Hamed's Best Win?

Not that I'm aware

He was actually stopped by body shots by Johnny Tapia.........................I can only assume he was on a downward slide then

But up to and including the Hamed fight......he was a very dangerous hurtful punching opponet

In the 2nd round of the Hamed fight........Soto launched a monster left hook..........Naz swayed his head just in time and the left hook just grazed his chin..............but if that had landed Hamed might of taken it but just as easily it could seriously of been lights out for Hamed

 

I'd go with Kelley

Surely Ingle should be in the list though

 

I dont rate Ingle as being one of Naz's best opponets

Ingle was fringe world class at best in my thoughts

Naz nearly blew Ingle away in one.......but the sloppy Hamed then allowed Ingle into the fight and came close to coming a cropper

While Ingle came close to beating Hamed............I still feel he fought a number of better fighters

 

Kelley was an exciting fight but it was by no means a great performance. This was supposed to be the 'introduction fight' to the american public, it wasnt supposed to expose his lack of balance .... Ingle was only a memorable fight because Naz had an off night, a guy like Naz shouldnt have struggled with Ingle and he wouldnt have done 2 or 3 years before

 

Johnson, great name at his near peak and it was an excellent performance.

Look at those names up there and a few of the others that are mentioned in the posts. Hamed might never have reached the heights of which he was capable, but he still had a brilliant CV. You can't tell me that the world's most dominant fw for five years is not a HoF-er.

 

In my opinion, Bungu was Naz's best win.

I think there are only two real contenders: Bungu and Johnson (for me, Kelley was a thrilling fight but not a great win as it was a sloppy performance from Naz).

I think the Bungu and Johnson that Naz fought were better than Medina, McCullough, Soto, Vasquez, or anyone else that Naz fought.

The choice between Bungu and Johnson is difficult, both were superb wins.

Bungu was a superbantam who came up to feather to fight Naz and he hadn't fought in a year before fighting Naz, so these factors are often used to downplay the Bungu win.

However, I don't agree. A 1-year lay-off is nothing nowadays (hence the clamour for Mayweather to return this year, V Klitschko, W Wright etc), and coming up from superbantam to feather (a MASSIVE leap of 4lbs!!) didn't seem to faze Marco Antonio Barrera much when he came up to fight Naz about 18 months after the Bungu fight!


Bungu and Johnson are very close in terms of ability, but from watching them fight I give a slight edge to Bungu. Johnson had been beaten by Medina, I don't think Medina would have beaten Bungu.

Bungu was younger than Johnson, had been unbeaten for longer than Johnson, and had 2 wins over Kennedy McKinney on his resume - for me, a better fighter than any Johnson beat. Anyone who saw McKinney fighting in the 90s (he knocked out Barrera's conqueror Junior Jones in 4 rounds 8 months after Bungu beat him) would verify this, he was an excellent boxer.

Another factor in the favour of the Bungu win was Naz's sheer dominance. Against Johnson, Naz dropped a couple of rounds, and the stoppage was not as emphatic or as devastating as his stunning 1-punch KO of Bungu.

For me, the Bungu win was Naz at his best - he won the mental/psychological battle with his opponent, he dominated every second of every round like Calzaghe did with Lacy or Hopkins did with Trinidad... except that Naz had the power and the precision to end it in true Hamed style with a crunching hook that left Bungu poleaxed for the 10 count!


Bungu 1st, Johnson 2nd, IMO. :good

 

Most entertaining: Kelley.

Where he looked his best: Robinson. (Although the infamous 'dance' moment in the Badillo fight may be Hamed at his most cocky. Amazing sight.)

The best fighter he ever faced: Debatable. Kelley again, maybe.

 

Hamed gets a shitload of aselicking done here as the years progress & his showboating antics evolve in many peoples eyes into the stuff of folklore...

However, a close inspection of his record reveals that he was pretty unspectacular.

No defining wins, thats what I read when I see Hameds record. He aint no hall of famer.

 

flint island you're a decent poster! what's with you on the general forum, are you just taking the ****???

