Naseem Hamed....Underrated Resume & Overall Just Plain Underrated?

[Obama]

as Pac is hardly mr technical, at one point he was a left hand merchant only, yet JMM still could not avoid that punch, infact its prolly the one punch that lost him both fights

Funny how "left handed" 2004 Pac dropped a 30 year old Marquez 3 times while a "refined" 2008 Pacquiao could only drop a 34 year old Marquez once.

[CarlosG815]

He is vastly underrated by the haters, he is overrated by his fans, no middle ground, which only perpetuates the hate, same scenario regarding Mike Tyson and his fans, they love his exciting style so try and cultivate his reputation based on what if's, what might of been.


I personally think that Hamed did not do Barrera any favours in terms of legitimizing just good his win over Hamed was, infact I think Hamed could of regrouped and beaten at least one of Morales, JMM, Pac, cause I dont care who you are, when you can punch like Hamed, you always! have a chance, this guy used to put people on a stretcher after he had hit them, oxygen masks and all that, now whilst Hamed is seemingly tailor made for a fighter like Marquez, he would also knock JMM block off he ever hit him, which is not impossible, as Pac is hardly mr technical, at one point he was a left hand merchant only, yet JMM still could not avoid that punch, infact its prolly the one punch that lost him both fights, as for Morales, whilst you would think he would win, he was not as cute as MAB, and was prone to getting hit cleanly, ****ing it out with his opponents.

I agree, if he had refined his skills and taken training more seriously a guy with his natural abilities as far as reflexes go, mixed with his speed and power, he could have been very dangerous and would have given even Morales hell and definitely have knocked out Pacquiao.

[-CANE-]

Hamed was a featherweight with the punching power of a middleweight. Was also a big draw and was great for the sport in that way.

Hamed didnt duck JMM like alot of people claim. Look at who JMM was fighting in the 90s.

His resume like you said is very underrated. He had hand problems which ruined his biggest asset his punching power. This was also combined with him not having the motivation anymore, who would after makeing as much moeny as he did. For the Barrera fight he was past prime theres a documentary which shows this. He had clearly been on the decline since his split with Ingle. Then in the fight he wasnt schooled like people claim it was a competitive 8-4 win for MAB.

In his prime he would of KOed Barrera and JMM. Morales and Pacquiao would be tough close competitive fights that could go either way.

The reason he lost to MB was not because he was past his prime or a lack of motivation.

It was because he believed all the hype. He thought he could knock anyone out (and maybe he could of) and as his career went further along he neglected to use his great boxing ability. He was one of the most devasting counter punchers I have ever seen, yet he disregarded it more and more thinking he could just blow people over.

Then after getting beat and outboxed it messed with him mentally. If Naz was half the fighter and man he said he was, he would of realised he got beat by his own ******ity and got in shape for a rematch. He had all the ability and tools to beat MB that night and was still in his prime.

[The Noose]

Do you have any idea how long JMM was his mandatory?

I believe Hamed only wanted title holders or names that would draw a decent crowd.
Some of his fights were against more domestic names, others were either champions or ex champions.
I think JMM wasnt a big name at all, plus he was potentially dangerous. But he then lost to Norwood in 99.
So i wouldnt say hamed ducked JMM.

Funny how "left handed" 2004 Pac dropped a 30 year old Marquez 3 times while a "refined" 2008 Pacquiao could only drop a 34 year old Marquez once.

JMM is a great fighter. it took him 3 minutes of hell in their first fight to adapt to Pacs style,
A more thoughtful Pac had even more trouble with him. But credit to JMM.

Hamed could hurt any fighter if he landed clean. Morales, JMM and Pac are no exception.


I think Hamed was his own downfall.
Yet i also think Hamed's style, although bizarre and seemingly unpredictable, was figured out by Kelly, Sanchez, McCullough and of course Barrera.

Great at times, but very flawed.

