Prince Naseem Hamed - One of the best ever

Nash_out7y ago

Massive personality, amazing ring entrances and P4P the hardest puncher ever. One of the best resume's of all time as well as shown below. Sometimes people forget how good these guys were. He ended his career W36 L1 with 31 Knockouts. Hamed started his career with only 6 soft touches, most fighters beat 15-20 or more bums before moving up But Hamed did it in his seventh fight. He faced the unbeaten Alan Ley, a quality boxer with a 4-0 record, he was the fighting pride of Newport in Wales. The bookies couldn't split the pair going into the fight. Alan had recently beaten Leigh Williams, in what was Leigh's only career defeat. Hamed knocked out Ley in the 2nd round. It was a very impressive win and the country started to take notice of the man from Sheffield. Hamed's next opponent was a disappointment, he returned to fight at Mansfield leisure centre, the same venue where he made his debut, and fought journyman Kevin Jenkins (3-12-3) winning by a third round KO. Hamed's next step up was in his 12th fight - He faced Vincenzo Belcastro (28-6-3) for the EBU title. Even though Vincenzo had 6 losses to his name, all of them were debated, and he could have went into the fight unbeaten. He avenged a loss to Alessandro De Santis, lost controversially to the unbeaten Thierry Jacob, who he would lose to again controversially later in his career, lost a very close fight to Antonio Picardi (he also avenged this loss beating Picardi 3 times), lost a SD to Jose Sanabria and had a win and a draw over the brilliant Billy Hardy. Belcastro was also known for his iron chin; only ever knocked out once in his 50 fight career. The fight went the distance with Hamed winning every round and capturing the EBU title. Hamed later spoke about how much winning that title meant to him and that he learned a lot from his fight with Belcastro. Hamed then defended his EBU title against the aforementioned Antonio Picardi (24-10) and (1-3 vs Belcastro) Picardi had skill as a boxer, but little power and not the best punch resistance. Hamed won by KO in the 3rd. Hamed had started to get hype worldwide at this point. And the WBC fast-tracked him to fight for the vacant world title. He faced Freddy Cruz from the Dominican Republic. Cruz was tall and a good boxer. He suffered a terrible start to his career. He also was mostly the B-side in a lot of his fights and lost many controversial decisions fighting all over the world. Hamed ended the fight in the 6th, capturing the green strap. Hamed's first defence was against Laureano Ramirez (17-0-1) a decent fighter but not world level and Hamed laid him out in 3. Prince then faced Armando Castro (43-16-3) He was a decent opponent, but again, not quite world level despite wins over the unbeaten pair Domingo Dominguez and Fernando Hernandez. He could only survive to Round 4 against the Prince. He had two more fights before retiring. Hamed then faced Sergio Rafael Liendo (42-4-3) Liendo is best known for his trilogy with Ruben Condori (89-43-24) where he won 2 and drew 1. All three fights were absolute wars. Condori was a good fighter as well and he actually had 4 fights with Gustavo Ballas (105-9-6) over a 25 month period, surprisingly going (2-2) with him. Another unusual fact on Sergio Rafael Liendo is in his first fight with Arao Macedo, who at the time was (5-0) and a much hyped boxer, Liendo lost a bizarre decision in a fight he had clear won by at least 8 points, knocking Macedo down twice in the process. But despite Macedo's "victory" the questionable decision in this fight lead to South American Boxing Federation deciding not to recognise Macedo as a new champion. They rematched 5 months later, this time it was a closer fight, with Liendo winning by SD. Hamed knocked out Liendo in the 2nd round. As Carl Frampton said a few years ago when he faced Scott Quigg - "There are levels to this game." Which is something Carl found out again last Saturday after getting a beat down from the underdog Josh Warrington. Carl is currently considering retiring to take up golf professionally. Prince then defended against Enrique Angeles (26-5) he was a fan friendly fighter, but just couldn't match the ability of Hamed and was blown out in two rounds. This was followed by beating Juan Polo Perez (37-12-2) again in the second round. Perez, had a win over the previously unbeaten Eduardo Williams, but he couldn't take Hamed's 0. Then came an all-British clash, facing WBO world champion Steve Robinson (21-9-1) Steve had a horrendous start to his career, losing more than he won, but suddenly it all clicked for him, he quit the drink, started eating better, training better, and fighting better. He racked up several defences of his WBO world title, and it took Hamed 8 rounds to get him out of there in a very memorable bout. Hamed's next opponent Said Lawal (17-1-1) lasted all of 35 seconds. Nobody saw that coming. After