How good was Hamed??was he overated or was he really that good?

[Dirk Diggler UK]

Naseem Hamed was the single greatest thing to ever happen to boxing in Britain.He brought the level of showmanship and entertainment that no other fighter previous or since has brought.And the fact that he's still able to stir up emotions almost a decade after his last fight is proof of the huge impact he made on this sport.You either love him or hate him - there is no in-between.



Technically,a very flawed fighter that wouldn't have made it past the journeyman level circuit if not for the tremendous punching power and physical gifts that he possessed.But he had great reflexes,had a diverse arsenal of punches,used a variety of angles and was able to generate alot of power from the most awkward of those angles.



His finest effort was unquestionably against a very solid pro in Steve Robinson,as he picked him apart and gradually broke him down over the course of the fight.This performance was in stark contrast to the later version of Hamed,who had regressed into a largely stationary puncher.Hamed picked his shots against Robinson,used movement when necessary,constantly switched stances and put together his punches rather than simply loading up on every single shot.



An incredibly lazy man that earned too much too soon and became complacent and undisciplined because of it.An obvious waste of talent for somebody that had already accomplished alot in the sport anyway.

Good post mate.

[Furn]

Hamad was also a very short guy. He was about 5"3 iirc. Was always figting taller guys and when you dont block at all that can be hard.

Could have been unbeatable at 115 -118 but went after the money and title shot at robinson at 126.

[-EAGLE-]

he was good, but never word class

[LeG00N]

He was good and one of the biggest punchers in FW

some even have him as an ATG puncher in FW...


he was a really entertaining fighter

[Dirk Diggler UK]

he was good, but never word class

Never "world class"? Despite beating every world champion in his division?

[IronDanHamza]

but Barrera is an atg so no shame in losing to him

Changed your mind now? (Again)

I thought you said him along with Morales are not ATG's?

[IronDanHamza]

Prince Naseem was just a phenom. His fights were an event here in the UK.

He was such a character, whether you hated him or adored you just could not ignore him. His career was a great ride while it lasted.

In terms of his career, frankly, he gets underrated.

Fact of the matter is; Hamed cleaned out his division, and beat a list of solid fighters. His reign was excellent.

He wasn't in Barrera's class, quite frankly, not many were. Because of this he gets called '****' and 'never good' which is simply preposterous.

He was a good fighter, very good, and an immense character. I can't even imagine what I would feel like if I missed his career.

Hopefully he will get in the HOF one day.

[UglyPug]

Prince Nas was world class all the way. I don't see what hte big deal is about his loss to MAB? It's not like he was KO'd, or shutout. He won a good 4 rounds of the fight. and it was against MAB, one of the best of our generation. . .

Like SRR, and Roy Jones Jr. - he was an innovator, and contributed to the evolution of pugilism.

[Money_May]

The guy was amazing and had a lot of power! He put featherweights on the map! Problem was he got too rich too quick and he didn't wanna train hard anymore he was only in the Barrera fight for the money his head and his heart was not there. Watch a documentary called little prince big fight and you'll see he don't train hard like he use to.

[Las Vegas,]

He's one of the hardest hitting FWs of all time, he punched from so many awkward angles, and he was very unpredictable. A solid resume, a world class showman, and a knockout artist, what's not to like? I wouldn't put my money on him beating MJ in a dance off, but man he had some good moves.

I don't think he was at all overrated, his power wasn't overrated, his resume sure as hell wasn't. Even with atrocious balance, he was just that good. With all that new stardom though comes the really big bucks and in which case Hamed got really lazy. Didn't train as hard, didn't listen to his trainer, didn't work on his flaws. He didn't have that dedication for the sport anymore. It's a shame really because he had all the physical gifts and he was a very talented fighter.

I'm so glad I had the privilege of seeing a portion of Hamed's career on HBO. He was an excellent fighter, an excellent showman, and overall just my type of fighter. Whether you loved him or you hated him, you couldn't take your eyes off him.

Easily one of my top 5 favorite fighters of all time.