barrera made him look bloody stupid was moving up a weight as wel never heard so manny excuses after a fight lol pathetic barrera exposed all his flaws naz was a horrible fella heard from some fiters in ingle gym say he was a bully i dont like bullys cowards they are so ill always laugh at this battering ha ha ha also hes a obese mess outsider ofthe ring complete fat mess of a bloke
The "Naz didn't beat anyone" line is overplayed. If you look at the Ring magazine year end rankings in 1994... Featherweight Kevin Kelley Tom Johnson Steve Robinson Eloy Rojas Yong-Kyun Park Alejandro Gonzalez Tracy Harris Patterson Ever Beleno Orlando Soto Manuel Medina Super-Bantam Vuyani Bungu Wilfredo Vazquez Hector Acero-Sanchez Julio Gervacio Kennedy McKinney Welcome Ncita Marco Antonio Barrera Jesus Salud Juan Polo-Perez Eddie Croft ...he went on to beat the top 3 ranked at 126, and the top 2 at 122. He also beat Medina who would go on to claim the WBC title from Gonzalez (who beat Kelley). The timeline is a bit mixed up for that random wish-list you've quoted. Pacqauio only became a factor in a nearby division after he beat Ledwaba, which was after Hamed had lost to Barrera. Castillo was two divisions above him and only became a player in 2000 when he beat Johnston. There was a narrow window where he could have fought either Mayweather and Corrales, and in both cases he would have been undersized and an underdog. Casemayor again emerged on the world scene at a higher weight late in Hamed's career, and wasn't a major player until he had his fights with Freitas and Corrales after Hamed had retired. The Jones fight probably would have happened if he hadn't lost to McKinney, and then likewise the McKinney fight would have happened if he hadn't lost to Espinosa. Marquez was a genuine duck on Hamed's part (even though he went on to lose to Norwood), and he could have done more to make the Morales fight happen. Bear in mind as well though is that when Morales jumped to feather he was not impressive initially. While both Morales and Marquez were clearly greater fighters than Hamed, if Hamed had been a bit braver he could have caught either or both at the right time. Espinosa is the glaring omission on his record, which curiously you haven't referenced. There was far more of a compelling case for him to fight Espinosa than virtually every other name you've mentioned, and personally I think that was a very risky fight for Hamed. Hamed essentially unified the featherweight division in the mid 90s, and beat a significant number of ranked contenders. By any stretch it was a noteworthy run, even without a "defining" win. On the negative side, you can certainly argue that it was a pretty average division at the time, and that Hamed generally took the low risk / high reward route like many Warren fighters of the era. He caught a lot of his opponents on the downslide; you can argue that Kelley, Johnson, Medina and Bungu were all on a downward trajectory when he fought them, and Vazquez was obviously way over the hill. He didn't do what truly great fighters did and take risks outside his weight class, but if you're assessing him as a featherweight he was the most accomplished champion of his time and made his mark. He ultimately fell short of expectations that he would be a generation-defining ATG, but so do most hyped fighters.
He has some decent wins don’t get me wrong but he’s not the ATG that he makes out. I was saying to my mate the other day, I don’t think anyone with that type of style has gone on to be truly great. Maybe he would have beaten junior jones but he never fought him for us to know. Didn’t Jones beat Barrera twice?
Won nearly every round, and Hamed looked happy to go the distance. Recognised for the first time ever there was a chance he could lose. Got to agree to disagree mate. Would never have beat him as long as he had a hole in his fat arse in my opinion. But still a very excellent fighter, no doubt. Great post that. I think Morales in particular would have nailed him to the floor. Too tall, too long, too Mexican. Kelly was not what he had been and still gave him. life and death. Most of the top guys he beat were slightly past best. Johnson an example. BUT I bought every one of Hameds fights. Great entertainer and great puncher.
It’s well documented that Hamed took his foot off the gas with training etc. If Naz trained as hard and listened like he did at British/Euro level, the fight outcome may have been different and definitely closer. Naz was an awesome fighter and I am yet to see any fighter since, that brings the excitement and showbiz glitz of Naz. He was a ferocious puncher who had the world at his feet. I don’t think we’ll see another one like him anytime soon.
Bull**** about training and all this , it's just stupid petty excuses like David Hayes toe. He made the weight, he was just completely out of his depth. Barrera would have always have beaten Hamed, there's levels to boxing. Hamed was over the moon to just last the distance with him.
No mate, you are wrong he would definitely have beaten Barrera at 122lbs the night he beat Juan Polo Perez at the Albert Hall! In my head anyway….. As soon as he started relying on his single punch power rather than throwing combinations he began losing his potential to be elite. I loved him though, he was proper box office unlike these clowns today.
remember buying a wee nephew a computer game with him on the front of it i bought it out of blockbuster were going back to about the year 2000 it was for the playstation or something he was box office he was more entertaining than the wee fellas about today i know he was no as light but sunny edwards for instance he bores me to tears
He transcended boxing back then Jim with his personality, knockout power and flamboyant entrances etc. When he fought it was a proper event. He was great.
what happened with him and brendan ingle mate i forgot what brendan ingle said im sure on youtube theres a video where he says naz ****ed off or something youll know about it more than me sonny
Long, but good post. Ref Espinoza, there are two of his fights on YouTube with HBO interviews afterwards and he states he isn’t ready for Hamed. He didn’t want to box him.
If I remember correctly it was at a WBO convention that Hamed mugged him off, which was becoming a regular occurrence, in front of Calzaghe and Carl Thompson and Ingle said enough was enough. He then binned him. Steve Holdsworth, ex Sky and Eurosport commentator who is friend of mine says he became unbearable pretty much overnight and I know he wouldn’t mind me stating that on here.
what was he saying to mug him off mate this is great info i cant believe your pals with steve holdsworth hes my favourite commentator or must be one of them he was bloody hilarious mate also he was great i might be wrong but i thought he was in america when hamed beat kelly im sure i seen him in the ring after it was finished fantastic mate cant believe you are pals with him thats made my night