Prince Naseem Hamed v Manny Pacquiao

[PecVentus]

Pacquiao is a top 20 ATG, there is no comparison in terms of who was better prime for prime, however, if they two had ever fought at FW, prime v prime...now that could have been magic.

Yes, but the prince retired at 28 and its widely been reported he wasn't as focused on training the more popular he became

And he kept winning, even though he was slipping from the moment he beat Robinson. As John Ingle laments: “Unfortunately the more successful Naz got, the less he trained. He worked harder as an amateur than he did as a professional. He could have been a five-times world champion.”

So did the Prince actually reach his prime? maybe not and respect to the prince for not making excuses when he lost to Barrera, as he could have said he had an injury.

[ИATAS]

Yes, but the prince retired at 28 and its widely been reported he wasn't as focused on training the more popular he became



So did the Prince actually reach his prime? maybe not and respect to the prince for not making excuses when he lost to Barrera, as he could have said he had an injury.

Yes that was his prime. We can't say oh well he retired, therefor he could have been even better! No numb nuts, we've seen all we need to see. He stepped up, got demolished, end of story.

[soul_survivor]

Yes, but the prince retired at 28 and its widely been reported he wasn't as focused on training the more popular he became



So did the Prince actually reach his prime? maybe not and respect to the prince for not making excuses when he lost to Barrera, as he could have said he had an injury.

Look, I'm not gonna debate on how good the Prince was, at his best he seemed almost unbeatable and had more devastating punching power than almost any FW puncher I have seen in my life time.

You're right, he just wasn't dedicated enough, anyone who was in the gym with him at the time knew it and have spoken about it widely. But still, Pacquiao is heads and shoulders above the guy in any form of ranking fighters.

[PecVentus]

Yes that was his prime. We can't say oh well he retired, therefor he could have been even better! No numb nuts, we've seen all we need to see. He stepped up, got demolished, end of story.

He never fulfilled his true potential, so all you saw was a boxer with 37 fights, 1 defeat, retiring at an early age.

As for getting demolished? losing a fight on points because he was unprepared should have been a lesson for him, but again that all comes back to dedication and preparation and if you look through the history of boxing then all the true great boxers (entertainers) lose fights but unfortunately the Prince never had the desire to rebuild his career but Naseem had the potential to be better then Pacquiao and that you can't argue with...

[PecVentus]

Look, I'm not gonna debate on how good the Prince was, at his best he seemed almost unbeatable and had more devastating punching power than almost any FW puncher I have seen in my life time.

You're right, he just wasn't dedicated enough, anyone who was in the gym with him at the time knew it and have spoken about it widely. But still, Pacquiao is heads and shoulders above the guy in any form of ranking fighters.

I watched an interesting interview with Nigel Benn the other day on BT Sport, that was a man with dedication and the right attitude, boxing needs characters like the prince and the dark destroyer, these are the fighters that make the sport exciting.

[zmm001]

You know why Barrera was so successful against Hamed? He fought a smart fight waiting for Hamed to attack. countering but taking little risk. Completely opposite to what Pacquiao would do. Pacquiao's style was exactly what Hamed would thrive on.

This Hamed was a counter-puncher when made to lead against MAB he looked average. Pac is literally the best match up for naz not saying he would definitely win because manny is an extraordinary fighter but there is a decent chance Pacquiao would have been stretchered out of the arena

[soul_survivor]

I watched an interesting interview with Nigel Benn the other day on BT Sport, that was a man with dedication and the right attitude, boxing needs characters like the prince and the dark destroyer, these are the fighters that make the sport exciting.

Benn was awesome too, as was the great Eubank. In terms of Eubank, I think he had one of the standout boxing careers of the last 30 years, not just here in the UK but on a larger, world stage. He brought a world wide feel to the UK and it's sad when guys like Benn and Eubank get mentioned as great British fighters, as if they weren't great fighters compared to those plying their trades in the US. Eubank is arguably a top 3 super middleweight and one of the best offensive fighters on the planet...even in the hazy, post-Watson realm of his career.

[madsweeney]

I think people forget the sizes of these guys. In this match Pac would be about 3" taller and have a 4" reach advantage over Nas.

[IFightDirty]

Styles make fights remember. Hamed has the advantage in chin (been knocked down due to being off balanced but never KO'd) and power (KO power in both hands). Pacquiao had the advantage in hand and foot speed. Pacquiao was the greater fighter in terms of career and people he beat but I think Pacquiao plays into Naseems game.

At featherweight, Pacquiao was still a one handed fighter and wasn't as refined of a boxer as he was as he went up in weight. Barerra beat Hamed by outboxing him, Pacquiao wouldn't and couldn't do that.

[Scott9945]

I think people forget the sizes of these guys. In this match Pac would be about 3" taller and have a 4" reach advantage over Nas.

Hamed often gave up more than that and won. He rarely fought anyone his size or smaller.