How good was Naseem Hamed

[likeamulekick]

How does he compare to the greats?

[Sugarj]

He was far more talented than he'll be remembered for. I followed his professional career from the beginning and was extremely impressed with his ability to avoid punches, the angles he used, his hand/footspeed and later on his power.

The problem was that after winning his first world title from Steve Robinson he seemed on a steady decline. He had barely lost a round up to that point......but then the rumours started about him training at perculiar hours, neglecting roadwork, problems with his trainer Brendan Ingle.

He started relying on single punch 'rocket launchers' rather than his combinations and his once elusive style became far more exploited by his foes. Dropped by Alicea, hurt badly by Medina, dropped by Tom Johnson, dropped several times by Kevin Kelly. Hamed became more of a banger than a boxer. He couldn't be saved by Manny Steward after ditching Ingle either who was humiliated by having to to corner work on odd rounds, switching between Oscar Swarez!?

There were great performances though; Hardy, Vasquez, Cabrerra, Bungu and Badillo jump to mind. But the loss to Barerra as well as the manner of the loss seemed to really hurt him. For many he'll be judged by that performance, when honestly I feel that the Hamed of 1995 would have probably beaten Barerra.

[Hitman Hodgson]

World class hand and foot speed, ATG power, solid chin, and when wanted to be a very slick fighter. Sadly, he made all his money by the time he started fighting in the states, and simply didn't have the hunger for boxing. Such a shame cause he had everything else needed to become an ATG IMO.

[jabsRstiff]

He wound up where he belonged. That style of his was eventually going to have him come up short. It was a style that worked against the non-elite....and turned into pure embarrassment when he fought someone of Barrera's quality.

He did have a huge punch, natural ability, and an awkwardness that made him very good and very effective. I do not believe he had enough in terms of accomplishments or longevity that would get him tagged as a "great".