Hamed's Retirement was Boxing's Loss.

his retirement was very disappointing. Pride is one thing, but to refuse to go back into the ring primarily because your pride was hurt is a bit wimpy, if we're honest.

let's make one thing clear though, the Barrera fight has been mis-represented by 'youtube' highlight videos. it was a long way from being a beating, he just got beat. However, in the final round or two Barrera succeeded in humiliating Naseem the way Hamed himself had done to most of his other opponents. It's disappointing that Hamed was so psychologically scarred by this, he never got himself back together again to test himself at the top level again.

there may be other reasons given by him not to come back, but this is what it looked like to me, and most other people, whether he likes it or not.

 

:rofl It was as big a beating as you can get without being knocked down.

 

That is a myth. I suggest you watch the whole fight again without prejudice.

 

Well said. I remember back in the philippines when I was young and at the time luisito espinoza was destroying everybody....he had just KTFO kennedy mckinney and I was thinking well, espinoza and hamed are only about 4 lbs apart in weight I wonder if they'll fight. I became an instant fan but it's unfortunate he never came back after the loss. Didn't he have some kind of hand injury? I never got clarification on that.

 

Hamed is actually one of my favourite fighters. Crushing power, hilarious antics, speed, agility, theatricality, etc. Such an entertaining fighter, even if he never became the All Time Great that he wanted to be. I particularly enjoyed watching his work at bantamweight, where he seemed best fitted for. (Very small guy, much smaller than he looked on TV.) He would really seem to play with everyone he came up against, and I think he only moved to the featherweight division to get more money/fame, and because he had a bad habit of eating too much and not wanting to jog. In a way, that was wise, as he became a star at that weight and left his defining fight there (Kelley) as well as arguably his most impressive but also malicious performance against Robinson, and the sheer insanity of that round in the Badillo fight, where he literally danced around the guy while taunting and ducking punches.

Just imagine one of those HBO 24/7 series' with Hamed in it...he would make Mayweather look pathetic in the 'how to play the villain' game. Maybe that's just it, actually -- Mayweather plays at it, but Hamed lived it. His arrogance came off him in waves in a way that made it very difficult to doubt him, whereas you can see the insecurity in Mayweather's eyes and voice sometimes. Hamed leaving the sport also deprived us of a clash with the Pacman, which would have been a brilliant contrast of personalities and an explosive style matchup, especially as Pac was so much more raw at the time.

Malignaggi actually cites Hamed as one of his inspirations, because he was ringside for the Kelley fight (apparently the first live fight he ever attended) and was dazzled by Hamed's style and antics, despite rooting for Kelley.

All in all, I think Hamed was the kind of fighter who was never going to have a long shelf life, really -- he's one of those 'rather burn out than fade away' types. I'll miss the entertainment, either way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClZkyV-boQM

 

Get outta here with that ****.

 

Did you not see his last fight?

it was without a doubt the worst Naz fight i ever watched the boxing public voted with their feet that night and THAT is why he retired

 

I always hated him with a passion.

 

so did my mother she used to pay for the ppv just to see him get beaten!

 

boxing,even in britain, didnt suffer when he left

 

I simply cannot stand people with egos.

Especially when he was simply a kid from a working class background.

Some people are unique in that they can have a bit of an ego and still be funny, Muhammad Ali, Chris Eubank, and so on.

Naz was just an obnoxious twat. There is no need to talk down or be rude to anyone. Manners are free, after all.

 

Definately missed by the sport. Unique personality that will never be seen again. Mayweather is just a rip off of Naz's bad guy personality.