Just how good was Prince Naseem?

[JOM'S]

Got to give it to you MOOKS, you have way with words,tough guy...

and I like this one best...
"This "overestmation" comes from fans who saw him grow and improve from flyweight on. Having seen the guy overcome adversities and tough opponents gives us an idea of the potential he posseses. It is not clear to everyone else as they haven't seen much fight from him to be convinced. Us however have, and for the rest, well all in due time."
__________________

[dpfinley]

Of all of Nas's fights I've seen...I give him an 8. His ring entrance alone was worth that much. You have to admit he was a very entertaining fighter to watch because he had decent power and could throw from all angles. He was the figher everyone loved to hate, and honestly, I wish he would make a full come back because he always made a good showing.

[FistoftheDallasStar]

He was a good fighter with an unorthodox fighting style and a hard punch. He threw punches from strange angles and this helped him knockout helpless fighters but his unbalanced style would have failed against any top notch well schooled fighters. I gave him a 7.

[Silencer]

I would say that he's at least an above average fighter. But the more important thing about him is that he's very exciting fighter to watch.
Just don't like his attitude...

[muay]

sorry mate thats bull. if he did that he would never have taken on barerra who is five times the fighter of any of those names you have just mentioned.
Naz was the name not espinosa.

jeez i doubt half the people on here have even heard of espinosa.
theres only so many defences a year the man can make and looking at Naz record he fought 90% of the top feathers of his day.
Naz was the man in the niniteies no doubt in my mind anyway!

i cant belive im arguing for Naz i cant stand him

Let's see the chronology here :

Dec. 11, 1995 - Espinosa UD Mantecas Medina to become WBC featherweight champ
Sept. 30, 1995 - Hamed TKO8 Steve Robinson, to become WBO featherweight champ
March 1, 1996 - Espinosa KO4 Cobrita Gonzalez, 1st defense (WBC)
March 16, 1996 - Hamed TKO8 Said Lawal, 1st defense (WBO)
July 6, 1996 - Espinosa UD Cesar Soto, 2nd defense (WBC)
June 8, 1996 - Hamed TKO2 Daniel Alicea, 2nd defense (WBO)
August 31, 1996 - Hamed TKO 11 Mantecas Medina, 3rd defense (WBO)
October 2, 1996 - Espinosa TKO8 Nobutoshi Hiranaka, 3rd defense (WBC)
November 9, 1996 - Hamed TKO2 Daniel Molina, 4th defense (WBO)
February 8, 1997 - Hamed TKO8 Tom Johnson, 5th defense (WBO) and annexed the IBF featherweight belt
May 3, 1997 - Hamed KO1 Billy Hardy, 6th defense (WBO), 1st (IBF)
May 17, 1997 - Espinosa TD8 Mantecas Medina, 4th defense (WBC)
June 19, 1997 - Hamed TKO2 Juan Cabrera, 7th defense (WBO), 2nd (IBF)
October 11, 1997 - Hamed KO7 Jose Badillo, 8th defense (WBO)
December 6, 1997 - Espinosa TKO6 Carlos Rios, 5th defense (WBC)
December 19, 1997 - Hamed KO4 Kevin Kelley, 9th defense (WBO)
April 18, 1998 - Hamed TKO7 Wilfredo Vazquez, 10th defense (WBO)
August 15, 1998 - Espinosa TD11 Juan Carlos Ramirez, 6th defense (WBC)
October 31, 1998 - Hamed UD12 Wayne McCullough, 11th defense (WBO)
November 11, 1998 - Espinosa TKO2 Kennedy McKinney, 7th defense (WBC)
April 10, 1999 - Hamed KO11 Paul Ingle, 12th defense (WBO)
May 15, 1999 - Espinosa (L)UD12 Cesar Soto, lost WBC featherweight belt
October 22, 1999 - Hamed UD12 Cesar Soto, annexed WBC featherweight belt

So who fought 90% of the top featherweights of the 90's here?
Espinosa - Medina(51-6-0), Gonzalez(37-3-0), Soto(43-6-2), Rios(39-0-1), Ramirez(14-0-0)
Hamed - Medina(52-7-0), Kelley(47-1-2), Soto(54-7-2), Vazquez(50-7-2)

Espinosa beat-up Medina and Soto first before Hamed fought them, and he TKO'd Cobrita Gonzalez who TKO'd Kelley. He never had the chance to lay his hands on Vazquez (who was WBA champ that time), IMO he would've handled him the same way he did to Kennedy McKinney who were small featherweights (they're natural 118~122 lbers).

