Naseem Hamed still the same guy
by Scott Christ on Jul 21, 2009 5:54 PM EDT
in Boxing News Analysis
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In some ways, ya gotta love it. Prince Naseem Hamed, the retired former featherweight superstar, is seen ringside at many big fights in the UK, including several of Amir Khan's biggest bouts. He was there last Saturday when Khan beat Andriy Kotelnik for the WBA junior welterweight title in convincing fashion.
And he's still the same old Naz:
"Amir's a great fighter and he's got mad hand speed. He's got crazy hand speed, hand speed not a lot of fighters have got. But can I see a bit of me in him? I don't know. I was super great. I was special. Amir Khan is Amir Khan. He's a great fighter, he's got great attributes. But Prince Naseem brought something completely different to any other fighter in the whole world."
If I were being smarmy, I'd note that Khan isn't a ton like Hamed because he lost a fight and didn't quit boxing, but despite his arrogance, some of his screwy stunts and his general overbearing attitude throughout his career (and beyond), I've always liked Hamed. And he really was a hell of a great fighter. I think there's been way too much emphasis put on his loss to Barrera over the years. HBO and others have made it out like Barrera shut Hamed out or something. It was a pretty competitive fight, one that Barrera clearly won in upset fashion.
Hamed also says that he admires Khan for coming back from a bad knockout, and that he "doesn't see much" in a fight between Khan and Ricky Hatton.
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Naz
“If I were being smarmy, I’d note that Khan isn’t a ton like Hamed because he lost a fight and didn’t quit boxing”
To be fair though Hamed lost his first fight at the end of his career whilst Khan lost at the start of his and had much more motivation to come back. There were reports that Naz was becoming bored with boxing as early as 1999 and after he split with Ingle he never trained as hard or took it as seriously as he used to. When he eventually lost in 2001 you can hardly blame him for packing it in if the motivation wasn’t there anymore or he’d be risking ruining his legacy.
It was the end of his career by his own choice, though. The guy was 27. And no I don’t really blame him for quitting. If he didn’t want to fight anymore he didn’t want to fight. That’s absolutely right.
by Scott Christ on Jul 21, 2009 6:46 PM EDT up reply actions
It was only the end of his career because he quit
He should have been in the prime of his career, and had the fire been there, he easily could have fought on for another 5 years.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
id pick naz
over khan now. no doubt in my mind he’d walk right through him.
the naz lose to barerra started my hatred for hbo. they made him out as the second coming when they stole him from showtime, promoted the shit out of him all over times square for the kelly fight and when he lost one he was somehow less of a fighter and all hype. its sickening and unfortunately is now typical and comes to be expected from them.
I think I’d probably pick Khan over Hamed now because Hamed is fat.
by Scott Christ on Jul 21, 2009 7:31 PM EDT up reply actions
lol
well yea. he probably hasn’t trained since his last fight against calvo 7 years ago. i dont even think he trained for that one either.
but 2 to 3 months of training, he’d blast khan out rather quickly.
by sonofapsycho on Jul 21, 2009 7:38 PM EDT up reply actions
Also
Khan is a LOT bigger than Hamed
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
Ive been a huge fan of Naz for ages. He was probably the first boxer i realy liked as a kid growing up in England. He had that poler way about him, you either loved him or hated him but no matter what you watched him.
From everything Ive seen i think he had had it with boxing and after Barrera he did his thank you to the fans fight and left.
It would of been good if he found that love of boxing again but at least he still has some part in the sport, even if its just an interview at which ever fight he is at.
"Good, so it can’t go any deeper." - Arturo Gatti after being told he was cut to the bone
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