He may look like a well-fed Elephant right now, but back during his prime time, under Ingle, if he had continued along the right track could he, with the skills and power he showed, have sparked Barrera and others; would we be talking about him in the all time argument in his weight division? How far could he have gone? Multi-weight champ???
He had the raw talent to be an ATG, yes. Then again, so did Zab Judah. Talent is unfortunately only one aspect of a great fighter -- they have to back it up with intelligence, heart, dedication, etc. Hamed could very well have been an ATG if he had just had a rematch with Barrera and beat him, and then gone on to challenge the other big featherweight people. I actually think Morales would have been a better matchup, stylewise, for Hamed than Barrera was, and Pacman too. They would be more inclined to slug, for one.
Funny that, I have always been of the same opinion. But who knew Barrera was gonna come with his Boxer-Puncher style? Took me by surprise, especially after seeing the slugfest that was Barrera-Morales I
Just goes to show how powerful Hamed was considered at the time. All this is elementary though really. It's like saying how far could Tyson have gone if he hadn't gone off the rails. It just wasn't in Hamed's make up to stay dedicated. He did what he did & for a good spell ruled the world but he was beaten by a true ATG & didn't have the will to return.
He could easily have become an ATG in my opinion. One of the biggest wastes of talent ever, if he had the desire that he had in his early days who knows what he could have achieved because his raw telent was something that you rarely see in boxing. He was only half the fighter that he used to be when he lost to Barrera. A prime, focused and determined Hamed beats him without doubt.
He could have and should have won a few titles at 122 first. Then if he had stayed dedicated I think he could have gone up to 130 and won titles there. But no further up because of his height + reach. But as dan-b says it's all elementary because he didn't have the dedication and professionalism.
As talented and entertaining as Hamed was, he simply wasn't good enough to be an all time great. Many claim he had the potential, but for me potential is an highly overrated quality. Could have, would have, should have, but didn't. Improving one's self and finding a way to beat a superior opponent would have been a big step towards greatness, but Naz fell short against Barrera. No shame in losing to him, and he was gracious in defeat, but once he got beat, the show was over. If all the British sportsmen and women with "potential" lived up to their "potential", then we would have possibly the greatest sporting country in the world.
No need to apologise. I do think though, that people overrate Naz a little bit. For all the talent and punching power, I expected him to achieve more.