 

Good post, well argued. However.....


In Bungu Naz was facing a petrified, career Super Bantamweight whose best wins had come against a weight drained, cocaine addict (with due respect) Kennedy Mckinney and an over-rated flyweight in Danny Romero. Bungus showing was timid to say the least and while the result stands out as impressive the performance was not particularly stand out compared to those he was putting in in the mid nineties.

Johnson was badly on the slide, a fine champion he may have been but in a division full of veterans he was considered to be on the downward slide before the Naz fight took place. Visits to the canvas against Ever Beleno and Jose Badillo, plus a lucky escape against Martinez in the fight before Hamed where he suffered a bad cut, add credance to the theory that the Johnson win was a piece of clever Sports Network matchmaking more then anything else. Further weight as evidence of Johnsons decline are the pretty shocking defeats he suffered post Hamed to the likes of Charles Shephard and co...

Kevin Kelly was a chinny mouthpiece, a good one shot hitter but nowhere near the best Featherweight in the world and Cesar Soto despite Flints plaudits was little more then a lucky belt holder having beaten an aged but dangerous fight in Luisito Espinosa. Soto a good left hooker was a tough man but slow and one dimensional.

More impressive I feel was the win over Augie Sanchez. Sanchez had some lovely moves and despite the early nature of his losses had a fantastic offence, combining excellent head movement with MAD power. The Hamed- Sanchez fight was a fabulous one and I found it more exciting then Hamed - Kelley its just a shame Sanchez, a bit like Jeff Lacy never got the chance to prove how good he was.

So that leaves Robinson, Ingle and Medina.....

The Robinson win is without a shred of doubt in my mind the performance of Hameds career. Robinson was a live champion and had gained decent victories in good company. He was also in good form but a hit-miss performance against Pedro Ferradas convinced SN that the gamble was going to pay off. Robinson with his fitness and strength should have proved a tough test for Hamed but we were treated to a majestic display from a brilliant fighter. But its not his 'best' win.

Ingle was a tremendous fighter. His perpetual head movement, ring intelligence and massive workrate had swamped many fighters pre-Naz and following his win over Mcmillan he seemed to go from strength to strength which is why I fancied he had a strong chance against Hamed in the build up to their fight. The fight itself started all wrong for Ingle who injured his ankle in his first round trip to the canvas. But he gamely fought back and displaying the resiliance that saw him rise off the canvas to defeat Junior Jones and Manual Medina, he pushed Hamed incredibly close to defeat before walking onto a perfect left counter which started the Emanual Steward- Naseem Hamed partnership. Ingles post fight achievements make this an impressive showing for me and its very close to a career best win for Hamed but it was a poor performance and Ingles sad subsequent loss to Boitile means that Ingle will never get the historical recognition that he probably would have ascertained had he turned in a typical performance that fateful night.

So we're left with Manual Medina. Medina was/is a phenom. An incredible fighter who lacked power, speed and boxing ability but had almost unparalleled grit and determination. Medina is a FIVE time world champion who has been on the canvas more times then any fighter I can recall but his almost inhuman reserves of stamina and heart have turned a international class journeyman into a multiple champion. With wins over Kevin Kelly, Scott Harrison, Frankie Toledo, Victor Polo, Hector Lizzaraga, Alejandro Gonzalez, Tom Johnson, Troy Dorsey and Steve Cruz- most of these men were unbeaten or in prime form when Medina beat them- I feel when Medina packs away his training gear for the last time and allows historians to review his fabulous record he surely must be a lock for the HOF. This was Naseem Hameds best win and one he very nearly finished it very early.

Naseem Hamed was a fabulous fighter and I think he'll be revered more fondly given time.

 

Johnson?? Why do you disagree?

 

I'm a Naz hater but have to say that Kelly was the best opponent he beat for me.

However, the Belcastro win was the most impressive. Winning a European title so early and in such devastating style.

 

kelley was his best win.

johnson was a bit past it to say the least. :yep

his legs were all over the show. atsch

medina is up there to. :bbb