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Hamed was a shadow of his former self when he lost to Barrera. In retrospect I'm surprised he didn't get knocked out with the amount of punishment he took. I also believe that a Prime Hamed would have beaten a prime Barrera, although Barrera was also a great fighter.
Ever since Hamed's big U.S. debut it was clear he wasn't the same fighter. In all his bouts since Kevin Kelly in 1997 he was probably operating at about 60% of his peak ability. That wasn't due to a better level of competition, his complacent attitude to training was to blame. Ultimately he retired because of major hand problems so I don't know how long he would have continued even if he had beaten Barrera. I suspect he would have retired soon after either way because his hands couldn't handle his own power.
Ever since Hamed's big U.S. debut it was clear he wasn't the same fighter. In all his bouts since Kevin Kelly in 1997 he was probably operating at about 60% of his peak ability. That wasn't due to a better level of competition, his complacent attitude to training was to blame. Ultimately he retired because of major hand problems so I don't know how long he would have continued even if he had beaten Barrera. I suspect he would have retired soon after either way because his hands couldn't handle his own power.
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