Naseem Hamed and Roy Jones Jr had the best boxing style ever

Hamed was definitely dominated by Barrera. Barrera was his toughest opponent by far and he knew this... so, he picks that moment to start "not caring" about boxing? I don't buy it! Your boy got beat, get over it. He's lucky he didn't get beat by Kevin Kelley. His unorthodox style put him in a bad position to take clean shots sometimes. It was entertaining but not always smart. He got away with it most of the time but technically he did many things wrong.

 

hamed gets too little respect for the glitz and glamour he bought to the divisions he fought in.

he was central in pulling the spotlight down towards divisions that are not given the same time as 147 and up.

yes he was a ****y and arrogant guy but he back it up with a impressive run as champ and some of the most devastating power ever seen in any division.

 

1. Steward confirmed his hands were causing him too many problems well before the Barrera fight. He wasn't sparring as much, either.

2. Steward confirmed he was not turning up to training as often, he was getting very lazy with training. Mentally he wasn't quite there anymore.

3. He had problems making weight for a long time, he was drained trying to make weight right up until the weigh in.

4. Hamed didn't have the heart for a while.

5. He was best schooled with Brendan Ingle, but since he left Ingle, he just descended.

6. He was losing his reflexes, sharpness - these were of utmost importance for a style like Hamed's where a marginal drop can have notable impact.

All of this adds to a significant whole. Age is not that important, it's about RING age and lifestyle. People lead different lives.

 

Hamed's ring age wasn't even that old though. I can't recall him ever taking a vicious physical beating before. And he didn't get into any real tough wars.

He was an undefeated 27 year old fighter who came up against a guy who was too good for his antics. Hamed liked to sit in the pocket and let guys flail and miss and then he would crush them. But Barrera was the best pocket fighter of his era. He was simply too good to open himself up. Too versatile with his movement, feints and angles to get caught. Just too good.

Those other things are basically excuses. Had they been another B class fighter Hamed would have KO'ed them just like he always had.

 

hamed most likely never beats barrera but its also disingenuous to suggest he was still at the zenith of his powers in that fight.

ring wear is not the only thing that causes a fighter to worsen. ego had clearly gotten the better of him.

 

Naz most definitely wasn't as sharp during his days with Stuard. Stuard mentioned Naz's love of cars and women took his focus away from boxing.

In saying that Barrera just had Naz's number. I feel he beats the very best of Naz. Naz has a punchers chance against anybody though.

 

Personally I feel they were both better athletes than boxers. Their athletic prowess allowed them to get away with many mistakes they both made in the ring. (like Ali, but both didn't have Ali's chin or will to win). So as they began to slow, punches that were missing by inches were landing clean. And because their hands were usually out of position, and chin not tucked. Disaster.

 

As far as I was aware Hamed was a strict Muslim, who never touched booze, cigarettes or drugs. Fair enough he was partial to junk food, but so are thousands of other professional athletes, and they burn the junk off by training. He became so arrogant he didn't bother training properly, and thought all he had to do was hit them on the chin, and that was it. All over.

 

Absolutely spot on my friend