Why didn't Naseem Hamed ever fight properly again after Barrera?

[anj]

Originally Posted by Addie

I admire and respect Naseem Hamed. Regardless of how it all ended, he was still an impressive world champion. He had a lot of charisma. Also, perhaps more importantly, he took defeat like a man. I've never once heard him offer excuses for why he lost to Barrera. He gave his opponent full credit and didn't dodge or duck any post-fight interviews. He did one for both American television and for the Brits back home. He was extremely gracious. Respect.

Couldn't agree more.

He had the charisma every man should have and he had taken the loss like a man too.

[BoxingFanPhil]

Originally Posted by anj

1. It was his hands. His hands were a mess after each fight according to Manny Steward.
2. He was already settled and sitting on a fat load of cash
3. The loss to Barrera perhaps took away his killer instinct. But let us not forget that his last opponent Calvo had a world class chin.
4. I also think it was the lack of support of the fans to be honest. Everyone loved to boo a guy who actually was extremely good for the sport of boxing.

Were they booing him because he was good at boxing or because he was arrogant and disrespectful?

I think when Ali did it he had a glint in his eye, it was an act, he knew people would pay money to see him get his mouth shut. With Naz it seemed that he was doing it because it made him feel good.

[Manassa]

Originally Posted by anj

He had the charisma every man should have

Hamed's arrogance - not charisma - led him to believe he was some Dapper Don who could control his car going 90mph.

[turbotime]

The Kelley/Naseem buildup was great. I was a big fan of the prince, him being from my era of favourite fighters (90s-2000s)

[Nonpareil]

Naz's case is far more complex than the lazy "he didn't have the heart for boxing" cliches.

Hamed was incredibly close to his trainer/mentor, Brendan Ingle. While Brendan's fighters often fought flamboyantly and had unorthodox styles, his training methods were disciplined and down-to-earth. Brendan's gym is in a very working-class area of Sheffield with a lot of rough, tough kids about and Naz's boxing (and general) upbringing was pretty hard.

In Naz's early career, Brendan was effectively 100% in charge. He moulded him out of the ring as well as in it. Over time, as various people got their hooks into Naz - from Frank ****** to his own family, mainly his money-hungry but clueless brothers - money became an issue, then a problem, then a big problem. Naz and Brendan ended up having a very public, very ugly falling out, some of which was incredibly bizarre and is covered here :

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Unfortunately once the reins were handed over to his brothers it became quickly apparent they knew fuck-all about boxing, and the rot started to set in as a rotating cast of trainers, hangers-on and jabronis associated themselves with Naseem. His camp for the Barrera fight was notoriously chaotic, and was documented excellently here :

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(as an aside, there's an incredibly funny cameo from Chris Eubank at 37:10, what a loon)

I think a lot of people look at the Barrera fight as some sort of proof that Hamed was never that good, that he was just hype and no substance, but I followed his career more than I've ever followed any other boxer's and in terms of raw talent and sheer potential I think there's a very good argument he's the best this country ever produced. Unfortunately we'll never know what could have been, because his head had been turned before he got to the really, truly elite box-office fights.

That said, it's not like his career was the total write-off some have re-imagined it as. He was number one in The Ring annual featherweight rankings four years in a row. Which isn't the worst thing in the world.

Originally Posted by BoxingFanPhil

What is he doing now?

He got in a spot of bother after retiring and ended up in jail for running over some fella in his car. He was sentenced to about 18 months although he served a lot less than that. Seems to have calmed down a bit in his old age, settled into eating loads as his main vice, and is occasionally seen at boxing shows round these parts. He was managing a young fighter whose name escapes me a year or two ago, and there was a big fanfare made about it locally, but I haven't heard anything about it for ages and would imagine it fizzled out like his many claims of imminent comebacks over the years.

[Nonpareil]

Originally Posted by anj

4. I also think it was the lack of support of the fans to be honest. Everyone loved to boo a guy who actually was extremely good for the sport of boxing.

He was phenomenally popular in the UK and was huge box-office. The only times he really got booed were if he was in an opponent's backyard and was playing up to it deliberately, the Robinson fight being the most obvious. For the most part he had massively popular support at his fights.

[Hattons Hook]

Originally Posted by True_Hero

Because other than possibly Kelly, Barrera was the only top boxer Naseem ever fought. He got his arse kicked and he didn't have the heart to continue.

Naseem was a 2nd tier boxer. End of story. He had a career fighting other 2nd and 3rd tier boxers and the only 1st tier opponents he had were Barrera and Kelly. He didn't have the heart to fight a real opponent again.

Always amazes me when posters think the fact they havent heard of fighters makes them " 2nd and 3rd tier "

[jdempsey85]

A few reason have been mentioned,what about 9/11?

[anj]

Originally Posted by Manassa

Hamed's arrogance - not charisma - led him to believe he was some Dapper Don who could control his car going 90mph.

There's a certain type of people who get this mistaken for bad traits. The same people who say that are actually guys who would be referred to as 'wet blankets' i.e people with no charisma.

Sure, Hamed would land a few verbal jabs etc. but this is the fight game. Nothing bores me more than a quiet figure in boxing.

[anj]

Originally Posted by Nonpareil

He was phenomenally popular in the UK and was huge box-office. The only times he really got booed were if he was in an opponent's backyard and was playing up to it deliberately, the Robinson fight being the most obvious. For the most part he had massively popular support at his fights.

I'm talking about post-Barrera.

[young griffo]

He was entertaining but only about half as good as he thought he was (which means he was still very,very good) and he always had flaws apparent that was only a matter of time he would be exposed for.

He had top tier power (some of the biggest you'd see), was pretty quick and awkward and exciting to watch. He was an arrogant little turd though and did nothing to remedy his faults which became more and more apparent as his quality of opposition rose, hence his comeuppance against Barrera.

Once he was schooled by Barrera I think it took away his overweening self confidence and made him realise he wasn't the best and probably never would be. Plus he was already filthy rich, had his health and didn't need or want it anymore.

And fair enough too.

[TIGEREDGE]

Originally Posted by fg2227

earned £40 million and couldn't be arsed.

spot on

[Manassa]

Originally Posted by anj

There's a certain type of people who get this mistaken for bad traits. The same people who say that are actually guys who would be referred to as 'wet blankets' i.e people with no charisma.

Sure, Hamed would land a few verbal jabs etc. but this is the fight game. Nothing bores me more than a quiet figure in boxing.

Who said quietness equates to being boring?

Tyson, Liston, Moore, Robinson, Monzon, Hagler... They all had a degree of charisma. I always found Hamed a bit embarrassing.

[Nonpareil]

Originally Posted by anj

I'm talking about post-Barrera.

He only had one fight post-Barrera, in front of a hot, massively pro-Hamed crowd in London. People were seriously pumped for his return and all the pubs and bars were packed (at least they were round here) with Hamed fans.

It was only when the fight wore on and it became apparent it was bloody awful that any boos started seeping in. He had a huge fanbase.

[Furey]

Number of things.

- Left Ingle
- Bad hands
- Became lazier, like someone said.. more interested in the ££££ and what colour his gloves would be instead of training hard.
- Fell in love with looking for one big punch.