Why Do People Think Naseem was "Special?"

[billeau2]

- -Only one loss late in his career and 16-0, 14 KOs in title fights, 17-1 if we count the IBO that dozens of top fighters have held with Barrera being one.

Lineal boys say he held that title before Barrera took it.

84% KO rate prob the highest of feathers and so on and so forth. Beats big dummy Bowes record by a long shot.

Coulda made 201 after retirement to squeegee around to beat Big Dummy as well. Better HOFer than him and will get in eventually once the HOF realizes the $$$ it makes for his inauguration.

That is a big one. He had elite power especially for a feather. Interesting how much he is a polarizing figure... About the only conclusion many would conclude reading this thread is that Naseem was a better fighter than driver! Lol.

[OctoberRed]

That is a big one. He had elite power especially for a feather. Interesting how much he is a polarizing figure... About the only conclusion many would conclude reading this thread is that Naseem was a better fighter than driver! Lol.

Almost everyone credits him with lower weight fighters being made purses over 7-figures.

[billeau2]

Almost everyone credits him with lower weight fighters being made purses over 7-figures.

You know me October...i avoid the gate stuff but it does seem to me that when Mayweather was floundering as a heal, Naseem had the act down!

[ShoulderRoll]

Almost everyone credits him with lower weight fighters being made purses over 7-figures.

Michael Carbajal and Chiquita Gonzalez both made 7 figures before he did.

[Mugwump]

I agree entirely that the Hamed that "fought" Barrera was shot to pieces. Certainly not the Hamed from the Steve Robinson fight years earlier.

I'm generally not a fan of fighters who neglect their guard. Irrespective of how quick your reflexes are sooner or later you are going to get tagged. Especially at elite level.

That said, if any fighter ever made so much as a step toward making me a believer in such foolishness it would be Hamed. In his prime the kid was fast. Lightning fast. He was also freakishly agile and many a good fighter found that they couldn't lay a glove on him.

Hamed's greatest strength was also his biggest weakness. I'm struggling to recall anyone who has fought at that weight before or since who had thighs THICKER than his or who generated as much explosive power through their legs. In his prime Hamed's punches seemed to start two inches off the canvas and explode like an atomic weapon on his opponent's chin. There are fighters who have heavy hands. There are fighters with KO power. But Hamed could knock you into the hereafter.

But ... with so much driving force imparted from the legs if he missed Hamed tended to overbalance wildly and a clever fighter with quick hands and an aptitude for counter-punching could (if he kept his wits about him) exploit that brief moment - jujitsu style - when Hamed's positioning left him vulnerable. And you wouldn't need to be a heavy-hitter because just about *any* punch delivered at that key moment would put him down.

A lot of people have confused the above flaw in Hamed's style as a "weak chin". But I think this is completely false. Even at the end of his career when he was getting caught far more often I never sensed that Hamed was ever in the slightest danger of being KOd.

It's a pity that his resume is blotted by the Barrera fight. I mean, MAB fought a tactically superb bout and thoroughly deserved the win (even if it was closer than many would have us believe). However, anyone who saw Hamed fight five years earlier will know that the guy who entered the ring that night was a *SHADOW* of his former self. I'm not saying that in his prime he would have defeated MAB. But at the very least it would have been a far closer fight than what we were treated to.