The Greatness of Naseem Hamed

[Left Hook Tua]

I regard Hamed below Barrera, Morales or even JMM. He's not a hoax but he ain't all that either compared to those three.

He's better than Khoasai Galaxy for sure. I keep seeing the name of that tomato can collector... geez.

barrera and morales are definitely a level above naseem.

i know a lot of jmm guys are gonna throw a tantrum but if you look at their resume. naseem in his short career had a better resume than juanma.

think about it. jmm's best wins a peden , gainer , medina , juarez , etc. certainly not superior to naseem's.

naseem and juan ma fought a lot of the same people but naseem fought them earlier and was more spectacular in his wins.

unless you count old barrera and the 2 pacquiao "wins".

if you look at their losses. naseem only has one loss while juan ma has several.

naseem also won his belts long before juanma did and held them a lot longer.

[Clegg]

Hamed was a fantastic fighter. The first fight I watched live was Tyson-Bruno 2. Naz was on the undercard and from that moment on I was boxing fan. Without a doubt the most exciting fighter that I have ever seen. I cannot find some of his fights online, so recently I had to dig out my VHS tapes for a watch.

No doubt he lost against Barrera, but people act like it was 12-0, it was more like 8-4. Barrera also fought a great fight that night, he was smart enough to change his style. If he had fought Hamed the same way he fought Junior Jones, it would've been the same result.

I agree with those people that say he went downhill after splitting from his trainer, but I don't blame Hamed for that. His trainer did a book where he said a lot of negative things about Naz, and that ruined their relationship.

Hamed had great power, speed, reflexes, and threw shots from crazy angles. Maybe Earnie Shavers hit harder, but did he ever jump across the ring and land a KO punch with his feet off the ground?

To the guy saying he was a circus act...was Ali a circus act when he danced around the ring? Was Roy Jones a circus act when he put his hands behind his back and then KO'd someone? Was Mayweather a clown when he came to the ring with that gladiator suit on?

I hate the way he ended his career though, and what he did afterwards.

[Left Hook Tua]

Hamed was overrated and touted by his biggest fans to the extreme.....it was very annoying being an objective fan during his little "reign".....Kelley...ok....McCullough....alright. Don't let his other opponents' records fool you....they weren't all that. Was Augie Sanchez a true force to be reckoned with? I don't think so...

I see him as a flash in the pan.

He was simply an unorthodox power puncher who was in the right place at the right time....that is...until he met Barrera and got ruined.

He had a bad attitude and a big mouth....and he disrespected Boxing by saying he was the greatest Feather in history.

Yeah....he can be listed as a Top 100 P4P puncher....but the reality is that he can't smell The Top 10 great Featherweights and can't see The Top 100 ATGs with a telescope.....

hamed was on the decline before barrera.

he had multiple belts at 126 for 5-6 years. he fought every single title holder at 126 during that time.

i think he did pretty damn good.

[Jose Rizal]

barrera and morales are definitely a level above naseem.

i know a lot of jmm guys are gonna throw a tantrum but if you look at their resume. naseem in his short career had a better resume than juanma.

think about it. jmm's best wins a peden , gainer , medina , juarez , etc. certainly not superior to naseem's.

naseem and juan ma fought a lot of the same people but naseem fought them earlier and was more spectacular in his wins.

unless you count old barrera and the 2 pacquiao "wins".

if you look at their losses. naseem only has one loss while juan ma has several.

naseem also won his belts long before juanma did and held them a lot longer.

Yeah but he has Barrera's scalp. That's bigger than anything in the Prince's resume, and the fact that Barrera totally outclassed him in that MMA fight...lol... his reputation takes a big hit. Most of the names on his list weren't true superstars. JMM had proven he had the ability to hang with Pac and MAB. I can't say the same for Hamed who vanished into oblivion after his biggest test, and JMM's not done yet with his legacy.

