996) or had seen better days (Kevin Kelley, KO4 in that remarkable up-and-downer in New York, December 1997), others (Remigio Daniel Molina, Wayne McCullough) went on to challenge for world titles years after their defeat by Hamed, and two fighters stopped in the 11th by Hamed (Manuel Medina and Paul Ingle) went on to become world champions.

Posted: **03 Sep 2009, 22:57**

sg1985 wrote:have you got a link to a news story about floyd offering naz a fight?

lmao floyd offering a bigger name at the time a fight. That's like Buster Douglas offering the Klitscko's a fight now.

Posted: **04 Sep 2009, 00:32**

He was, for me, an awesome fighter. Maybe not quiet enough there to tackle the likes of a Barrera or a peak Morales, but he was fun.

Some people didn't like his approach and brashness, but I thought it was brilliant. Upto and including his victory against Badillo (ok, not the greatest selection, granted) - He was electric.

He lost, fair enough, still a shame we dont have anyone around like him atm.

Posted: **04 Sep 2009, 00:58**

Naz filled Arenas with his style just like Roy Jones Did, he was a very exciting and a great fight....he was never really tested and started to think he was supreme and never put in the effort because everyone around him was a yes man!!!!! especially Manny Stewart for the MAB fight...if you watch the doco you could tell that Manny could not care for the fight and should have put him in his place....MAB was training in public gyms living in cabins at Big bear while Naz had his entourage and a gym set up in a fornicating mansion...

I think if he had a more serious attitude when it came to training, we could of wiped the floor with alot of fighters...including MAB in a rematch, Morales, Pacman and even Mayweather....he possessed something that most of these guys didn't and that was incredible power (one punch power), he could KO people with a jab.....so i think if he was well disciplined he could of been one of the greatest...but i still love the dude regardless

Posted: **04 Sep 2009, 01:21**

feargalocuinneagain wrote:
cj wrote:now, this is a kinda interesting story its up to you to believe it or not, but it came from a good source (Family friend) someone that lives in England and was kinda close to him, Everytime Hamed win a fight, he would get a hug gift from Arab Sheikhs , i heard he got couple brand new Mercedez and few mansions for every KO , but Naz promised them that if i ever lose once , he would never fight again, he lost to Barrera but still did another last one .
Why did he tell the Sheikhs that if he lost he would never fight again??

its kinda hard to convince most people with a single reason, but from what i heard, he made a promise to himself as well some people around him, that if he lost once , that would be it.

Posted: **04 Sep 2009, 01:22**

Soundkamp wrote:Naz filled Arenas with his style just like Roy Jones Did, he was a very exciting and a great fight....he was never really tested and started to think he was supreme and never put in the effort because everyone around him was a yes man!!!!! especially Manny Stewart for the MAB fight...if you watch the doco you could tell that Manny could not care for the fight and should have put him in his place....MAB was training in public gyms living in cabins at Big bear while Naz had his entourage and a gym set up in a effing mansion...

I think if he had a more serious attitude when it came to training, we could of wiped the floor with alot of fighters...including MAB in a rematch, Morales, Pacman and even Mayweather....he possessed something that most of these guys didn't and that was incredible power (one punch power), he could KO people with a jab.....so i think if he was well disciplined he could of been one of the greatest...but i still love the dude regardless

very well said

Posted: **04 Sep 2009, 06:13**

verballistic wrote: one other thing that made NAZ who he was i guess his power punches ,but unfortunately Barrera was someone that could absorbed a lots of punches , maybe that was the case ? Hatton don't have that great of a chin , so he had a chance against him. on the other hand Floyd is not an aggressive fighter, so that could've made a different in the fight !

no chance dude...in case you never followed barrera's fistic development, his win over naz came during his boxer phase...only 6 of marco's 43 KO wins have come from the year 2000 until now!! after getting KOd by light-hitting junior jones, MAB started raising his boxing skill level & even then his hand speed, footwork and defensive skills were well below floyd's but he was STILL able to keep hamed from landing any really deadly power shots...against floyd hamed would have been swinging at air all 12 rounds!!

naz built most of his good but not great legacy vs fighters who were carefully selected because of their 1. name, 2. advancing age 3. moving up in weight...when he finally faced a world-class fighter in his prime like barrera, he just couldnt cut the mustard!! IMO if naz had gotten more amateur experience instead of turning pro at 18, he would have had a MUCH better foundation of traditional boxing skills & wouldnt have needed to depend so much on his wild-swinging power & all the telegraphed punches that went with it!! :([/quote]

Hey Verb. I'll admit I'm biased because I'm a fan of Hamed, but if you know the full Hamed story you'll know Nas was already in steep decline before the Kevin Kelley fight, never mind his fight with Barrera. I think you're under-rating him based on that performance. Once he broke from the ingles after a messy dispute (having trained with them from the age of seven) he went from being a little ball of muscle who rarely got hit, threw punches in combinations to body and head, to a headhunter who relied on single shots. Also, just look at his body in the Barrera fight, compared to say, the Robinson fight. The way he performed in the Robinson fight was way above the Barrera fight, regardless of the opponent. In my humble opinion, the Nas that fought Bungu/Robinson would have beat Barrera, because at his peak Nas was so much more than just a power-puncher. But of course potential and opinions count for nothing, its about actual achievements, so I'll always rank Barrera and his legacy above Nas for sure, but I just thought I'd give a british perspective on Nas, as by the time he hit USA he was already in decline.

Posted: **04 Sep 2009, 09:27**

the difference being Tyson, despite all that happened outside the ring, has been an invincible world champ for quite a while , has beaten some of the bests and will remain forever as an all time great. Hamed never really achieved a lot besides beating Kelley and defending his cheap WBO title a few times. As soon as he met with another great, he lost and hung them up.

Posted: **04 Sep 2009, 10:14**

Hamed beat all the other champions in his division. I'd settle for more fighters never really achieving a lot if it meant more fights between the champions of the various sanctioning bodies.

Posted: **04 Sep 2009, 17:44**

Whilst Hamed brought excitement to the ring, he was handed a spanking by Barrera and perhaps wisely decided to call it quits after the Calvo fights.....don't really buy into the hand problems story that has been been kicking around as Naz was after a rematch with Barrera.....

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