Well as good as Naz was we do know he was no Azumah Nelson and Jeff was a tough rough house. Really not sure on this one.
...but like, do you just mean defeat (because I think favoring him is very reasonable here) or crush as in beat him up, worse than MAB did, or even KO him? The latter connotation is why it struck me as maybe too bold a claim.
Fenech went 23 and 0 & then retired b/c his hands were stuffed. The fighter that resumed after that retirement wasn't anywhere near as good. That's the version that fought Azumah Nelson twice. Naz could have kayoed that version of Fenech. The earlier version of Fenech that went undefeated winning three world titles including at featherweight would have steamrolled most fighters at the weight. He would have done it quick smart if his hands held together (which they rarely did). Fenech's fights at featherweight with Victor Callejas & Marcos Villasana are examples of him being dominant at the weight but with the other guy hanging around much longer than he should have b/c of Fenech's brittle hands. Still good performances though. The Georgie Navarro fight is perhaps the only one I can think of where Fenech was at his best at featherweight & his hands carried the punching authority that closed the show early.
I think he'd stop him. Jeff was an absolute freak, when he disposed of Samart, or bulldozed Zaragoza, I think he was skilled enough to get inside without losing his head, and rough enough to KO Hamed. We are talking about a guy who came out of retirement and kicked Nelson's arse.
I used to favour Fenech pretty heavily. Maybe I was being a bit parochial because it legit could be argued either way. "If he lands it's over" can be seen as a bit of a lazy argument sometimes but that's a legitimate possibility when it comes to Naz. I know people might feel that any aggressive fighter is going to eventually run into trouble against the power of Hamed but Fenech didn't just stand at mid range and trade bombs, he was so aggressive he was actually tough to consistently land on. He suffocated opponents with unconventional combos and roughhousing. Such a great clash of styles and attributes. Naz for all his talent did not have an absolute iron will to win. He would often go MIA knowing his power would dig him out of most situations. Could be wide decision for Fenech or a mid round KO/TKO for Hamed. Over 100 simulations of this fight I'm sure you would see both scenarios play out.
From what I've heard fenech was a beast (before my time) he sounds extremely intelligent and apparently Naz seemed to have trouble who actually showed up at the dinner table to eat aka barrera
Naz was and is overrated... he was more showman then fighter. When he did fight an elite he got his ass whooped.
Its funny how everyone matches the worst version of Hamed against the best version of Fenech for this matchup.
