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Why Naseem Hamed should be in the HALL OF FAME
Hamed: England's flashy and monster-punching "Prince" is an interesting case, and you can certainly argue against his enshrinement: His career lasted only 10 years (1992-2002, the last few of which I covered) and he lost his biggest fight, a clear decision in his featherweight summit meeting with Marco Antonio Barrera in 2001. Hamed fought just once more after the loss and finished with a record of 36-1, with 31 KOs.
But what an exciting, productive 10 years they were. For many, Hamed's one loss wrongly obscures the rest of his accomplishments. For several years he was the clear No. 1 featherweight in the world and ranked high on the pound-for-pound list.
In an era watered down with four recognized alphabet titles, Hamed would have had a stranglehold on all four simultaneously but for the brutal politics of the sport. He defeated alphabet titleholders Steve Robinson (TKO8), Tom Johnson (TKO8) and Cesar Soto (W12) to claim belts. He also beat Wilfredo Vazquez (TKO7), who had been stripped of his version of the title for facing Hamed.
Overall, Hamed defended his WBO version of the title 15 times and held the lineal 126-pound championship for three years, all while bringing extraordinary excitement and showmanship to a small weight class that had never seen the infusion of money it enjoyed during Hamed's heyday. Hamed gets points for changing the economic model of the smaller weight divisions.
His American debut against former champ Kevin Kelley (KO4) at Madison Square Garden in 1997 -- which coincided with Hamed's signing a big HBO contract -- was one of the most exciting fights of the decade. Hamed also beat notable foes and former titleholders Wayne McCullough, Paul Ingle, Vuyani Bungu and Manuel Medina. I had flipped back and forth over the past two years on my opinion about voting for Hamed, but upon further review of his career I decided to cast my vote for him this year.
I agree with everything Dan Rafael said up there. Naseem Hamed brought to the little guys division what no other fighter has brought before. This little guy sold out arenas and introduced multi million dollar paydays to the little guys' weight classes.
But what an exciting, productive 10 years they were. For many, Hamed's one loss wrongly obscures the rest of his accomplishments. For several years he was the clear No. 1 featherweight in the world and ranked high on the pound-for-pound list.
In an era watered down with four recognized alphabet titles, Hamed would have had a stranglehold on all four simultaneously but for the brutal politics of the sport. He defeated alphabet titleholders Steve Robinson (TKO8), Tom Johnson (TKO8) and Cesar Soto (W12) to claim belts. He also beat Wilfredo Vazquez (TKO7), who had been stripped of his version of the title for facing Hamed.
Overall, Hamed defended his WBO version of the title 15 times and held the lineal 126-pound championship for three years, all while bringing extraordinary excitement and showmanship to a small weight class that had never seen the infusion of money it enjoyed during Hamed's heyday. Hamed gets points for changing the economic model of the smaller weight divisions.
His American debut against former champ Kevin Kelley (KO4) at Madison Square Garden in 1997 -- which coincided with Hamed's signing a big HBO contract -- was one of the most exciting fights of the decade. Hamed also beat notable foes and former titleholders Wayne McCullough, Paul Ingle, Vuyani Bungu and Manuel Medina. I had flipped back and forth over the past two years on my opinion about voting for Hamed, but upon further review of his career I decided to cast my vote for him this year.
I agree with everything Dan Rafael said up there. Naseem Hamed brought to the little guys division what no other fighter has brought before. This little guy sold out arenas and introduced multi million dollar paydays to the little guys' weight classes.
