Where would you rank Prince Naseem Hamed

[_Rexy_]

Thunderous puncher, extremely unorthodox and very fun to watch the spectacle of Prince Nazeem as well as his fights but he finally fought a true elite of the time and got dealt with and I mean dealt with. He tucked his tail after knowing his persona was shattered and ran.

yeah, like I said Naz was more of just a show and a spectacle.

Barrera worked him BAD

[john l]

Far from great and became even more overrated in recent years. He was an elite level fighter and if he was around today and at his peak I'd say he'd be top 10 but towards the back end of the top 10. In an all-time great sense I don't think you could rank him among the top 20 all-time featherweights.

Great power in both hands, but sloppy technique and average defense and major balance issues and fundamental flaws. I'm not one to write him off because of the shellacking Barrera gave him because he had some solid wins like Tom Johnson, Manuel Medina, Vuyani Bungu and Kevin Kelley and at different times he did win the WBO, WBC and IBF belts and reigned for over 5 years I just think he's been glorified into an almost mythical talent in recent times by some fans.

He's in the hall of fame but I don't think he deserves it.

Agree the ? should be top 10 at 26 and even that's not a given.But if Mancini,Gatti and for crying out loud Ingermar Johanson got in he deserves to be in the hall.There is also W Vasquez,McC,Soto to add to list of good fighters he beat.

[john l]

I believe you got it wrong. I wasn't asking P4P all time, I was asking about P4P top 10 now, comparing him to the likes of Canelo, GGG, Mikey, Thurman.... Who are guys currently on everyone's list.

Ooooh sry I think he would be bottom 3rd.He was a very special puncher at 26.And his speed was next level.

[chrisJS]

Agree the ? should be top 10 at 26 and even that's not a given.But if Mancini,Gatti and for crying out loud Ingermar Johanson got in he deserves to be in the hall.There is also W Vasquez,McC,Soto to add to list of good fighters he beat.

No chance would he even be considered top 10 at 126. No order but you've got

Willie Pep
Sandy Saddler
Salvador Sanchez
Vicente Saldivar
Eusebio Pedroza
Alexis Arguello
Azumah Nelson
Juan Manuel Marquez
Kid Chocolate
Henry Armstrong
Eder Jofre
Abe Attell
Johnny Dundee
Terry McGovern
Jim Driscoll
Marco Antonio Barrera
Danny Lopez

To name a few and not all of those guys are career featherweights but still had greater accomplishments at the weight.

[Tony Trick-Pony]

[john l]

Yea, those are the usual suspects and a few more you didn't add like some religious mumbo jumbo and his alleged bad hands.



What's up Johnny Boy! Dam man, you recognize more of those names than I do. I recognize Kelley, Pocket Rocket, Vazquez. Getting bells on Sanchez and Soto but not sure can remember their faces without Googling them.

Yes, the man could punch for sure! I liked him so much back then, but I just can't get over him quitting at 28 after losing to MAB. Still bitter!!!

Soto was guy he beat to get WBC title REALLY UGLY fight(more Soto fault them Hamed) so I can see why anyone would forget that one.And Sanchez I never named so that must be your subcon because he DID fight Augie Sanchez who was really a top 15 type fighter with good off but BAD deff and not a very good chin so Ill let you guess what happened there lol.BTW A Sanchez was a very good am who beat Floyd once in the boxoffs at Olympic trials but did not turn out as pro as he was a blue chip prospect.

[boliodogs]

He hit very hard but Barrera beat the hell out of him and he quit the ring after that loss at a young age. He was very rich so he didn't need to box for money anymore. I though he was good but not great.

[_Rexy_]

Ooooh sry I think he would be bottom 3rd.He was a very special puncher at 26.And his speed was next level.

oh compared to todays P4P? I'd say probably between 10-15

[sunny31]

He would be in and around the top 10 p4p today. I would say the standard of fighter has dropped a little from 10-15 years ago, when you had lots of p4p calibre fighters.

He had an early peak, comparable to Mike Tyson. He beat a lot of good fighters, champions, quite a few of which went on to win alphabet titles even after Hamed beat them.

He had one of those resumes where he beat a steady stream of B-level guys, and for the most part knocked them out. When he got to his first A-level guy he got beat, but if you observe his performances objectively, its fair to say he was not the fighter he was in his early 20's. Which is a shame. But people forget that in Barrera he didn't just fight a run of the mill A-level guy, he was top drawer, elite, in his prime, first ballot HOF'er. There is a difference, and my overriding feeling is Hamed gets too much **** for that loss because of his mouth and the expectations laid on him.

I do think as a whole he underachieved, the fact that he doesn't have any A-level fighters on his resume certainly counts against him. His problem was that there were not any A-/B+ type fighters, the only one you could probably class that was Johnny Tapia and that would have been a good fight for Hamed, and I think he probably wins that. Apart from that it was either B-level, or Morales, Barrera, and Marquez. Thats a BIG jump, those guys were killers, and ATG featherweights.

I think there are plenty of what I would call elite featherweights he would have beat past or present, there are fighters who just would not be able to handle that kind of power, especially if he had fought them when he was 23-24.

Overall I believe his fans overstate his achievements, abilities, and probably make excuses for his shortcomings a bit too much. His naysayers don't give him enough credit for his wins, becoming a champion at 21 years old, and cleaning out the featherweight division. The truth is somewhere in the middle.

But make no bones about it - the guy could fight, he could really fight. He was unorthodox, elusive, tough, good chin, stamina, good powers of recovery, hand speed, and truly destructive power. Certainly one of the hardest punchers we have seen, he was ranked in the top 50 of the 'Ring Magazine top 100 punchers of all time.' He also brought a lot of excitement to the game, he put the 'little guys' on the map from a financial point of view, and that carried over to Morales, Barrera, Marquez, and Pac, and therein lies Naz's problem, those guys were like the featherweight version of the 4 horseman of the 80's and he's not in that league. But is that something to be ashamed of? I don't think it is.

[kidbazooka]

Not a great fighter.

Do yourself a favor and look up true all time greats like Barrera, morales in there primes.