Hamed vs Barrera

I'm going to have to disagree with you on some of this.

Naseem Hamed was not "Schooled" but he was certainly "outclassed". Nothing really landed with any conviction for Hamed during the entire fight, whereas Barrera was landing on Naseem on a consistant basis. Given how great Hamed was percieved to be at the time, and how much of an overwhelming favorite he was, it was shocking to see him being defeated so decisively. It was a decisive victory for MAB, and would have been even more so had he not had the point deducated for that episode in the final round.

The reason I have an issue seeing anything other than a Barrera victory is because Hamed never showed anything different in previous fights. He had never been a combination puncher, and the thoughts of him being ellusive is crazy when you sit down and watch his fights Kevin Kelley and Augie Sanchez. His skills and reflexes were not declining, it was that his oppoisition was getting significantly better once he moved over to the states.

There is no shame in losing to a great fighter like Marco Antonio Barrera, who was at his absolute peak in 2001.

 

Yeah having seen the fight again more recently you notice how history often changes over the years with people talking about past events in the way they want things to be known. One thing Naz was not, is schooled... outclassed..well I think he was in the end.. to be truthful, he lost the fight before he got in the ring due to his overall drop in attitude to the sport. Simple as. He was over reliant on punch power and thought that alone would be enough. This subject has been done to the death anyways. Wasted talent in his later years. Although that said for a fighter who has lost his passion he still did well against Barrera, enough so to no have got his ass handed to him completely and go the distance. Barrera whom is now an ATG HOF'er, no shame in that whatsoever.

 

Hamed was simply fighting a much better fighter than he was, and I think this was already confirmed before the fight.

Marco fought a guy named Salud the time leading up to the Hamed bout, and this was a dazzling showcase of talent and skill. He was simply better than Hamed in every department other than Power. This showed on the night.

 

The thing that irritates me is when Naz fans say to me "the Naz that beat Steve Robinson would have beat Barrera". Now i dont wanna take anything away from Steve Robinson but he wasnt really World class, can you people imagine what Barrera would have done to Steve Robinson. Also Naz didnt have any real Boxing Skills as in skills that he was taught by a boxing coach. Naz relied on speed, reflexes, agility and most of all POWER. The type of fighter to beat a fighter like that is one that 1 has a good jab, 2 is intelligent and 3 doesnt crumble under pressure, and their came Marco Antonio Barrera

 

Naseem Hamed in this fight, just made to many mistake's.

 

I must add Naz was one of the best fighters we ever had, unbeleavable power and speed and kept the title for a long time, just wasnt good enough for Barrera

 

You should have seen the build up to that fight then. Naz`s attitude was shocking. All he was concerned about was how his hair looked. Suarez did nothing in terms of working on a game plan and Naz simply thought he was going to walk in there and KO Barrera with one punch. By this time Naz was wealthy and had long lost the hunger. The Barrera fight simply confirmed that.

 

Prior to the Naz fight Barrera was an all action brawler. He was humbled immensely by Junior Jones. There was no way he could employ his usual style against a known banger like Naz. Hence why to everyones amazement Barrera put on a clinic of the sweet science and used solid fundamentals to stand Naz on his head.

 

well...thats what rematches are for...
surely he could have got himself motivated for a rematch...
i mean if someone rams my head into a turnbuckle..an kinda ruins my image, i would wanna be stomping on him in my rematch??

 

I have had the benefit of following Marco Antonio Barrera's career, and having watched nearly all of his fights, I can confirm without hesitation that the Junior Jones fight should have been no indication. It proved to be no indication of how a fight with Naseem Hamed would go.

The Juniors Jones fight took place when Barrera was still very young, and a Super Bantamweight. It took the knockout defeat, and the rematch, too cause Barrera to go into training and improve himself as a well-rounded athlete. He came out of his hiatus as a much more polished fightER, who was as concerned with avoiding punches as he was throwing them.

Marco Barrera went 12 rounds with Erik Morales, taking lots of leather, and not showing any signs of wilting. This should have been on Hamed's mind instead of the Junior Jones fight that took place in 1997.

 

good post

 

I said that at the time.It wasnt all that one sided.People act like it was a Calzaghe-Lacey type of fight.It wasnt.