all, Lawal had taken the 0 of five fighters coming into the fight. ( Janos Hajdu, Ivica Donkov, Vladica Buisic, Mitko Angelov, Josef Danco) Humorously nicknamed the cherry-picker, he went after guys' 0's and took their cherrys. Naseem's next fight he headed to the telewest arena in Newcastle, England to face the unbeaten and highly rated Daniel Alicea (15-0), Alicea took the 0 of Orlando Colon at the Kushers Country Club in Monticello, in a fight that is still talked about to this day by those who have seen the fight. Alicea dropped Hamed in the first round. The audience was stunned, but Hamed did what a warrior does in times of a crisis, fight fire with fire, he took out Alicea in round 2. Manual Medina came next, a legend of the sport with a record of (52-7) Many favored Medina to beat Hamed. In was a fight of the year contender, going into the 11th round, Hamed was narrowly ahead when he found the shots to put Medina away. It was a career defining, legacy enhancing win. Prince Naseem then took on Remigio Daniel Molina (27-0) the fight looked dangerous on paper and it is well documented that some of Hamed's team advised him against the fight. He was also (4-0) against Jose Maria Cardona. This fight looked tough, but it was another Round 2 knockout by Hamed. He was looking unstoppable at this point. Tom BOOM BOOM Johnson came next. (44-2-2) One of the best in the world. I still remember watching his split decision victory over Troy Dorsey. It was a great fight, Johnson had plenty of success but not enough to stop him from being steamrolled in the 8th. Hamed added another future hall of famer to his list of victims (Medina and Johnson at this point) A lad from Sunderland called Billy Hardy had been slowly rising to the top and gathering media attention worldwide for his recent displays. They got together for a domestic dust-up at world level. Billy, at the time was (36-7-2) and some serious money had been placed on him to win the fight at the bookies. He had just battered former Naseem Hamed victim Steve Robinson 120-108 and confidence was high. Billy got caught flush in the first round, that was it, but at least he had shared a ring with the legend. Juan Gerardo Cabrera (24-2) was next. Another KO 2 for Hamed as he continued his winning run. A homecoming fight at Sheffield arena against Jose Badillo (20-1) followed, Badillo had just beaten Javier Marquez, and took Hamed to the 7th round, but ultimately, he wasn't good enough. Then came at the time, the biggest fight in world boxing, it would also be the fight of the year. The Prince headed to New York to fight Kevin Kelley (47-1-2) at Maddison Square Garden. Kelley at the top was top 3 P4P. This was Hamed's chance to arguably be the best in the world if he won. I remember watching Kevin Kelley knock down Jesus Poll five times in their fight, thinking that he may even be better than Hamed. The pair traded several knock-downs each before Hamed landed the killer blow in the 4th round. It was unreal. He had beaten another future hall of famer - Kevin Kelley. The Prince was officially boxing royalty. Back to Manchester was next and the opponent Wilfredo Vazquez (50-7-2). And a 7th round knockout win before facing a tougher opponent in Wayne McCullough (22-1) at Atlantic City. McCullough was best known for beaten Johnny Bredahl (at the time 26-0) He took Hamed the distance, but losing a clear UD. The M.E.N. Arena in Manchester was next with the opponent Paul Ingle (21-0) Paul was world class and Hamed's fourth victory over a future hall of famer. Paul had a knockout win over Junior Jones, Junior Jones beat Marcos Antonio Barrera twice. Barrera is a future hall of famer also, obviously. It was an epic fight, the knockout came in the 11th with Hamed ahead on the cards. Cesar Soto (54-7-20) at the Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, was his next fight six months later. Hamed won a wide points decision in a decent scrap. Vuyani Bungu (37-2) followed. Bungu had a good win over Danny Romero, but Hamed ended it in 4 rounds. Augie Sanchez (26-1) Prince scored another 4th round KO in a one-sided fight. Prince then headed to Vegas with his trainer Emmanuel Stewart. At this time Prince was the P4P #1. And he was facing a legend in Marco Antonio Barrera (52-3). Barrera won 115-112, 115-112 and 116-111. But it just wasn't the same Hamed. A little known fact is that in the build up to the fight, Hamed was using a thick tree trunk as a punching bag. Damaging his hand severely and permanently in the process, which minimized his power, his greatest gift. But he went out on his shield and didn't use it as an excuse. He returned 13 months later to win a landslide points decision in a dull fight with Manuel Calvo (33-4-1) With his hand problems obvious, Naseem decided to retire. Ending one of the greatest careers there ever was. He now enjoys watching boxing and eating. He was a joy to watch for all those years.

