Naseem Hamed still the same guy

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.