How special was Naseem Hamed?

[W1LL]

So special that he caused me to fall in love with Boxing before my 10th birthday. Must have watched him knock out Said Lawal about 500 times! I stole my brother's VHS tape of Naz's highlight reel, and when DVD players became a thing, I went out and bought a more recent one. The only other fighters I have actually paid for on the screen is Joe Calzaghe and Muhammad Ali.

[LetOutTheCage]

His hands were wrecked after he KO’d Augie Sanchez the year before he fought Barrera. I live in the same city as Nas and not long before the fight he was well overweight, I’ve heard he had to lose 30lb in a month. By that point he was well on a downward slope, not training as he used to, relying on his power to get him out of trouble.

It’s not just that he stepped up his competition at the end, his own level was already falling by that time. The Hamed that beat Steve Robinson would have given Barrera a much tougher fight.

Yes it's a combination of things like you said. I maintain a younger fresh Naseem beats Barrera by KO