"Who do you know that can come out on a FLYING CARPET?" Naz is and was a legend. He really captured joe publics imagination.
Morales would've boxed his ears off. However Erik wasn't as disciplined as Barrera, so Naz would've had a better chance of drawing him into a shootout.
He was WAY past his prime and had been going downhill ever since he parted from trainer Brendan Ingle. His career was an almost mirror image of Tyson's. A peak Hamed would have thrashed Barrera
I think Morales would have really taken him to hell and back. He'd probably have walked out of the ring and out of public life for good after that.... the ego would have been beaten out of him. Barrera was the easiest of the three (or four inc Pac) for him to deal with and he was well beaten. It's his own fault he wasn't the same fighter by that stage, but I don't read too much into that. All four would have beaten him on any night. He just wasn't THAT good.
I was talking to guy from the Yemen in a pub in Newport. He used to live in Sheffield, and said he knew Naz well, and he was a really good and generous guy, who helps the Yemeni community. He said he'd at a go at Naz for being such a prat in the ring, and he'd said it was just an act. Not sure that's true! But I cam believe he's good guy away from boxing.
Hamed could have been the best boxer britain has ever produced ,But after he left ingle he lacked focus and desire its such a shame that all his talent went to waste .
With all due respect, mate. That is so off base. Naz was too limited to be anywhere near the best Britain has produced. And he didn't 'waste' his talent. In fact he probabily got the most out of himself and considering his limitations he didn't do too bad. He was always ganna lose when he met a disciplined, fundamentally sound great boxer like Barrera, nothing wrong with that. His time was up, he'd reached his ceiling and thankfully got out with his faculties intact and moolah in the bank. People go on like Naz is Francisco Bojado. Now there was a wasted talent.
no probs mate there is no disgrace in losing to an atg like barrera but do you honestly think that naz fullfilled his potential?
i agree with you, he could have been so much better with the physical gifts he possessed, maybe not as good as jimmy wilde (british p4p atg imo) but up there, its easy in hindsight to say barrera was always gonna beat him, on a different level etc but what were the odds pre-fight?
Yes, mate. I really do. What else could he have done in that landscape with the tools he had? There's only so many times your freakish power can bail you out. Morales, Barrera, Marquez et al had too much science for him.
He got beat then got the jail. I actually hated Naz back then, didnt like the arrogance. But if he were to come back, boy would that put a spark back in boxing.