Revisiting Barrera vs Hamed

[DLT]

I just rewatched it today for the first time since it happened. I did it because I havent seen the Prince in so long and it's good to go back and watch old film to remember what guys look like. Here is what I noticed:

MAB clearly won the fight but it wasnt a all out dominant performance like I remembered. I thought he killed the Prince but the Prince actually had some moments and won a few rounds. I thought he won like 4 rounds but I didnt all the way keep track. People made it seem like MAB dominated him but he really didnt that much. I noticed how the ultimate warrior Barrera showed Hamed the ultimate respect. He didnt want to brawl for nothing and stayed on the outside in kind of a punk way if you ask me. He was clearly out boxing the Prince but he didnt land that many hard shots. Most of the punches looked far worst because of the Prince's style of keeping his hands down and always being off balance. The Prince was also bigger then I remebered.

I heard Foreman talking about how the Prince is keeping his hands down by his side the whole fight but Barrera still wont run in and try to hit him or catch him. If MAB fought Hamed like he fights most of the time then I think the Prince KO's him. Im a guy with a good eye and I can notice things in bad situations. Most would say that the Prince stinks and was exposed by MAB. However I came away thinking that the Prince if actually more talented then Barrera but just had a bad style. I think if he had a great trainer that would teach him to be more orthodox then he could be a top pound for pound guy and easily one of the best out there and maybe all time. I think the Prince would kill Pac Man and I love Chico but I actually think that he would KO Chico also

This dude had mad talent and power. I forgot how good he was and I wasnt even a fan of his but just watching him in his worst fight I could see that this kid had tremendous talent and if Barrera didnt fight the way he never has then he wouldnt have won. He has never fought that way. That was around the time when Barrera turned into a boxer but even as a boxer he never showed anyone the respect he showed Hamed. He didnt over commit for nothing. It was kind of like Oscar vs Tito. Most thought Oscar was schooling him but I thought he was mostly running even in the early rounds. It's different if thats your style like Spinks or Sweet Pea but if you are a fighter like MAB and Oscar was then that is like running. Take the Tito and Hopkins fight. Hopkins boxed but he still managed to trade alot with Tito. Oscar didnt and neither did MAB unless he was really sure that Hamed couldnt land back. I wish I could see dude fight again. Boxing need guys with different personalites like that. How great would it be to see him hone his skills and fight Pac, Morales, Chico, Castillo, and others?

[JUYJUY]

Naz lost that fight more so than Barrera winning it.

[m00ks]

Barrera landed flush, clean shots on Hamed even rocked him a couple of times. He ain't a punk for fighting the way he did, he just respected Hamed's power and he had reason to. He just gave the Prince a boxing lesson period.

Prince has his hands down often but why would you run in there and bum rush him like an idiot? You know he has power so why put yourself in a position to get knock the **** out? Where's the logic? There is a reason that Barrera opted to stay outside and that was the smartest move he could possibly make. He won a clear-cut decision didn't he? As for Hamed, he already had Manny Steward in his corner. Can't get any better than that. That was his style and that same awkward style is what won him his fights. Leaping punches, different angles, his style was unsual and it worked till he faced MAB.

Hamed had awesome speed and power with lousy footwork and was far from being technically sound. It just took someone who was with the brains to go with it to destroy the myth that was Hamed. He was entertaining but it stops there...

[Cletus Funk]

The Prince actually boxed traditionally a few times during fights and looked really good doing it. He was in love with his power though and enjoyed making guys look ****** so he'd always fall back into his usual style. He had mad talent but threw it away towards the end by surrounding himself with yes men. I'm a big MAB and Morales fan but I still think with Naz on top form, only Morales would have a decent chance of dealing with him.

[moochi]

Barrera did win but it was in no way as it has made out to be.........i do agree that it is was more NAZ losing the fight than MAB winning....

but everybody in the States hates Hamed for some reason, and this is why they make it out to be a beating.

[M26]

I am a huge Hamed fan, but there is no doubt in that Barrera clearly won the fight, and proved him self as the better man of the two. I can understand why he didn´t want to trade with Hamed - he would get killed trying! Hameds power was truly awesome. Barrera did what he had to do to defeat Hamed.

I remember this fight almost broke my heart. I loved to watch Hamed fight, but after he lost, the magic was gone. Hamed knew this also, and that is why he retired I think. Let us hope he doesn´t return. It would never be the same anyway.

[DLT]

Let me make myself clear. I love Barrera and if it sounded like I was dissing him then I didnt mean to but I was just trying to say how much talent I thought Naz had. He had Manny in his corner but he wasnt really his trainer. He wasnt there that much but then he would try to show up at fights and take credit.

MAB is a bad boy and deserved to win but I think even with Naz old style, Naz still couldve won if he focused more. I think MAB just caught him(and everyone else for that matter) completely off guard by boxing the way he did. No one thought Barrera could successfuly do that at the time. Therfore Naz just thought that Barrera would fight him and get KO. He didnt have a backup plan and it showed. He was just trying to walk Barrera down and throw one punch at a time. I think if he knew Barrea was going to box then he wouldve been prepared and couldve won but a real champ is always prepared so no excuses.

Barrera did start hitting him regularly the last couple of rounds as he saw Naz was at that time just really looking for one punch and starting to except defeat. I still think he would kill Pac

[hitterwitter]

Naz was past his best when he fought MAB, MAB outboxed NAZ and won the fight easily. Naz Just kept looking for that 1 big punch which never came. Did Naz actually listen to anything Manny steward said?

A Prime Naz was when he had ingle in his corner in the late 90's when he beat the likes of:Medina, Johnson, Kelley, Vazquez, McCullough, Ingle, Soto. Naz was Amazing against these guys.

If Naz had fought MAB in 97,98 I think it would have been a different fight with Naz being the winner.

[JUYJUY]

A Prime Naz was when he first won the World title from Steve Robinson in 96, that was his best performance, but he fell apart after that because his ego took over and he stopped training as hard. Naz became a one-punch-hoper, a shadow of the potential he had as a combination fighter in 94-95. Tom Johnson was his last great performance(at 22 years old), Robinson was his best performance, and he ended up falling very short of his potential.

[cupcrazy01]

"He didnt want to brawl for nothing and stayed on the outside in kind of a punk way if you ask me."

You yourself are a "Mayweather defender", don't you think PBF will fight this way vs. Gatti?