Comments on: Power, Poise and Posing: The Fistic Legacy of Prince Naseem Hamed

By: steve starr

steve starr — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 10:48:53 +0000

great fighters are only great when they lose and come back even better! naz could not do that so i say he was a good fighter but not a great (sorry naz) you were fun to see fight but thats it!

By: Liolo

Liolo — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:23:58 +0000

‘It is the uniquely paradoxical nature ‘, sum1 explain what the f uk that means. remember, WRITER, that alot of boxing fans are working class an dont understand wierd words.

By: i love khan

i love khan — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:12:50 +0000

Hameds good, but not great. very average. good article by the way.

By: KELLY

KELLY — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:46:08 +0000

I agree with the statement that NASEEM HAMED is the greatest feather weight fighter for at least the last 20 years and perhaps the greatest ever. He is also likely the greatest ever British fighter, or is certainly in their company.

Fighters like Naseem inspire all of us.

I hope he inspires Ricky Hatton to come back as I still believe that Ricky Hatton has a lot of victories in front of him.

By: Wayne Lord

Wayne Lord — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:44:30 +0000

Tbone, you are so correct. Naz’s legs were very powerful for such a small man. I always wondered if e did something to develop that power Michael Spinks also had tree trubks for legs and had same kind of one shot power with his right cross. He too could take a very good shot until Tyson hit him. I think his legs sent a message to his head.

Seriously, Naz had the incredible reflexes that the exceptional athlete like Jones and Ali had. I think Wilferdo benitez and Whitaker also had that radar like ability to evade punches at the last possible minute. But only Naz, Jones & Robinson could also deliver that concussive shot as they were pulling backwards.
It is more difficult than it sounds to hit that hard leaning backwards. You must have reflexes, timing, power & speed combined to do it. I agree that only Ali was able to reinvent himself when those gifts started to erode.
I wish Super Roy would do the same. First he has to forget 175. He was always very strong &d could tie up any fighter. At 175 he no longer can do it. So why fight there? I am sure it is tough to get there but 185 and up would give him back strength and confidence to execute a game plan.

Naz however has been away too long to come back, but if he did, his timing would be way off. I am sure he would still have power like Super Roy. It is the last thing that goes. But he too should go up I think maybe 135 would be fine. Super Roy and King Naz, two superlative athletes!

By: art

art — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:31:34 +0000

naz was annoying but always entertaining, i think barrera humiliated him so much he was embarassed to show his face again.

By: Lee

Lee — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:48:42 +0000

Fewer fighters have brought new fans to the sport.. boxing another Naz to bring back the veiwers now

By far the most entertaining fighter I’ve watched and he backed it up too with convincing performances. He is the reason I got into boxing and will probably remain my favourite fighter for many many years to come

By: joe bob

joe bob — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:09:56 +0000

Nice article. NO ONE CAN OR WILL COME CLOSE TO NAZ! Today boxing you don’t get your moneys worth!

By: Sam

Sam — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:17:20 +0000

He was a fantastic boxer, great to watch with a very tricky unorthodox style, and his speed and power was amazing for a featherweight.

He was an arrogant man tho, I read in Joe Calzaghes book, he was bragging to carl thompson (the man who knocked out david haye a few years back!) how much more money he earnt then him, goading him, a guy who weighs 8 stone 10, goading a man, who is in top shape and weighs over 14 stone!

By: tboneNYC

tboneNYC — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:10:48 +0000

With those big ring entrances and that one punch highlight real power.Prince Naseem Hamed was one of boxings greatest entertainer, and we as fans will prob never!see the likes of a fighter to even resemble the man they called “THE PRINCE”.

Make a comeback Naz!

P.S. That style was not intended for making a fool out of his opponent.Hamed has been fighting with that style since he was 12.I have amature footage of Naz when he was fighting as a kid,its sick,he’s doing those exact same moves he did as a pro.

