Prince Naseem Hamed - showman or all-time great?

[Konstantin]

The prince had me questioning some of his match expectations... he used tohave his hair "perfect" rite beofre a match and ofcorse, spend alot of time planing his entrance.

Could he have performed better in the ring if he put that extra focus into the match?

yeah I think he had all the tools to be an all time great but he didnt focus on them enough. And who ever said he doesnt have a good chin? Name one fight were he was hurt. And btw being knocked down doesnt mean you're hurt, especially when your up by the count of 3.

[big paulie]

He was an all-time-great ****SUCKER

[kcxiv]

No way is Hamed an all-time great. Too much of a showman, and ducked legit competition.

[Hearnsz]

Professional sportsmen earn money not because they contribute in the society (not in a direct way atleast) but to entertain the viewers, like singers, circus etc...
Naseem Hamed can afford to be a clown in the ring grace to his boxing talent obviously. And yes, he'd probably have done better if he focused less on showmenship but I believe less people would remember him if so.
(Another example: 99% of the non-boxingfans will say Ali is the greatest boxer of all time. Because they only know about him due to his reputation)
Boxing NEEDS people like Naseem, Ray Leonard, Ali... to keep the sport fun to watch.

Basicly: for the boxers individually its all about the skills but in general its about showmenship.

[Jim_Davis]

All time great. Although his reign was brief he was basically on his way to being the first boxer to hold four titles in one weight division (cheated out of it).

Boxing NEEDS Prince Naseem NOW. Maybe then it wouldnt be so ****ing **** behind UFC.

[Cuauhtémoc1520]

Great and Naseem don't belong in the same sentence. He was a flashy fighter at the most but that's about it. A fighter is judged by his level of opposition and when he stepped up in opposition he got beaten and beaten bad.

Boxing is much more than physical ability. If every guy that ran a 4.3 40 yard dash made the NFL, then there would be 50 teams instead of 32.

In boxing it's the same, just because you are strong or fast doesn't mean you are a great fighter. I spar with loud mouthed 19 year olds all the time that think they can beat my ass because I'm in my 30's and they end up getting taught a lesson.

Hammed had all the natural abilities but had no heart or backbone. He was the ultimate bully for most of his career and the second he found someone that wasn't buying into his bull**** and loud mouth, he got his ass beat into retirement.

Great? Never......good, maybe. He was just a flash in the pan, a minor footnote in the history or boxing.

[BOLLOCKS]

Why didn't the Prince Naseem KTFO JMM before he retired.

[Mr. Ryan]

I can only say from what he did upon coming to America, he was mostly a showman. Hamed was no one to take lightly, he was knocking people out while jumping in the air for Pete's sake. What he lacks are career-defining wins. Knocking out Tom Johnson and Kevin Kelley, those are good wins. Morales, Barrera, those are great wins.

Hamed did a lot for boxing while he was here, the defining fact is that he is not here anymore.

[Mr. Ryan]

All time great. Although his reign was brief he was basically on his way to being the first boxer to hold four titles in one weight division (cheated out of it).

Boxing NEEDS Prince Naseem NOW. Maybe then it wouldnt be so ****ing **** behind UFC.

If Hamed came back, he would get the living **** beat out of him. It would be sad. Besides, what would Prince coming back accomplish? He isn't a top fighter anymore and he wouldn't fight anyone of note.

[Sugarj]

No, not an all time great for me.........but he could have been, his march to the title fight with Steve Robinson was fantastic, he was fast, elusive, a good combination puncher who had power.

His fight with Robinson was a superb display of powerful combination punching combined with defensive genius, its just that his peak lasted only two years....till the end of 1997 when he nearly came a cropper against Kevin Kelly.

The post Robinson Hamed looked impressive against good world championship fighters Tom Johnson, Manuel Medina (even when obviously full of a cold), Wilfredo Vasquez and spectacular against fringe contenders Jose Badillo, Juan Cabrerra and Billy Hardy. This Hamed was pound for pound rated by all the boxing publications of the time, he could have gone on with this form to be an all time great.

The Kevin Kelly fight was for Hamed a poor display of boxing, he was obviously trying to KO Kelly with one shot, which he obviously did at the end! But from here on his reliance on his one punch power became symptomatic of a fighter in decline.

Then came the split with Brendan Ingle, the trainer who knows that style better than any other trainer, the McCullough performance reflected problems in the camp. From here on in Hamed fell from greatness very quickly, he look ed vulnerable in winning against Paul Ingle, Cesar Soto and Augie Sanchez.....what was missing? Answer combination punching! What else? He wasn't quite as elusive as he once was! Why? Because he was taking more punches trying to land his own bombs. Taking hard whacks to the head does little good for improving cat like reactions which Hamed once had!

He was employing two trainers who did not specialise in training southpaws, Oscar Suarez and the great Emmanuel Steward and would have each offer advice in turn after alternative rounds.............ridiculous! Was it a suprise that he lost to Barrera? Barrera had looked amazing against Moralles and yet he was still the underdog, remember that even a faded Hamed was favoured to beat him.

I truely believe a pre 1997/98 Hamed would have done far better against Barrera, I think he is responsible to a degree for his own downfall. With the right direction, attitude and form of the Robinson, Johnson and Badillo fights I really think Hamed could have prevailed in fights with Barrera and Moralles, victories here would have cemented his legend and left critics with little alternative to consider him an all time great.

Shame he didn't make an effective comeback after the Barrera loss, this would have helped soften criticisms against him, some fighters come back better, his lacklustre display against Manuel Calvo lead to Hamed ditching the ring, getting out of condition, putting on weight and retiring. I'd show interest in a comeback, I'm sure he will make one some day.............they always do and he has said he will within the last year or so! Think Ray Leonard, Herol Graham, Muhammed Ali, Chris Eubank. I just doubt he'll be back at featherweight! Or with anything like the form of the mid 90s!