Why did Prince Naseem Hamed retire?

His decline began long before the Barrera loss. As soon as he left Ingle his skills began to erode although his power bailed him out. A peak Hamed would have beaten any featherweight in history

 

It always amazes me the excuses people make for Hamed. Oh he didn't train, oh he could have been the greatest, oh if he had have gone on he could have done x,y and z.

He was a very dominant champion in his division who retired after one defeat at elite level against an ATG great fighter. All this , he could have done this is bollocks. He didn't do it. He didn't train. He didn't go on. End of story. Training hard and mental toughness are part of of the game. He didn't train hard and he didn't have the mental toughness to go on. He goes down as a great champion in his divison but not an ATG.

 

The Prince will never die..!

 

Hamed and ingle were'nt getting on for a good while before the split.It was because naz's attitude had got to big for his boots, trained half arsed and had no respect for him or others.Also the people around him were'nt exactly good people(or very proffesional), they were more "yes men" and family members when he left ingle...

 

The Prince Will never die.

Prince Naseem Hamed was the Orginal Ragga Muffin

 

Great article Hoya-Uk, well done.

I think Hamed's downfall basically was a result of the fact that he became a huge star and transcended boxing (at least in the UK). He had fame, fortune, fast cars, etc and the hunger just wasn't there any more.
The brilliant documentary "Little Prince Big Fight" sums it all up when it shows Naz in training camp. His primary concerns are his hairstyle, his dance moves, the colour of his gloves and his ring enterance.

He just wasn't mentally the fighter he was coming up through the '90's. At his absolute best, I think Hamed could hang with anybody - the Barreras, Morales', etc.
It says a lot about the man's talent and potential that he was the most dominant featherweight in the world for several years, effectively unifying the division (only politics prevented him being an offical undisputed champion) and is still thought to have been an underachiever. Remarkable.

Love him or hate him, Naz brought excitement to the sport and generated massive interest. When the days of Eubank, Benn, Collins were fading out, Naz picked up the ball and kept the mainstream public's attention.

 

I think Hamed was in decline buy the McCullough fight, whether this was physical, mental or whatever we won't know.

As for the Barrera fight, it may have been close, which might mean it was not a schooling. However there was no point in that fight where hamed looked like he either could or would win it, so in that sense it was a schooling. I had 7/2 a barrera win and was never worried for a second.

I do however miss Naz fights !

 

Theres no doubt that Hamed was a great fighter, and I loved to watch him fight and he certainly had the most talent of any Briitsh fighter I have ever watched.

However, I do feel that your article is making excuses for him with statements such as "Perhaps Hamed felt it was the correct decision to withdraw from the limelight" (after 9/11). Thats a pretty lame excuse if ever I heard one. The problem was that he lacked the key characterisitic of great champions: heart.

Great Champions come off a defeat by training harder and being more determined to regain their crown. Hamed didnt have that, and thats why he will go down in history as a a great fighter, but one who didnt achieve the potential his talent deserved.

That said, I do agree with you that his career was significant and thrilling, and we may not see his likes a gain for a long time.

 

His decline began after the Robinson fight. His body shape changed hugely as he trained primarily for power. I think he peaked in that fight.... There were one or two impressive perforances after this but he had clearly satisfied himself with that win.

 

very good article, and wasnt nas talking about a comeback this year? cant see it unfortunately. he was always hard to get into the gym anyway, he just blew most of his opponants away cos he was bursting with natural talent, so i dont think it was down to him neglecting his training, and he always had that 'all i gotta do to win is turn up' attitude too. some fighters just cant come back from a loss, there's just something missing, and in nas's first fight back after losing to berrera it was plain to see and he was booed for it. retirement probably seemed the only option to him. it was boxing's loss tho. i still miss his fights now.

 

That's a pretty leftfield opinion

 

Definitely boxing's loss......guy was a natural

 

:good Pretty much sum's up the Naz enigma.

The guy lost his focus.
When Barrera actually had the audacity to beat him he was ****ed.
He was not mentally strong enough to come back from that defeat, a defeat i doubt Hamed had even contemplated.

People say he fell out of love with the sport but he still to this day talks about coming back, that doesn't sound like somebody who doesn't love the sport. Ultimately he had the potential to become one of the greatest fighters of all time but he took his eyes of the ball and became seduced by all the trappings of fame.

A lot of Naseem Hamed fan's will say he was a great champion who had a great career, but the fact is he was a great fighter who had a good career. He could have been so much better, He could have been a top 50 ATG. Right now I'd struggle to have him in my top 150!
If Hamed had managed to come to terms with the Barrera defeat and put it behind him, put in the Hard work and discipline required to fight Barrera again then who knows.
Barerra, Morales, Marquez, Pacquiao were all fight's that could have made for Hamed but unfortunately he retired after fighting Manuel Frigging Calvo!