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I think this article raises some good points, and although it showed doubt that Naz would come back, Naz has already spoken out on terrestrial TV over here (UK) that he is coming back. He said this after the undercard of Williams - Harris (Amir Khan - Gethin i believe) not long ago..
After three and a half years of empty promises and phantom commitments, Prince Naseem Hamed's talk of a 2006 comeback has been lent an air of credibility by Hall of Famer Emanuel Steward, who believes the former featherweight champion willnot only conquer the world all over again but also knock out rivals Erik Morales and 2001 conqueror Marco Antonio Barrera.
His two former promoters are advising the Prince to remain in exile but ex-trainer Steward, who has guided over 30 fighters to world championships including Tommy Hearns and Lennox Lewis, states that he would be 'very interested' in working with the Prince again 'under the right circumstances'.
The Hall of Fame trainer told SecondsOut: "I'd like the chance to train Naseem again, yes, if he comes back. He can be world champion again, absolutely, he's a great talent, very, very skilful and is one of the two or three hardest punchers, pound-for-pound I've ever seen in my career."
Steward coached Hamed for five fights, from the KO over future IBF champion Paul Ingle in 1999 to the defeat to Barrera in April of 2001.
Hamed has not fought since May of 2002, when he first filled the London Arena with boos and then emptied it of fans with a dreadful 12 round performance against the abundantly average Manuel Calvo. Worse, prior to that points win, the Prince had not fought for another 13 month period, not since his April 2001 pistol-whipping by Marco Antonio Barrera in the only defeat of his 36 fight career.
Even in his prime,the switch-hitting showman from Sheffield was loath to do roadwork and there is a distinct impression in the trade that the Steel City man, after four years of ****y food and daytime TV, just won't have the mettle to graft in the gym.
Notwithstanding these factors, Steward is optimistic that Hamed can re-discover his old form at the age of (by fight time) 32. "People don't realise that Naseem always went up in weight between fights. He often weighed up to 154lbs (11stone) in between fights. Yeah, it will be hard to get down to the weight but I think it will only take about three months.
"I don't think he should go down all the way to featherweight anyway. What I'd like to do is have him come back and have an easier fight at lightweight before settling in at super-featherweight."
Steward said he hadn't spoken to his former charge in a year. "The last time I spoke on the phone to him he was saying he was enjoying his time off but he was still talking about coming back and winning titles again. He was boxing, training, almost every day from the age of seven to the age of 27, 28 and he just needed a break."
The Kronk gym taskmaster also opined Hamed's rivals Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales, who have completely eclipsed Hamed's legacy in his absence, are genuine targets for an in-shape Prince.
"Naz's punching power is such that he could always knock these guys out," Steward said. "His power is unlike anything I've ever seen and I've seen many thousands of fighters in my career. That power will still be there, Naz was born with it, you either have it or you don't.
He added: "Barrera and Morales are slipping now. Their defences are leaking. They are getting hit more often, they've been hurt in fights and Naz would only need one opening to end the fight. If Naz came back in April he could potentially be in a position to fight and beat a Barrera within four fights."
And yet, despite this resounding and somewhat surprising endorsement, Steward was careful to add that Naz would have to be completely insulated from the blizzard of hangers-on who swirled around his final few camps.
He warned: "That's a situation Naseem cannot afford to have ever again. That is the reason he lost to Barrera in that one fight, the only loss in his entire career. I was supposed to be the head coach but the other guy (co-trainer Oscar Suarez) was telling Naz he didn't need to do that, take it easy here, take it easy there and so he got in Naz's ear more than me and eventually had more influence than I did.
"Because the other guy (Suarez) was making training such a comfortable thing for Naseem, Naseem wanted to train with him rather than work with me.
"If Naz comes back, he needs to have the right attitude and not listen to yes-men and (hangers-on)."
That is a concern shared by Frank Warren, who promoted Naz for 12 of his 18 'world' title fights in the mid to late 1990s.
"The lunatics took over the asylum," Warren told SecondsOut. "Naz was basically allowed to train whenever he wanted and you can't do that when you've got a Barrera training like a lunatic for you. But don't take my word for it: just look at the documentary that Naz's own brother produced (which was broadcast on UK television four years ago) and you'll see that Naz was getting beat up by sparring partners but all the people allegedly in charge were doing is arguing who's going to have the biggest room (in the fight hotel)."
Warren, who has also promoted Barrera for a brief time, added: "It's a shame because Naz was a tremendous fighter who generated a lot of excitement. I said at the time and I'll say it now that he was one of the very best fighters I've ever been involved with. He could have done more. Before Barrera got beat by Junior Jones (November 1996) I offered Barrera very good money to fight Naz and he just didn't want to know. At that time Naz was streets ahead of Barrera, Morales, all of them. But that time has gone. I've told Naz to stay retired."
And Barry Hearn, who promoted Hamed along with Naz's own Prince Promotions after the Warren split, told SecondsOut that he is also strongly against any Hamed return.
"Well, that's if we are to believe there will be a comeback," the Matchroom boss scoffed.
"Every now and then for the last four years we've heard these stories but for him to say he's coming back age 32 after four years off is an insult to our intelligences. Naz is a wonderful guy and I hope he's happy but even if he was serious I wouldn't want to be a part of any comeback. Yes, we'd sell tickets but if I put on Benn v Eubank III at the MEN Arena (the biggest indoor venue in the UK) it would sell out in 5 minutes and I'm not interested in that, either.
"I'm not interested in promoting Naz at this stage of his life. No. It just wouldn't be how I'd want to remember someone who was such a star and such an attraction. Prince Naseem is a great memory, he was a fantastic fighter and we all did well out of him. But he's a memory."
Fight Academy Promotion's Dennis Hobson vehemently disagrees.
"I've spoken to Naz and I told him that he's got to do interviews and talk to people so they believe that he's coming back this time," Hobson told SecondsOut. "We're putting Naz's protégé Billy Dib on our big show at the Sheffield Arena (Hatton v Maussa, Nov 26) and I think Naz is very serious about coming back and boxing again."
Hobson added: "I'm really a boxing fan from Sheffield who has become a successful promoter and, speaking as a fan as much as a promoter, I want to see Prince Naseem come back and set the record straight. I know boxing fans feel the same and would be right behind him."
Hobson's partner Robert Waterman, the other half of Fight Academy, is also cautiously optimistic.
"Naseem Hamed is not old," Waterman began. "He retired prematurely and I think he can come back and achieve big things again. But it doesn't matter what I or anyone else thinks: the real issue is what Naz wants to come back for.
"Why does he want to come back and what does he want to achieve? And - most importantly - how badly does he want to achieve it?"
Waterman added: "It's going to be very difficult for him to get into ring shape again and to get down in weight, but if he wants it badly enough he can do it. If he really wants to do it he could emulate Muhammad Ali, who also came back at this age after a similarly lengthy lay-off.
"I think Naseem can return and complete his legacy as one of the best British fighters of the modern era."
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