By: tboneNYC

tboneNYC — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:57:08 +0000

Let me start by saying that Hamed grew on me rather quickly when i first took wind to him back in the mid 90′s.
His ring entrances were the best and his style to me was nothing we as fight fans have ever seen before.But that style that Naz had was a style that fed off of his athleticism pure and simple.
Naz had realy big legs for his size,prob were he got that sick punching power he showed night after night.That style of fighting that Naz had was a style that only a fighter with that much athletic ability could showcase.But when a fighter relizes on using athletic ability and no fundamentals what so ever, its hard for that fighter to have that longevity that a classic style hands up boxer would have in the sport.
The same goes for super Roy.The man used his pure athletic ability when he got in the ring.These types of fighters if they are going to stay in the sport for any length of time have to either adjust there fighting styles or retire or get beat by a class A fighter like Barrera, because there body’s are incapable of doing the things they did in the ring when they were younger.
As the article states,Naz was in his early 20′s when his skills seem to diminish,thus being a product of his super athletic style.
When Roy fought Calzaghe he tried to do alot of the stuff he did earlier in his career and as we all saw,his body did not have those reflexes to accomodate that athletic style of fighting(super fast leaping lead left hook)one of the punches that Roy would throw and catch the chin of his opponent 99.9% of the time.That Roy is long gone.
I seen Naz in an interview a few months back and he looked like another man.There are rumors of a Hamed comeback, but from what i saw,i hope he started training a long time ago.

By: Rahil

Rahil — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 14:11:23 +0000

Prince naseem is awesome, hes my favourite fighter of all time, he brought a whole new audience to boxing with his antics and every boxing fan should respect what he achieved as a pro boxer. Naseem hamed was good enough to beat barrera but he seemed to have lost love for the sport and didnt box like he normally didwhen he fought towards the end of his career. Nevertheless the prince is simply one of the greatest british champions

By: Owen KO Rowe

Owen KO Rowe — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 14:09:15 +0000

Fantastic article. More like this please.

Naz was a fave of mine. When I was growing up it was him and Jones Jr that made me fall in love with the sport.

Leaving the Ingles coupled with his ‘I cant be beaten attitude’ took away from him true, global respect. He should have gone on to have huge big money fights against people like Morales, Junior Jones and maybe a young Pacman but I’m not sure on that one.

He should forever be remembered as one of the best entertainers the sport has seen but in myopinion, a bit of a waste.

By: Wayne Lord

Wayne Lord — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 12:59:27 +0000

Naseem was no Prince….he was a king! He had so much skill and confidence and it showed in each fight. What amazed me was how quickly he could hit with concussive power, after making someone miss by inches. What impresed me more is the fact that he could also deliver his mule kick punch as he was retreating. Note this “mule kick” was not a big swing like George Foreman.
The King could deliver that KO punch suddenly, against the run of action, with surgeon like precision and with the littlest of ease. There are many KO punchers but very few fighters can do it like I have just described. Robinson, Super Roy and Hamed are three of the best in delivering that type of short power punch.
He was a breath of fresh air and made you want to watch him fight. He was not the most elegant and graceful fighter at all times but he was a speed demon. Like we all know, speed kills. Hamed used this with incredible angles and some of the most creative, yet unorthodox moves. He complemented it all with that one shot KO power.
I had read before the Barrera fight that he was not supposed to fight anymore but he wanted very badly to cement his legacy with that win. I have no idea if that was actually true but he did not look like his usual self. In today’s vernacular, apologists would be saying he was a shot fighter.

Look Paul Williams came right back and destroyed Quintana after looking terrible in the first “shot” fight! He came right back and nearly killed him. Sometimes a fighter can have a wrong game plan or just not be mentally right for a big fight. It should not happen, but it does. Some fighters like Louis vs Schmeling 1 learn from it and become great and even destroy their nemesis in a return bout whenevr it happens.
I wanted Prince to avnge that loss. But the fact that he did not seek never a rematch and retired, may be proof that something was wrong. It may have been like Tyson, the huge bank account took away the hunger and desire to train. Or in his case, the transformation from an awkward but very great defensive genius to a bang them out first brawler, had taken its toll.
Whatever it was we may never truly know. What I know is that he was extremely talented and IMO was the top draw for a few years. Had he beaten Barerra he would have ben the cash cow for many years. He would have been called out by everyone who wanted a big $ day.
This is what we see now with Manny and will be the same with whomever replace him when he gets old. I still think he retired too young but I am happy to see he stayed that way. Please, do not make any comebacks and tarnish your legacy. You are for sure a future HOF. Great article and thanks for bringing back sweet memories.

By: Oragon na British

Oragon na British — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 11:57:37 +0000

Hamed against Morales? He’ll try to learn some Mexican boxing lessons he never ever seen from the British boxing styles…

Hamed against Pacquiao? He’ll suffer from punches strong enough to put a Sahara Camel to sleep.

Hamed against JMM? His flamboyance will be against a too good counter-puncher; he’ll never score a round against JMM.

Hamed against Valero? He’ll never recover from a Venezuelan knockdown.

But I think Hamed will be brilliant against Barry McKiggan & John Thackston. He’ll definitely a legend after this fight.