All I'm saying here is, Hamed wasn't the best featherweight during the 90's, there was another champ named Luisito Espinosa who was unknown but nonetheless a very good fighter also. Perhaps with more skills than the very popular Prince Hamed. Hamed has more fights obviously, but that's a no brainer, Espinosa is based in the Phils. and getting fights here in Asia is a lot more difficult. BTW, it is not BS that Hamed avoided Espinosa and Riath Hamed offered to promote his fights, i heard it from the lips of Mr. Ronnie Nathanielsz, a writer of this site, commentating in one of Espinosa's fights.

Going back to the topic of this thread, i rate Naseem Hamed an eight (8), annexing the WBO, WBC & IBF belts is something.

[THRILLAinmanila]

Let's see the chronology here :

Dec. 11, 1995 - Espinosa UD Mantecas Medina to become WBC featherweight champ
Sept. 30, 1995 - Hamed TKO8 Steve Robinson, to become WBO featherweight champ
March 1, 1996 - Espinosa KO4 Cobrita Gonzalez, 1st defense (WBC)
March 16, 1996 - Hamed TKO8 Said Lawal, 1st defense (WBO)
July 6, 1996 - Espinosa UD Cesar Soto, 2nd defense (WBC)
June 8, 1996 - Hamed TKO2 Daniel Alicea, 2nd defense (WBO)
August 31, 1996 - Hamed TKO 11 Mantecas Medina, 3rd defense (WBO)
October 2, 1996 - Espinosa TKO8 Nobutoshi Hiranaka, 3rd defense (WBC)
November 9, 1996 - Hamed TKO2 Daniel Molina, 4th defense (WBO)
February 8, 1997 - Hamed TKO8 Tom Johnson, 5th defense (WBO)
May 3, 1997 - Hamed KO1 Billy Hardy, 6th defense (WBO)
May 17, 1997 - Espinosa TD8 Mantecas Medina, 4th defense (WBC)
October 11, 1997 - Hamed KO7 Jose Badillo, 7th defense (WBO)
December 6, 1997 - Espinosa TKO6 Carlos Rios, 5th defense (WBC)
December 19, 1997 - Hamed KO4 Kevin Kelley, 8th defense (WBO)
April 18, 1998 - Hamed TKO7 Wilfredo Vazquez, 9th defense (WBO)
August 15, 1998 - Espinosa TD11 Juan Carlos Ramirez, 6th defense (WBC)
October 31, 1998 - Hamed UD12 Wayne McCullough, 10th defense (WBO)
November 11, 1998 - Espinosa TKO2 Kennedy McKinney, 7th defense (WBC)
April 10, 1999 - Hamed KO11 Paul Ingle, 11th defense (WBO)
May 15, 1999 - Espinosa (L)UD12 Cesar Soto, lost WBC featherweight belt
October 22, 1999 - Hamed UD12 Cesar Soto, annexed WBC featherweight belt

So who fought 90% of the top featherweights of the 90's here?
Espinosa - Medina(51-6-0), Gonzalez(37-3-0), Soto(43-6-2), Rios(39-0-1), Ramirez(14-0-0)
Hamed - Medina(52-7-0), Kelley(47-1-2), Soto(54-7-2), Vazquez(50-7-2)

Espinosa beat-up Medina and Soto first before Hamed fought them, and he TKO'd Cobrita Gonzalez who TKO'd Kelley. He never had the chance to lay his hands on Vazquez (who was WBA champ that time), IMO he would've handled him the same way he did to Kennedy McKinney who were small featherweights (they're natural 118~122 lbers).

