Was prince naseem past prime when he fought MAB?

[The Noose]

I have to laugh at people who make excuses for Naseem. He was the favorite going into that fight, was undefeated and was considered one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world. A very tough style match up for MAB when you think about it.

If you want to say that he wasn't mentally of physically prepared for this fight, then that isn't an excuse either because one of the things that makes a fighter great is his mental toughness and work ethic.

If Hamed wasn't mentally ready or was buying into the hype that was given to him, that just shows mental weakness on his part and further shows he was overrated.

If they fight 10 times, Barrera beats him 10 times.

If the question is simply 'Was Hamed in his prime' then the answer is no. He declined over the past year with his training and attitude.

If the question is 'If Hamed wasnt in his prime is that why he lost to MAB', id say the answer is no.
MAB was expected to go forward and engage in a brawl. But he surprised everyone by being a patient counter puncher.

He is without question a level above Hamed, and he would beat him most of the time. Unless Hamed landed a perfect shot.

Yet ultimately Hamed was past his best as a fighter.

[victorythagr8]

I don't know if he was in his prime but he was still close to it. Barrera was just that good, he had the hunger, fire, and desire, Hamed believed everything his fans were saying. He kinda reminds me of roy, fighting bums his whole career until he meets some real competition and gets ****ed up because of the hype. For you Amir Khan fans you guys need to get ahold of that dude before he turns out like Hamed, dude beats Malignaggi and thinks he's king of the world.

I think he got humbled when prescott knocked his ass out in 1.

[tredh]

I would have to say yes. Emmanuel Steward did not even want Hamed to take that fight if I remember correctly and we all saw why.

[Cuauhtémoc1520]

If the question is simply 'Was Hamed in his prime' then the answer is no. He declined over the past year with his training and attitude.

If the question is 'If Hamed wasnt in his prime is that why he lost to MAB', id say the answer is no.
MAB was expected to go forward and engage in a brawl. But he surprised everyone by being a patient counter puncher.

He is without question a level above Hamed, and he would beat him most of the time. Unless Hamed landed a perfect shot.

Yet ultimately Hamed was past his best as a fighter.

A couple of things, first off Barrera wasn't known as a brawler so I don't know of anyone who understood this match up thinking this is what Barrera was going to do.

Yes we have seen Barrera brawl with the likes of Erik Morales but that was more of a "Mexican thing" between those two than anything else, they wanted to hurt each other and it showed.

One of Barreras best attributes was his intelligence in the ring, he was one of the few fighters that could change his style and strategy mid fight in order to overcome his opponents.

I expected Barrera to be the counter puncher, I just wasn't sure if he could overcome Naseems speed and power for 12 rounds.

It was a masterful performance and Naseem, regardless of mental state was physically very much in his prime. The claim that he didn't train hard, is another issue but again, I refuse to take away Buster Douglas victory over Tyson (not to completely compare the two but it's comparable for this example) because Tyson wasn't in the best of shape.

One of the things that makes a fighter great IS his mental state, his work ethic and his heart. If Naseem didn't have any of those because of the money, fame or the people around him, then I can give you dozens of examples of fighters that were "could have beens"....

No excuses, Naseem lost, was in his physical prime and just didn't have what it takes to beat a legend like Barrera.

[TxHustla]

hell yeah..i remember ESPN has 32 boxing writers put up their predictions..ALL WERE NASEEM. LOL the redemption baby!


Now somebody thinks Naseem was past his prime..oh yeah..past his prime just when he faces the 1st real opponent of his career..LOL

[The Noose]

A couple of things, first off Barrera wasn't known as a brawler so I don't know of anyone who understood this match up thinking this is what Barrera was going to do.

Yes we have seen Barrera brawl with the likes of Erik Morales but that was more of a "Mexican thing" between those two than anything else, they wanted to hurt each other and it showed.

One of Barreras best attributes was his intelligence in the ring, he was one of the few fighters that could change his style and strategy mid fight in order to overcome his opponents.

I expected Barrera to be the counter puncher, I just wasn't sure if he could overcome Naseems speed and power for 12 rounds.