[Dynamite Kid]

Funny how "left handed" 2004 Pac dropped a 30 year old Marquez 3 times while a "refined" 2008 Pacquiao could only drop a 34 year old Marquez once.

The reason he lost to MB was not because he was past his prime or a lack of motivation.

It was because he believed all the hype. He thought he could knock anyone out (and maybe he could of) and as his career went further along he neglected to use his great boxing ability. He was one of the most devasting counter punchers I have ever seen, yet he disregarded it more and more thinking he could just blow people over.

Then after getting beat and outboxed it messed with him mentally. If Naz was half the fighter and man he said he was, he would of realised he got beat by his own ******ity and got in shape for a rematch. He had all the ability and tools to beat MB that night and was still in his prime.

I guess that might come down to how they approached the rematch, JMM became a more aggressive fighter toward the latter part of his career, whilst Pac, became more of a Boxer.


Agree, infact i know Barrera's game plan was to make Hamed come foward, cause Barrera knew Hamed was a more dangerous fighter when you pressured him.

Hamed, before he stepped up to world class, was more of a counter puncher than a guy who stalked you looking for the one punch, but that is what he reverted to the more people he knocked out, which is what played into Barrera's hands, Hamed was convinced he was going to knock Barrera out and spent too much time looking for one punch whilst getting pecked at and picked off.

I always thought Hamed was like Witter in terms of, his offensive Boxing was pretty poor, he had a poor defense on the frontfoot due to the chances he used to take, chances he took because he did not have any fundamentals like a jab, to set his attacks up, which is what got him into trouble a lot of time imo, if you dont set up power punches, and you miss, your are going to leave yourself significantly open, see you dont have to set up your attacks when your on the backfoot if the opponent is the one leading, you can use his aggression against him and counter him, however when you come foward, you need a jab to set things up, particularly if you dont have any fundamentals to begin with.


Ever wonder why Junior Witter was so boring throughout his career, as was Johnny Nelson? cause they are exclusively counter punches, they dont like to lead cause they dont have fundamentals to set their own attacks up.

[prinzemanspopa]

Juan Manuel lost all right to complain about Hamed "ducking" him when he turned down a career high purse to fight Hamed a decade ago.


Hamed's resume is fine.Without question the greatest and most accomplished featherweight of the 1990's.The level of opponent he fought is the same that Barrera and Morales fought without a few of the really big names thrown in there.

[Dynamite Kid]

A question, why does prinzemanspopa's interpretation/opinion = something as being a myth, could it be he is too self important to realize his own perception is not the authority on all issues? Lol?

[JDezi4]

He had potential to make it something worth noting. Maybe a Barrera rematch and a Morales fight. And even if he had stuck around long enough to get a Pacquiao fight.... (and of course if he won them)

[VibesMan]

I don't think his resume is particularly good. Thoughts on a few names...

Robinson - No punch and too slow.
Medina - Credit for this win.
Bungu - Blown up
Johnson - End of good career but made for Hamed IMO
McCulloch - Blown up notoriously featherfisted

Naz was a dynamite puncher but was ultimately the architect of his own downfall due to an arrogance that wasn't playful but genuine.

Stories of British journalists high fiving after the MAB defeat stem from the awful disdain he showed for respected journos (Colin Hart in particular).

I certainly don't think for the most part race or religion played a part. He just wasn't a very likeable character.

His vulnerability wasn't unique to big punchers and always gave his fights an added air of excitement. After he got dropped first time (think it was by Alicea) Warren was always cautious with opposition. Still didnt stop Augie Sanchez dropping him (no count though) or an ageing but still live Kelly.

If I recall he was a BIG favourite to do MAB who was post Jones defeats, moving up in weight and fairly tarnished goods at the time.

A good fighter, HOF fo sho but no all time great for me.

[Barn]

I personally didn't like him because he was a showman but, there is no denieing he fought some top opposition over the years and did have a good career. The loss to Barrera completely overshadows all of hsi great wins shich is a shame really.
As has been said already.
ATG - No
HoF - Probably