All I'm saying here is, Hamed wasn't the best featherweight during the 90's, there was another champ named Luisito Espinosa who was unknown but nonetheless a very good fighter also. Perhaps with more skills than the very popular Prince Hamed. BTW, it is not BS that Hamed avoided Espinosa and Riath Hamed offered to promote his fights, i heard it from the lips of Mr. Ronnie Nathanielsz, a writer of this site, commentating in one of Espinosa's fights.

Great post dude I should call you the "encyclopedia of boxingscene"

[Cletus Funk]

[QUOTE=muay_thai]
So who fought 90% of the top featherweights of the 90's here?
Espinosa - Medina(51-6-0), Gonzalez(37-3-0), Soto(43-6-2), Rios(39-0-1), Ramirez(14-0-0)
Hamed - Medina(52-7-0), Kelley(47-1-2), Soto(54-7-2), Vazquez(50-7-2)

Espinosa beat-up Medina and Soto first before Hamed fought them, and he TKO'd Cobrita Gonzalez who TKO'd Kelley. He never had the chance to lay his hands on Vazquez (who was WBA champ that time), IMO he would've handled him the same way he did to Kennedy McKinney who were small featherweights (they're natural 118~122 lbers).

All I'm saying here is, Hamed wasn't the best featherweight during the 90's, there was another champ named Luisito Espinosa who was unknown but nonetheless a very good fighter also. Perhaps with more skills than the very popular Prince Hamed. Hamed has more fights obviously, but that's a no brainer, Espinosa is based in the Phils. and getting fights here in Asia is a lot more difficult. BTW, it is not BS that Hamed avoided Espinosa and Riath Hamed offered to promote his fights, i heard it from the lips of Mr. Ronnie Nathanielsz, a writer of this site, commentating in one of Espinosa's fights.

QUOTE]

You seem to have omitted Tom Johnson (reigning IBF champ) and Paul Ingle (future IBF champ) from Naz's list of the top FW that he fought as well as Barerra, McCullogh and Robinson so I would say that it was Naz who faced the better opposition.

Also, Hamed beat Soto with him coming off a victory over Espinosa so I don't understand the "beat-up" comment.

No doubt Espinosa was good but he lost quite a few fights throughout his career and was stopped by guys with nowhere near the power of Hamed. Naz was the man.

[Guest]

Thanks for all your comments, very enlightening. I see that out of all those who have voted, over 93% have said the Prince was above average in ability. And as someone voted him 1/10, I can assume that was a hater...

[L-DJ-B]

Naz was the man in his day, you either loved him or hated him! My gramp sure his hell hated him, all the younger generation loved him though! I don't think he could comeback and make any impact now, his fast reflexes would have slowed a great deal and that was one of his main attributes.

I'm sorry but Espinosa wouldn't have lived with Naz!

[muay]

1) You seem to have omitted Tom Johnson (reigning IBF champ) and Paul Ingle (future IBF champ) from Naz's list of the top FW that he fought as well as Barerra, McCullogh and Robinson so I would say that it was Naz who faced the better opposition.

2) Also, Hamed beat Soto with him coming off a victory over Espinosa so I don't understand the "beat-up" comment.

3) No doubt Espinosa was good but he lost quite a few fights throughout his career and was stopped by guys with nowhere near the power of Hamed. Naz was the man.

1) McCullough is a great bantamweight, never a top featherweight. Ingle annexed the IBF strap from the same Medina that Espinosa already beat twice. No disrespect to Robinson, but who has he fought? He would also later be KTFO'd by Ramirez whom Espinosa beat. Naseem was schooled by Barrera in 2001, i'm responding to the top feathers of the 90's only, so he's exluded from the list. Tom Johnson was a top featherweight, i agree.

2) Espinosa fought Soto twice before Hamed wrestled him and take his green WBC strap. He schooled Soto in the 1st and outboxed him in the 2nd (the judges gave it to Soto, but in my eyes he won that fight). Another thing, have you ever wondered why Hamed dropped this belt? Guty Espadas was mandatory and Espinosa was promised another shot at the title.

3) I won't argue that. Naseem had more oppurtunities. He was the popular man.