Why Do People Think Naseem was "Special?"

[Tom Cruise]

Lol... Like when Floyd called Hamed out and Merchant interrupted him during the Manfredy post fight and said, "Floyd. Hamed probably watched this fight. He's not going to fight you."

LOL!

When were they in the same division?

[Lomadeaux]

When were they in the same division?

Floyd was willing to go down to fight him. Dead set on it until they told him no way.

[GhostofDempsey]

He beat a few decent names, mostly smaller guys. Stepped up to a world class opponent and got schooled.

[Tom Cruise]

He beat a few decent names, mostly smaller guys. Stepped up to a world class opponent and got schooled.

*Beat every world title holder at FW over a few year period, stepped up and fought a bonafide great and lost on points.

[Tom Cruise]

Floyd was willing to go down to fight him. Dead set on it until they told him no way.

Fair I didnt realise that

[GhostofDempsey]

*Beat every world title holder at FW over a few year period, stepped up and fought a bonafide great and lost on points.

Yeah that's fine, but Vazquez was 38 and at the end of his career, McCullough was good not great. Kevin Kelly was a solid win, and to me the one signature win on his record that stands out.

[BattlingNelson]

He reportedly had horrendous hand problems and had fallen out of love with the sport.

How much truth there is in that I dont know. He also made good investments (oil I think), so if they started paying out that early maybe he just didnt need boxing anymore. He is still pretty rich apparently.

He sure looks like he eats well.

[billeau2]

Prince Naseem Hamed pre-1997 beats both Morales and Barrera on the same night. People call Lomachenko the "matrix". Naseem was the real matrix.

Anyone who followed Naseem's career back in the day knows the Naseem of 2001 was a completely different creature to the Naseem of 1995. By 2001 he was injecting his hands to relieve the pain, hardly training (don't blame him, first featherweight in history to break the 3 million mark) and had started to focus more on his religion than boxing.

There's a reason why Barrera considers Naseem his biggest victory and best fight and NOT Morales (see link below to YouTube interview confirming this). Anyone who knows boxing knows Naseem was a unique talent and had the potential to be an all time great. He deserves to be in the HOF (which he is). 35 incredibly entertaining fights, 34 KOs and a really respectful guy (he never mocked or ridiculed fighters after a fight) and accepted his only loss gracefully. WBO, WBC, IBF champion and WBA champion if it wasn't for stupid boxing orgs.

There's three types of people who never liked and will never like Naseem Hamed:

1. People who are ignorant and simply haven't watched all his fights and think he was just a showboating p*ki Amir replica or Broner type. Unlike Mayweather and his ilk who come out like they're about to entertain the pants off us, Naseem came out in style and left with a KO 95% of the time.

2. People who didn't appreciate his religious declarations in the ring at the time. . Understandable given the poltical climate at the time.

3. People (and boxers) who are featherfisted and can't pidgeonhole Hamed's style. He literally invented his own style of boxing. He had power only other fighters could dream of. He could take your head off going backwards and not even utilise half of his power. That intimidates sissies and point scorers.

Here's Barrera on Hamed (Best fight):



I'll just say this. Whenever I see someone who didn't like Prince I avoid them like the plague. I've never ever met anyone who didn't like the Prince who wasn't a boring fart or ignorant hick.

Additional info to consider: Froch and Fury count Naseem as the reason for them lacing gloves. McGregor based his whole persona on Naseem. That's right a featherweight inspired them and countless other to either take up boxing or tune in.

We're in desperate need of a fighter like Naseem Hamed to draw in new fans. Instead we have ******s and millenials like you asking "why was he special?" while they watch Mayweather fight some midget in Japan and wonder why boxing is dying.

na ahh! Kidding!!!

This post is seriously one of the best I ever read on this site. it illustrates how much impact one poster who knows what they are talking about can shed light on a fighter, a topic. I never knew much about Naseem, as I tend to follow the heavier divisions.

I feel like after reading this post I know so much more about the prince. The points made all make sense to me. A boxer needs their hands... floyd had similar problems. I did see the Barrera fight and it was a rough night for the prince...

Definitely feel like I learned something about Naseem!

[DreamFighter]

he has a fair case for being elite, but its not watertight, seeing as he gave up as soon as the best guy he fought beat his azz ( bar crud comeback fight). But hes not hall of fame, certainly not yet...he may add to his legacy one day as a manager etc. He gave away too many years as a wbo guy (had no wieght in the 90s) to be that clearcut famer or even hands down 100% elite.

[DreamFighter]

He was the first go-round of Adrien Broner. He beat a few guys but when he FINALLY tested himself, he got wrecked. Then quit.

he did beat a handful of good guys before that, just a few. Kinda like joe calzaghe managed 2 or 3 in his 2 decades. Actually thats a a very close comparison.

But sure he never took an elite scalp or even looked like he might with Baz, who made him look amateur. I think that knowledge that he couldnt compete with the best of the best, took his heart..as he always claimed to be the best, and now that claim rang hollow.

Hes better than Broner, dude. give him credit.