i'm a morales fan, but i'll be honest and admit that styles wise hamed poses problems for him. too close to call.
Could have gone either way...but I always thought the ring intelligence, toughness and no prisoner attitude of Morales would have seen him beat out a pretty clear decision. I think Naz would get quickly frustrated and would revert to trying to end the fight with one punch as he becomes more desperate. Physically he would have been very tough for Erik but I dont think he had the overall skill level or tactical ability to be able to deal with someone like Morales.
Styles make fights. Erik Morales was a great offensive fighter, who could box when he wanted too, but more often than not he volunteered to go toe to toe with his opposition. This would prove costly against Prince Naseem Hamed, who despite getting outclassed by a common opponent, could hit ridicliously hard with his left hand. It's not a stretch to name him as one of the hardest hitting Featherweights of the last 30 years. I think Morales was to tough of a customer during his best days to ever go down and stay down, which is why I think he'd pull it out, but it'd be a very tough fight for him. He'd probably have to get off the canvas to win.
Style wise not a good match up for Morales. Naseem's unorthodox style would have thrown Morales off his game. And Morales would get fustrated in some fights, Naseem would have gave him fits.
Real toss up. Morales has the talent to never get blown out but at the same time, Naz stylistically has the advantage over him. Not only that but anyone with the firepower Hamed has is a threat for a stoppage win. 50/50 really. Lean toward Morales on bias alone.
Morales by UD. There's a reason Hamed never wanted any of Morales/Marquez, only one he fought was Barrera and you saw what happened there. Morales would beat the living hell out of him.
Great matchup. I think a Morales at 122 or 126 would have a better arsenal and chin than other beltholders at the time like Kelley or Bungu. But he did not have the versatility of Barrera on the defensive end. It could go either way. Maybe the odds would slightly be in Naseem's favor at 22, where he was a monster, and in Erik's favor solidly at 26, but I'd really have to think about their styles matching up. I guess for me the image of Raheem shoeshining Morales all over the ring (albeit at a heavy 135) combined with Hamed touching canvas after trading with Kelley has led to my indecision. This is off the top of my head though. Good thread to start. I'd like to see others' opinions.
Morales' boxing abilities are underrated. He can do a number on Prince naseem provided that he does not do anything stupid like the 12th rd of Pac I. Then again, if his ego gets in the way and he decides to trade with naseem then he would be in deep trouble.