[Clegg]

Yeah but he has Barrera's scalp. That's bigger than anything in the Prince's resume, and the fact that Barrera totally outclassed him in that MMA fight...lol... his reputation takes a big hit. Most of the names on his list weren't true superstars. JMM had proven he had the ability to hang with Pac and MAB. I can't say the same for Hamed who vanished into oblivion after his biggest test, and JMM's not done yet with his legacy.

David Diaz has Morales' scalp. Does that mean that he has a better resume than Hamed?

[The C.E.O.]

i think he did pretty damn good.

He DID do pretty damn good....but we're talking Greatness here....not a Top 10 Feather....and not a Top 100 ATG....

His loss against Barrera, and not really doing anything about it afterwards really hurt him when it comes to his Greatness level....

On the other hand...Barrera's win against Hamed really elevated his....

A true champion comes back after a loss when they're young...it wasn't like he was shot...Barrera beat a very strong Hamed....

[Left Hook Tua]

Yeah but he has Barrera's scalp. That's bigger than anything in the Prince's resume, and the fact that Barrera totally outclassed him in that MMA fight...lol... his reputation takes a big hit. Most of the names on his list weren't true superstars. JMM had proven he had the ability to hang with Pac and MAB. I can't say the same for Hamed who vanished into oblivion after his biggest test, and JMM's not done yet with his legacy.

well if we want to get technical his win over barrera was at 130. so technically not featherweight resume.

the names hamed beat weren't superstars but hamed was a superstar whereas juan ma is not.

hamed has more solid , good wins than marquez. he also lost to greater fighters than marquez did. i'll take 1 loss to barrera over losses to chris john and norwood anyday.

funny. pacquiao can't get credit for beating a 2003 "old" and "past prime" barrera but marquez's defining win of his career was over the 4 year older 2007 version of barrera. tsk tsk tsk the dilemna of being a jmm fan/pac hater.

[Left Hook Tua]

He DID do pretty damn good....but we're talking Greatness here....not a Top 10 Feather....and not a Top 100 ATG....

His loss against Barrera, and not really doing anything about it afterwards really hurt him when it comes to his Greatness level....

On the other hand...Barrera's win against Hamed really elevated his....

A true champion comes back after a loss when they're young...it wasn't like he was shot...Barrera beat a very strong Hamed....

difference of how we view great i think.

to me he doesn't have to be an all time great fighter to be a great fighter.

for instance i consider joe calzaghe a great fighter but i don't consider him an all time great.

[The C.E.O.]

difference of how we view great i think.

to me he doesn't have to be an all time great fighter to be a great fighter.

for instance i consider joe calzaghe a great fighter but i don't consider him an all time great.

It can be subjective...

Sure...he appeared great for while...but I personally see him as just a flash in the pan....and not as big as a Tyson flash.

[Jose Rizal]

well if we want to get technical his win over barrera was at 130. so technically not featherweight resume.

the names hamed beat weren't superstars but hamed was a superstar whereas juan ma is not.

hamed has more solid , good wins than marquez. he also lost to greater fighters than marquez did. i'll take 1 loss to barrera over losses to chris john and norwood anyday.

funny. pacquiao can't get credit for beating a 2003 "old" and "past prime" barrera but marquez's defining win of his career was over the 4 year older 2007 version of barrera. tsk tsk tsk the dilemna of being a jmm fan/pac hater.

I won't defend JMM because I'm not a big fan of his but I can relate to his fans questioning those losses and having a field day with it. JMM not being as big a star as Hamed once was can be credited more to the kind of hype Hamed's circus act created, his arrogant attitude, and the excitement generated by his style. JMM has a boring counterpunching style that most bloodthirsty fans fail to appreciate. It doesn't mean he doesn't have superstar ability. I think when talking legacy, it's the quality of names on you list that matters most and having Barrera in there as a victim is testament how good he is. Compare a win over Kelly over Barrera... I'd take the victory of JMM over the Mexican Legend.

Fans tend to take that prime and past prime talk too seriously especially when you consider the 2007 Barrera would still be a tough nut to crack for any world class super featherweight today.