Barrera vs Hamed

[eco1]

Barrera was a fking Bull that night.

Who remembers it?

[ironmt]

Remember It like It was yesterday. Barrera was a bad mother****er.

[FLEX U.K]

If Hamed had a proper camp and taken barrera more seriously then he would have beaten Barrera and cemented his legacy as the greatest Featherweight of all time. I remember crying like a little ***** from about the 9th till the scores were read out and my Dad going off his nut with me

[soul_survivor]

Barrera was a fking Bull that night.

Who remembers it?

Yeah he was such a bull he threw baout 30 punches a round lol

[apollocreed]

Hamed definitely wasn't the same fighter as he was in the mid 90's - however I'm still inclined to think in retrospect that Barerra that night would have the number of any version of Hamed.
I used to be a massive Nas fan, he was exciting and spectacular at his best, but as I learnt more about boxing, I realized he did have technical flaws which could be exploited (providing someone was good enough AND could stand up to his power). Barrera was good enough and tough enough that night. He had the right game plan, drew the leads and counter punched him perfectly, and made him miss with his wild swings and exploited his poor balance.
Nas was at his best 95 - '98 though.

[Carmen81]

No version of Hamed ever beats Barrera. Barrera had mad boxing skill and wasn't at all intimidated by Hamed or anyone for that matter. Hamed actually seemed intimidated by Barreras aggressiveness during the fight.

[apollocreed]

I think Hamed knew he wasn't the same fighter he used to be, had lost his hunger, and was up against someone who wasn't intimidated by his power. It was like he knew the writing was on the wall from early in the fight, Barerra had his number and he couldn't beat him. Reminds me a bit of Tyson vs Holyfield.

[FlatLine]

There's a good documentary about that fight called Little Prince, Big Fight. It shows pretty much why Naz lost. He was boasting about training in the lap of luxury while Barrera was training diligently at high altitude. Naz had pretty much lost passion for boxing at that point. Even the Mexican sparring partners for that camp were causing him all sorts of problems and they apparently went and reported everything they saw in the camp directly to Barrera himself. A prime Naz was a much better fighter than the one that fought Barrera. That version would lose to a lot of fighters. His dedication was so low that Emanuel Steward left him after the Barrera fight and they were squabbling all through the camp.. here's what he had to say:

Speaking to the Sunday Telegraph newspaper, he said: "I've decided that I don't want to work with Naseem anymore.

"It's not effective, it's a waste of time and money for everyone. The way he is, I don't think he will fulfil his talent.

"I've seen mistakes being made (but) if you try to make changes they fall on deaf ears. To have my knowledge and not use it is a waste."

Steward believes Hamed is too wrapped up in his own fame, fortune and ego to accept the advice he needs to hear.

[baya]

No version of Hamed ever beats Barrera. Barrera had mad boxing skill and wasn't at all intimidated by Hamed or anyone for that matter. Hamed actually seemed intimidated by Barreras aggressiveness during the fight.

this. MAB was determined like never before that night. he put on a show that night.

[TheBigLug]

Wish that fight would have been a couple of years earlier. As people have said, Hamed wasn't taking anything seriously then, he spent the whole camp just losing weight and his hands were shot to bits by then.

They're things that are his own fault though except the hands, so he deserves the loss and can't take anything away from Barrera, he did what he had to.

If Naz was at his best, it would be a very different story i think. Either way, Naseem still doesn't always get the credit he deserves. He was very good and beat some good fighters, his only loss being a UD to Barrera which is hardly anything to be ashamed of.