Comments (20)

KTFOKING

Adrian Broner was the second coming of Hamed, he just didn't retire after Maidana beat him. They both cherry picked their entire career. Once Hamed lost, he ran away from the sport. One of the most over rated fighters of all time. Mayweather called him out and Larry Merchant interrupted him by saying, "Floyd... he probably saw this fight. He's not going to fight you...." That would have been an epic mismatch. Floyd was SO much bigger than Hamed....And just flat out better with sound fundamentals. Hamed vs JMM would have been very interesting though.

7y ago

Lomadeaux

7y ago

Ray

I would give him credit for making the lower weight guys get paid bigger money.

7y ago

baya

Would have LOVED to see prime Hamed vs prime Morales. hamed gets smoked and served c'mon slim.

7y ago

buddyguns

Prince had an amazing career. My only wish is that we could have seen him in with Johnny Tapia. Could you imagine how great that fight would have been?

7y ago

lightningleeroy

Was the fighter that got me into boxing, the guy i loved to hate, ha. ATG entertainer yes i think so. ATG fighter / boxer not in my opinion. Loved the shoot out with Kevin Kelly.

7y ago

EnglishOxide

Would have LOVED to see prime Hamed vs prime Morales.

7y ago

PRINCEKOOL

One of the last boxers to cross over into the mainstream in a big way! Incredible. Just Imagine if Prince Naseem Hamed was around in this era, but there is a time and place for everything. His persona and ability, was right for that time. Not many fighters inspire other fighters with their ability, Mike Tyson did it, Roy Jones did it! But what I am trying to say is, a entire generation wanted to be like these guys. Prince Naseem Hamed had that same influence, where kids all over the world or in boxing gyms where trying to mimic his style. Athletes in other sports such as Michael Jordan had this same influence. Nobody really wants to be like any of the boxers around today, we still all look back to the 90's, 80's, 70's. Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder, and other fighters in the lower weights are not doing anything we have already seen before, at even a better level. Wladimir Kiltschko in his prime, was probably better than all of them. Roy Jones Junior was once described as a once in a life time fighter, but then somebody once corrected that statement? There are some fighters that once they disappear? you never see the likes of them again. Prince Naseem Hamed was one of those fighters, just like Roy Jones Junior, Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali etc

7y ago

baya

prince hamed was a poor mans camacho. didn't have to write all that up there.

7y ago

boliodogs

If he was the hardest puncher ever like you say he was, why would he switch from punching a standard heavy bag that had served him well his whole career to punching a tree? Why would he continue to punch the tree until his hands were ruined? I would think one punch on a tree would tell him it was a really stupid idea and he would not punch the tree a second time. I guess it could have been worse. He could have decided to use a brick wall or a steel door as his punching bag.

7y ago

zerosixthree

I love Prince Naseem but I don't think you can call him an ATG. "Victory has defeated you." pretty much sums up Nas' career. By the end he'd fallen out of love with the sport, he hated the training camps and being away from his family, and lost all discipline. A very sucessful career but very much a waste of potential.

7y ago

chrisJS

He’s became one of the most overrated and overly romanticized fighters. He had a ton of power, was fast and awkward but extremely flawed. His resume is very thin and when he stepped up in class he was throughly outclassed and never came back to prove himself. He didn’t do enough pre-Barrera to warrant an early going away. He’s one of the hall of fame members that doesn’t deserve his shrine IMO.

7y ago

W1LL

Hamed was a great fighter, and a real entertainer. Brings back nostalgic memories from my childhood days when I could watch Stone Cold Steve Austin on the wrestling, then turn over and watch Prince Naseem crush somebody.

7y ago

clemenza

Excellent fighter with many many good wins. One punch knockout power . The prince was a easy guy to dislike with his arrogance and snarky smirk he always had. Let’s be honest the only fighter to disgust me more since him is Broner. I saw his fight against the always game and ready to go 12 rounds Wayne McCulough on Halloween night in Atlantic City. That was a real good high energy fight . A little side note I never saw so many Folks Dressed up like Don King. With that said you can’t take away how Great of a puncher he really was. B+ over all career

7y ago

RomanReigns

Very exciting fighter.

7y ago

Makaveli

He could have been 1 of the best ever , he was too lazy to train properly and retired way too young . Defo 1 of the most gifted fighters in my lifetime though

7y ago

champion4ever

Personally, I think he was a bit overrated. The Barrera loss broke him spiritually and he has never been the same since. He basically quit once his aura of invincibility was inevitably gone and exposed.

7y ago

DreamFighter

Definitely one of the best, there can be no other like Naseem, he would have played with today's featherweight. The only lost he suffered was from Barrera with broken right hand and catching up the weight he drained his strength. I think he made the right decision of retiring unhurt with pocket full of money. what are the odds of him being weight drained AND breaking a hand in one of his two elite bouts? but never against anyone else. CRedit due though, he fought more elites than say Joe Calzaghe, whose fans think hes the 2nd coming for doing nothing.

7y ago

DreamFighter

He had elite power and speed but he seemed, on the evidence to lack some of the tools for the highest (ATG) tier. I can only go on what he did, with Barrera, his 2nd elite bout....which appears to have taken the fire out of him, depicting him as lacking elite motivation, and whether his skill level was elite was brought into question so one sided was that loss...on the face of it it looks from that loss that not only did he not want to dig in when the going got tough but also that he was after that avoiding another beating from an elite because he knew he wasnt as good as them. The other thing that questions his "greatness" was his alignment with the unrecognised 2nd tier titles almost exclusively. But perhaps I am being harsh as he did take out the elite Vasquez.

7y ago

Taha93

True Words I’ve watched a few docs on hamed, Brendon ingle was bitterly disappointed in the direction he took once he gained success, stopped training hard, surrounded him self with yes men etc etc Like Tyson, if he could have stayed dedicated he could have went down as an all time great,but that spark that makes them so exciting is always their down fall Likewise marradonna in football, most rock stars etc etc Wisdom right there. to the point! Anyway he had a great career.

7y ago