He was anything but a bum.Unfortunately,he was a bit of a ***** so I'd say that has a lot more bearing on the consensus view of him rather than it being based on talent or ability,of which he had both in abundance.
He played the role of villain in America to perfection, I always wanted to see him lose whenever he fought on U.S. airwaves. I personally never really thought much of his skill or power, he was quicker than a hiccup though. I wouldn't call him a bum, as he was a better then average fighter, however the one elite fighter he did meet took him to school, and I have a feeling the same thing would have happened against any of the elite fighters in the division at the time.
He was good, but he spent all of his time at FW and still didn't even bother to clear it out. There was Gainer, Espinoza, Norwood, Marquez, Cermeno, Morales, etc. all at the top and Hamed fought one in Barrera, and got his ass kicked. If he had beaten a few of those guys prior to losing so terribly his career may be looked at differently.
He was overrated and over hyped when active. He's underrated now. He has a very solid resume and good skills. He deserves to be in the conversation at least for a top 25 of the past 25 years.