Hamed turned pro at 18 as a fly, but won his only world championship at feather Straight after is Euro bantam victory he should have secured a world shot at that weight, and his time as WBC International bantam champion reminds me of Hatton's time as WBU champion Hamed should have won at least at 3 weights bantam to Feather
Could have, would have, should have... Although I do think Hamed's optimal weight perhaps wasn't FW...
Hamed grew out of Bantam, he would have been a beast at super bantam where his agility, power and speed were optimal.
:goodI've been arguing this point for ages. Too keen to move up through the weights. Still had a brilliant career, though, so it's not a massive issue.
He went stagnant after the Robinson win. He'd achieved his goals. His opposition improved but so did his bank balnce and with that his training became more a chore. He over relied on power. He could have, would have and should have been a massive star but he let himself down to a degree... And considering what he achieved that really says a lot. He could have been one of the greatest ever, ever. Instead he's just seen as a phenom on this side of the ocean and a con-job on the other side of the atlantic.
Spot on, Jeff. I wish I was old enough to have understood what I was watching when he was in his prime.
I liked the way that even as a lazy champion with a crappy trainer he was still good enough to turn his hand to anything he fancied and beat good fighters in fresh ways. His jab Vs Jose Badillo for example and body shots which made an appearence against Ingle. Amazing. So much talent. There must be another one out there somewhere.
atsch yeah, twat + the defend your hips defence. ever since he retired any arrogant munt will take his hand to pretend to box. what made naz unique was that he knew what he was trying to do and had a plan...later on it usually involved the left cross wins it blueprint but his body punching, flicker jab, movement is above par than most of the ingle gym stable. also his switch hitting wasnt just a time waster or a gimic like witter sometimes does, it was a way to get peeps to walk in to his left hand ala the kelley finish.
I loved Hamed, he's in my top 3 favorites fighters ever. I don't think we'll ever see another like him in this country. If he had had the drive and determination to get to the very top and not let the money and fame affect him the way it did then I believe he could have gone down as the greatest fighter to ever come from the UK. What a waste of talent :-(