It was a masterful performance and Naseem, regardless of mental state was physically very much in his prime. The claim that he didn't train hard, is another issue but again, I refuse to take away Buster Douglas victory over Tyson (not to completely compare the two but it's comparable for this example) because Tyson wasn't in the best of shape.

One of the things that makes a fighter great IS his mental state, his work ethic and his heart. If Naseem didn't have any of those because of the money, fame or the people around him, then I can give you dozens of examples of fighters that were "could have beens"....

No excuses, Naseem lost, was in his physical prime and just didn't have what it takes to beat a legend like Barrera.

I give all credit to MAB. And i agree Hamed was physically just as quick and strong as he ever was. But mental preparation is a massive part to any fighters success. And i regard it was an important aspect of a fighters 'prime'.
To me prime simply means, at their best. Hamed wasnt, and hadnt been at his best in some time IMO.

[Cuauhtémoc1520]

I give all credit to MAB. And i agree Hamed was physically just as quick and strong as he ever was. But mental preparation is a massive part to any fighters success. And i regard it was an important aspect of a fighters 'prime'.
To me prime simply means, at their best. Hamed wasnt, and hadnt been at his best in some time IMO.

I take "prime" to mean age more than anything else. Meaning if you are physically at your prime, if you still have all of your basic skills, speed, power, quickness etc.

Yes some people age differently but the mental aspect is a fault, not an excuse and that's what I'm trying to show here.

Mike Tyson COULD have been the greatest HW of all time but his love of women, drugs and alcohol stopped that. That's not an excuse, that's a FAULT.

Chapo Rosario, Macho Camacho, etc......I could give you a lot of examples of this but that has nothing to do with being in prime condition, age or anything else. It means they were mentally weak and it showed on Naseem because he was never the same fighter again.

[IMDAZED]

A couple of things, first off Barrera wasn't known as a brawler so I don't know of anyone who understood this match up thinking this is what Barrera was going to do.

Yes we have seen Barrera brawl with the likes of Erik Morales but that was more of a "Mexican thing" between those two than anything else, they wanted to hurt each other and it showed.

One of Barreras best attributes was his intelligence in the ring, he was one of the few fighters that could change his style and strategy mid fight in order to overcome his opponents.

I expected Barrera to be the counter puncher, I just wasn't sure if he could overcome Naseems speed and power for 12 rounds.

It was a masterful performance and Naseem, regardless of mental state was physically very much in his prime. The claim that he didn't train hard, is another issue but again, I refuse to take away Buster Douglas victory over Tyson (not to completely compare the two but it's comparable for this example) because Tyson wasn't in the best of shape.

One of the things that makes a fighter great IS his mental state, his work ethic and his heart. If Naseem didn't have any of those because of the money, fame or the people around him, then I can give you dozens of examples of fighters that were "could have beens"....

No excuses, Naseem lost, was in his physical prime and just didn't have what it takes to beat a legend like Barrera.

Agreed and really, we should've saw this coming. It wasn't like was some one-dimensional slugger. I was really impressed with his performance in the rematch against Junior Jones. He showed a variety of skills and might've won if it was a 15-rounder. Amazing how we forgot all about him until he met Morales the first time.

[The Noose]

I take "prime" to mean age more than anything else. Meaning if you are physically at your prime, if you still have all of your basic skills, speed, power, quickness etc.

Yes some people age differently but the mental aspect is a fault, not an excuse and that's what I'm trying to show here.

Mike Tyson COULD have been the greatest HW of all time but his love of women, drugs and alcohol stopped that. That's not an excuse, that's a FAULT.

Chapo Rosario, Macho Camacho, etc......I could give you a lot of examples of this but that has nothing to do with being in prime condition, age or anything else. It means they were mentally weak and it showed on Naseem because he was never the same fighter again.

I agree. Its not an excuse.

But IMO, he wasnt in his prime.

[NorvernRob]

Not an elite fighter even though he beat all 4 champions at featherweight?

Didn't you know, to be elite means ATG top 5?

Honestly it's pure comedy, saying Hamed wasn't elite when he ruled his weight class and beat all the other champions is plain ******.

He lost fair and square to MAB, he quite possibly would have at any point in his career to but suggest he was at his best that night is wrong. I'm guessing most people voting here haven't actually watched many Hamed fights.