Hamed not likely to make it into Hall of Fame in 2009

I think he just fell out of love with something, it happens. I think he was a brilliant and flawed individual, and fighter. And to be honest, the HOF doesn't mean anything to me, but if someone like Barry McGuigan (who I like - but come on!) is in there, then Nas NOT being in there is a joke really and probablly has more to do with politics than anything else.

 

I'd say yes. Since it's a hall of fame not a hall of best resume/what you did after a loss.
Naz was pretty ****ing famous.

 

He did not have a HOF career. He beat a bunch of bums then got his ass kicked and quit the sport.

 

How exactly are these guys who Nas beat bums?!

Medina - 5 time World Champ
Vasquez - 3 time World Champ
Johnson - World Champ - 10 defences
Kelley - 2 time World Champ
Bungu - World Champ - 13 defences
McCullough - World Champ...oh **** it yeah, McCullough is a bum I'll give you that one

 

Thats not a good criteria for the hall of fame.. Why not just put any alphabet champ in the HOF, and argue such because friggin Barry McGuigan made it. Barry McGuigan showed more heart in his fight against Cruz than Hamed showed in his entire career.

You can show up and knock the **** out of old ass men well past their primes, or undefeated fighters from Argentino who built their record on beating absolute nobodies and weak ass Frenchmen. The guys in his class, that he is supposed to be compared to are head, shoulders and knees above Hamed when it comes to who they fought.

I could give a **** if Hamed had a 100% KO ratio if he fought nothing but good but old and worn fighters, or bums from France and Argentina.

 

2/3rds of these Guys had to drink prune juice to have normal bowel movements.

McCullough was known for his chin, but what else? Bung holio who? When Barrera and Morales were around, he was fighting Kelley who already had 50 fights and enough scar tissue around his eyes to donate to foreskin recovery procedures.

Really.. Does he deserve to be honored along the likes of Barrera and Morales?

 

how many of those are in the HOF or will be?

Naz did not have a HOF career too much handpicking and ducking.

 

Resume is his biggest fault (I couldn't give a **** about a fighter's personality when discussing his exploits in the ring). Hamed's resume doesn't match his talent. The best win he had was against Vuyani Bungu, who had already been beaten by Freddie Norwood - one of many excellent fighters who fought in or around the same division as Naz between 1995 and 2001 that Naz never touched.

Hamed had superb natural abilities, but he never developed properly into a truly great fighter, and his resume is a succession of mediocre opponents and guys who were well past-prime. That's not bias, I've actually been to a few Hamed fights and I think he was great to watch, but I genuinely believe his resume was poor. Before Barrera, there was not one single fight he was not the bookies' favourite for, not a single 50/50. And that is not the stuff of an HOF boxer IMO.

 

Just listing their names doesn't tell the true side of the story though.

Bungu was a very very good win, but Vasquez and Johnson were shot or at least well well past-prime, Medina and Kelley were a bit past-prime, and McCullough had already been beaten by Zaragoza and did not look good at all in the two fights between that and Hamed.

And before you say "but you could do that to anyone's resume" , you really couldn't. If you tried doing that to Barrera or Morales's resume, you would look very silly, as their resumes are both stacked with prime challengers and quality champions.

 

Taking those guys on and beating them was fine. But what career defining fights did Naz have? He fought and was completely out classed by Barrera, this is his career defining fight?

Its not like he showed up and went to war, he showed up and got exposed on many levels. He had this tough guy act and pretty much had his manhood taken away by Barrera.. Its not like he showed up and went to war, put on something worthy of a fight of the year.. He showed up and was schooled at his own game..... This, is his hall of fame, career defining moment..

Now, if he had went to war, and put up a good competetive fight against Barrera, or come back after his loss and taken on some other name fighter, there were plenty of them around that weren't long in the tooth at the time. I would be arguing the other way.. But he just up and quit.

Barry McGuigan may not have had the flamboyance or flashy style of Naz. But he was a warrior who put on a fight of the year. He has what it is that is the essence of a fighter.. Nas simply doesn't.

 

I think he should be.

The guy was ridiculously talented, charismatic, could knock people ouit from ridiculous angles, I love watching him.

It's a great shame he got too cocky and arrogant and didn't seem to heed Stewards advice and didn't love the sport of boxing enough to come back and fight barrera again, but I don't think that changes the fact he was an outstanding boxer.

To qoute wiki "Had Vazquez not been (deliberately) stripped by the WBA of his belt (they did not want their featherweight title unified with the WBO) Hamed would have the distinction of being the first boxer to hold all four world titles in a division. This is an overlooked accomplishment of Prince Naseem. The WBA would not grant him a subsequent shot at their championship."

As said some people in there have achieved much less than him...

 

I couldn't agree more with the highlighted paragraph. Naz had the ability to become a HOF boxer, but he never did what he should have done, and we shouldn't reward unfulfilled potential.

 

To me, what you're saying is the same as saying that one of those guys who can do 5,000 keepy-uppys (football/soccer) like that guy who used to be in the McDonalds advert is a great footballer, when he has never played top level football. Being charismatic and looking sensational knocking out mediocre opponents (as Naz often did look) is not the same as going to war with the very best guys out there and proving yourself.

Whenever people give a reason like "there are other people who have achieved less than him in there", that's when you know the guy doesn't really deserve it.

To be honest, he probably will get in, and I won't complain if he does, he was very talented.

 

Erm, Wasn't Hamed vs. Kelley a fight of the year as well?

 

But the guys weren't all mediocre, there were some good boxers in there, you don't get to win 3/4 of the world titles in a division (and would've won the 4th but for boxing politics) by beating mediocre fighters... but it is annoying that Hamed didn't put any of the doubts to rest by coming back and giving Barrera a fight. I guess you have a point as hamed is probably the last person anyone would think of when asked to name a Barrera opponent, but imo, despite being a tosser, the guy was hof quality.