Naseem Hamed, Marco Anthonio Barrera Rematch

[Silencers]

The Calvo fight was supposed to be a comeback/tune up fight for a big fight afterwards but then he put in a pretty bad performance in a pretty boring fight and decided to call it a day.

[moochi]

The Prince did just well and retire with an excellent record.. Barrera should give it a rest and hang'em up

actually good point - he retired with an excellent record with one loss (which many ppl blame on his surroundings)...so very good point. he isn't roaming the world being bait for up and comers.

[ibnabdullah]

no...i'm serious...after he beat calvo...he lost his focus...became fat...and a drunk...and was stripped of his title in 2005 or 2006...i think he was arrested for drunk driving...

He's a ******. I very much doubt he drinks. He got sent down for wreckless driving. Who said he was drunk? Are you just making things up?

[boxingp4p]

he decided to quit - he was good and built a great big bubble with some great performances - and then one day, his bubble burst....a lot was due to his surroundings.

i believe that a fully focussed hamed could have or could beat barrerra, but he obviously lacked dedication to do so..

would have been good tho to see a rematch.

Agreed , he just didnt have it anymore . Too many distractions for him. He really didnt have any love for boxing anymore and it was apparent in his training before barrera or lack of it to be exact.There were stories of trouble in his camp with his trainer about his refusal to spar and lack of dedication in training. I remember he was filming a documentary during camp for the barrera fight Little Prince Big Fight or something like that and i was taken slightly aback by it . They also showed some clips of barrera and he was in great shape . I give full credit to barrera for the win but i certainly think hamed would have given a much better showing (or might have won imo) of himself had he properly trained for this fight.

[Pretty Boy32]

The Calvo fight was supposed to be a comeback/tune up fight for a big fight afterwards but then he put in a pretty bad performance in a pretty boring fight and decided to call it a day.

He got an awful lot of stick for that fight alright,
more then he deserved in my opinon!
He def wasnt the same but dont think he deserved to get booed!
Calvo had one hell of a chin,
he got hit with shots that put the likes of Augie Sanchez in Hospital but he stood strong and went the 12 rounds

[MOTHER DUCKER]

cause he got his ass whoop and was like "*** BOXING......."

Unfocused/lack of training/trying for 1 shot ko Naz only lost by 115-112, 115 -112, 116-111, hardly a whooping, i cant imagine what he would do to Barrera when prime and focused..

[flyest1]

Left with his health and money intact. That's smart.

I rememeber Steward saying that he got to civilized withhis life. He said that the worse thing that could happen to a boxer.

[Pretty Boy32]

I rememeber Steward saying that he got to civilized withhis life. He said that the worse thing that could happen to a boxer.

Steward also said before the barerra fight he was the greatest featherweight off all time until naz sacked him,
then steward started saying he was the worst boxer he ever worked with it

[jaguar30]

actually good point - he retired with an excellent record with one loss (which many ppl blame on his surroundings)...so very good point. he isn't roaming the world being bait for up and comers.

Yeah every new prospect want to make a name himself by fighting Barrera..
Back in 2003 when Pacquiao beat him he was still a worthy and tough contender.. right after that I don't know

[Sugarj]

I watched the Calvo rematch. Nazeem wasn't shot or anything, maybe just a little undermotivated. His reflexes and accuracy were not bad at all, he wasn't throwing combinations though. In the after fight interview he seemed well up for a Barrera rematch.

I dont think he became a drunk, I'd never heard that. I dont think ******s are allowed to drink alcohol and he always seemed to have genuine beliefs.

As for why he didn't take the Barrera rematch I can think of a few factors:

1) September 11th twin towers attack, he may well have been a victim of substantial racial abuse if the fight was in the states. Sad but possibly true. The Barrera loss came shortly before this.

2) He severely injured someone in a car crash and went to jail for a spell.

3) His weight ballooned whilst inside and got to a point where it would require such tough training and abstinance to get down to featherweight. I'll never forget the Barrera documentary where Naz is speaking to his father and says something like 'I'm more looking forward to the food after the fight than the fight itself'.

4) He had to know that his peak was 94-early 97, he hadn't had a truely great performance since beating Tom Johnson and Jose Badillo (Bungo doesn't count, too small!).

5) He had two trainers (at the same time!!) both who were unsuited to his style. Emmanuel Steward specialises in orthodox boxer punchers and Suarez in a more South American style. Hardly condusive to honing his unorthodox style which had deteriorated since leaving Brendan Ingle in 1998.

6) He was always a family man who hated leaving his wife and kids for training camp.

7) He was and probably is stinking rich.

I enjoyed him boxing, shame we didn't see more of him. He said he wanted to be a 'legend'. He would have had to beat Barrera in a return to even consider this.