Does boxing miss Naseem Hamed?

My boyhood boxing hero, ergo the reason I'm here. I naturally outgrew him to a large extent once I found out what textbook boxing was about, but he was responsible for getting me into the sport as a kid, and so I'll always retain a certain amount of affection for him.

In the cold light of review, his fights can be quite boring, notwithstanding knock-down-drag-out wars with Kelley and Augie, but he had a genuine X factor (a term that has since been demeaned by its association with a string of reality TV nonentities), and the excitement of seeing a Hamed fight live was knowing that something fantastic was bound to happen at any moment but not knowing exactly when or what. That 'wow' element combined with all the pomp and pageantry really established him as the archetype of razzle-dazzle in British boxing.

He was fundamentally flawed, but he was also so gifted it would take greatness to fully expose it. I think it's testament to the level of talent he possessed that a fighter of Barrera's quality showed the tactical respect he showed Naz throughout the championship duration, and that Naz was still able to win a few rounds, smush Barrera's nose and go the distance with an ATG even while being the worst prepared he ever was for the best opponent of his career.

That talent was such that I think he could've been a true great if he'd treated it with the necessary care and maintenance, but he was cutting corners in that regard long before Barrera showed it up.

That said, his run is very impressive for an underachiever. A body of work that came to be somewhat underrated for a while after the tame end to his career.


It seems a shame to have to admit it, but it's hard to describe him as a likeable personality, although he's mellowed some over the years.

 

I loved him he were so exciting but I knew when he came up against a real class act he would fall short, he never put the basic round winning work in it was just the flashiness and knock out shots from him.

 

on the MAB fight

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I loved watching his fights.Was a very exciting fighter to watch and with power from any angle.

 

Interesting. I like Morales. But he was popped for PEDS. You can never tell, the User's are always one step ahead of the testers. Unless you're James Toney.

 

One of the original bad guys of Boxing
He was a bad azss

 

I miss watching him too, and while he's a deserved HoFer I think he had the potential to carve out a much greater career than the one he ultimately had, as his talent, while unorthodox/flawed, was astronomical in the same way as other freaks of nature like RJJ or Ali. That said, it's also worth remembering that he was a cherry-picking cash cow who avoided the top fighters for a number of years, then fell woefully short when he finally took the plunge. If he was past his best by the time he lost to MAB, he only has himself to blame. Personally I think every version of Hamed would've probably lost to Barrera anyway, but I still wish he'd taken on the bigger challenges earlier rather than coasting on his popularity.