Would Manny Pacquiao at featherweight have beaten Prince Nasim Hamed?

Let's do the math:

Lightning strike power gunslinger that throws right down the middle + fighter with extremely bad footwork that keeps his gloves at his knees and does impersonations of a car dealership inflatable whenever he gets hit flush.............

He would've stopped Hamed.....................probably extremely brutally.

 

I think it would be a decently close affair for a while anyway. Certainly pre-Morales Pacquiao would struggle a fair bit against Naz. I think a lot of people put too much weight in the Barrera fight (where Naz was injured, uninspired, and had a horrible camp leading up to the fight) sheerly because they dislike how Naz carried himself as a person. Naz was genuinely an extraordinarily talented fighter with very heavy-hands, quick twitch muscles, and a very intuitive feel for unorthodox rhythm. If JMM could trouble Pac with his fast counters and find holes in his defence, then I don't see why Naz wouldn't have success. I would still pick Pacquiao to win, but Naz's elusiveness, creative and awkward use of rhythm, and his heavy-handedness would see him have his moments such that Pac would have to dig deep for the win here.

 

Even FW Manny was levels above Hamed as a fighter

 

Of course he would have.

 

To beat Manny you need sound fundamentals hence Marquez always beating him. One thing you can’t take away from Naz is his pure power even more than his speed. Another factor is whether this is suspected juiced or unjuiced Manny.

 

His movement would have been overwhelmed by Manny's speed and volume. Naz was off balance when doing his fancy footwork and wouldn't have had time to adjust.

 

Prime pac would be a nightmare for Hamed's style—relentless forward pressure would overwhelm Naz's showboating, forcing him to the ropes where Manny's volume and power shine. Pacquiao's speed and angles would exploit Hamed's defensive lapses, leading to swelling, and accumulation of damages. Hamed schooled lesser foes but crumbled under Barrera's pressure; Pacquiao was faster and hit harder than Barrera at 126 lbs. Hamed will be dismantled, similar how Pac dismantled Barrera. Hamed was a featherweight king against lesser foes, but Pacquiao was an all-time great who conquered multiple divisions and lineal in 5 div something which unheard of in the boxing world.

 

Could go either way. 126 Pacquiao wasn't a finished product and Hamed might time him a lot rushing in. Pacquaio wouldn't like getting hit by Hamed.

The Pac picks are bc of hindsight bias.

 

Pacquiao's time at 126 was brief but impactful, showcasing his speed, power, and ability to compete against elite fighters like Barrera and Marquez. He definitely won against Marquez but was robbed. He alreary defeated two ATG at 126. And who has HAmed defeated?

 

You lied through your own post to make it work.

Back then, Pac looked great against Ledwaba and Barrerra.

But he looked limited against Marquez and Sanchez.

If he tried to charge in on Hamed without using head movement, feints, or angles, he'd be in for a long night if he managed to not get put to sleep.

 

Just so know no boxers in history is invincible even your favorite boxers.. At some point of their they looked vulnerable.
Sanchez was a dirty boxer and was penalized multiple times for low blows. Yet it was still a competitive fight.
Marquez definitely lost the fight on their first meeting. The result was ruled a draw because because one of the judges made an error in scoring. It was also a competitive fight against an ATG..
Hamed suffered 3 knockdown to an average fighters in Keven Kelly And looked liked an average sparring partner against Barrera that Pacquiao desmantled.

 

Like a drum

 

We're not talking about the pea-green Pac who got stopped 2x at flyweight, though. Even in his rookie year at featherweight, he was a force...and yes he got dropped by both Yeshmagambetov and Barrera in 2003, but he got off the canvas to defeat both and that's what I think happens here. Hamed scores an early knockdown or two, but I don't think he possessed the single punch power to keep Pac down. Ultimately, it becomes a mid to late round stoppage for Pacquiao. That same raw featherweight version of Manny would deal Lucero his first loss by KO, and drop not just iron-chinned Barrera but JMM thrice in the 1st round in their first encounter.

Hamed would be the hardest hitting featherweight Pacquiao had faced, yes, but the reverse would also be true, I think by a greater margin.

 

Hamed was never stopped in his career and most of his knockdowns were balance issues I think suggesting Pacquiao stops Hamed by the middle rounds is a bit of a stretch.

Pacquiao was still raw at Featherweight and it would take a few more years for Pacquiao to add some more dimensions to his game rather than being a seek and destroy left hand happy fighter.

Hamed's power & angles make him a threat to Pacquiao who unlike Barrera. Pacquiao isn't going to fight a cautious tactical fight he's going to come straight ahead aggressively and it's plausible Pacquiao could walk on to something and be in serious trouble.

Yeah Hamed was arrogant/cocky and Pacquiao proved to be a much better P4P fighter. But at Featherweight when Pacquiao hadn't reached his peak yet ? It's a dangerous fight for him and Hamed had serious power.

 

Hamed suffered 3 knockdown to an average fighters in Keven Kelly and looked liked an average sparring partner against Barrera who Pacquiao desmantled.
"Hamed had serious power and look invincible against lesser fighters. This is no longer new. Tank and Wilder to name a few looks great and have serious power against who.. ? But the moment they compete to an elite level they look average.