I think at one stage he was the most exciting fighter that I’d ever been involved with. At one stage, in the early part of his career, he could have gone on to become one of the great fighters. But that disappeared when he didn’t fight as regularly as he should have done, when he was cutting corners on his training. It just didn’t work out for him from that point on.? ? Frank Warren]
“I had hand trouble and could not take the power of my punch,” Hamed said. “I needed cortisone injections to take away the pain when I fought, then after every fight the gloves would be whipped off and my hands would be as big as balloons.” – Prince Naseem Hamed
?… with his unique, unorthodox, frankly crazy style of boxing, his speed, reflexes and bone crushing power, and the way in which he took the boxing world as a young bright eyed swaggering kid, ruled his division for years, and was a verifiable icon for confidence-crisis suffering kids the world over, Naseem Hamed was a personal childhood hero, the most talented fighter I have ever seen, the most accomplished young fighter ever, and the fact that he retired somewhat prematurely aged 28 should not detract from the golden memories he gave us in the relatively short time he did compete?.- Daniel Fletcher
Let?s cut right to the chase. This unorthodox, flashy and supremely talented southpaw, born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, should be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame forthwith.
With a final record of 36-1, he was the WBO, WBC, IBF, and Lineal featherweight champion, and European bantamweight champion. He also knocked out Wilfredo Vazquez who had just been stripped of the WBA title prior to their fight. He also won a number of regional and international titles. Daniel Fletcher describes his dominance best in a lengthy and compelling article dated May 18, 2012 on FIGHTSPORTASIA http://fightsportasia.com/2012/05/18/requiem-for-naseem/
?? at the end of the day, let it never be doubted that beyond the show and ?unfulfilled potential?, Prince Naseem Hamed still accomplished a remarkable decade-long ledger in the sport to go along with his talent, and it reads as follows:
* European Bantamweight champion (1994) *WBC International Super-Bantamweight champion (1994-95) *WBO World Featherweight champion (1995-2001 ? 15 defences) *IBF World Featherweight champion (1997 ? 2 defences) *WBC World Featherweight champion (1999) *Lineal WBA World Featherweight champion 1998 ? WBA stripped Wilfredo Vazquez prior to his bout with Naseem *Lineal World Featherweight champion (with Vazquez win ? 5 ?defences?) *IBO World Featherweight champion (2002) *36 wins, 1 loss (31 knockouts) *17 world championship wins *10 world champion opponents beaten
?In short, he dominated the featherweight division for six years, winning 17 world championship fights against 10 world champion opponents, and he unified all the titles. That dominance against tough opposition should count heavily when evaluating his candidacy for nomination into the Hall.
With swagger, style, and showmanship aplenty, Hamed was known for his many spectacular ring entrances and flashy showboating. Not unlike the late Hector ?Macho: Camacho, his boxing antics made him the new poster-boy for lighter-weight boxers and his extraordinary charisma attracted large numbers of fans, but despite the flash, there was plenty of substance. He was a very talented, skilled, and had sledgehammer power (with an impressive 83.78 KO percentage) who scored spectacular highlight reel knockouts. Here is a highlight video:
