At age 23, Naseem Hamed had:- Beaten three undefeated contenders, a South American champion, a Mexican champion, a British & Commonwealth Champion, two European champions, and five world title holders. Hamed won the European and WBC international belts at bantamweight/super-bantamweight, won the WBO featherweight title and defended it successfully on ten occasions. He'd unified the WBO & IBF belts, stopped 28 out of 29 opponents, was undefeated, had become a multimillionaire and headlined Madison Square Garden in a FOTY candidate. 1997 was the final year of "peak" Hamed; his hand-speed, reflexes, motivation and power. By 2001 he was a diminished force.
Nas squandered his talent Although the massive inflammation in his hands after every fight didn't help either
One of those flash-in-the-pan type fighters with a very short, powerful peak. Became so flat-footed in the latter days and too reliant on his power.
I always wondered how far he could have gone,if he had kept himself dedicated and kept going. He was pretty much,only 26 when he retired. Heard a recent interview with him and he said the reason he retired was because of his hands. He said he hit too hard for the size that they were,and he was constasntly suffering from breakages and general inflammation.
I've been revisiting his career, and you are right. It's actually quite surprising how quickly he diminished and how obvious it is. It's difficult to quantify because he wasn't in any wars, didn't have many fights, and was still at a young age, so you have to attribute his decline to a mixture of injuries and declining motivation. I think "flash-in-the-plan" is a bit harsh though, he was 'the man' for half a decade basically.
I want to believe him, but his timing is not consistent with his reasoning. Im sure he didnt break his hand against Barrera and Calvo. He's probably wishing he took a page in Floyds handbook and took longer time between fights to heal his hands better.
I think the main problem is that he let the hype get in his head early. He hasn't beaten any ATG yet acted like he's one. When he had the talent to be one.
Yep. He really was a featherweight fighting in a bantamweights body. His peak was below 126. Not sure how he'd do with a 122 Barrera or other killers in their prime like Luisito Espinoza, Junior Jones, Johnny Tapia, or Cobrita Gonzales.
Well he handled Cesar Soto and Augie Sanchez pretty easy who had wins over Espinoza,and he was still champ when Soto beat him. Whatever the truth, Hamed brought an excitement and buzz to boxing that is sorely needed today. He was brash, but at least he was funny and could put on a show. Guys like Broner just seemed to be trying too hard.
Well Hamed had charisma. Same as Pacquiao. It's natural for them. Other guys have to package themselves in ways to convince the public.