What happens when a great fighter meets a very good one? What happens when a great fighter has a great training camp and a very good fighter has an absolutely appalling training camp?
At the start of the month of April in 2001, two British stars, in fact, global stars, were seemingly set to continue their respective dominance; Lennox Lewis up at heavyweight, Naseem Hamed down at featherweight.
When did the world see the peak Naseem Hamed? When did the boxing world see “The Prince” at his dazzling best?
Naseem Hamed was a classic example of a sizzling puncher who had a very leaky defence. In time, after a number of fights saw Hamed’s chilling power get him out of jail, this combination caught up with him.
… And Goes Out With A Booed Whimper, Not An Applauded Bang
First Naseem Hamed bored his fans something awful, then “The Prince” insulted them.
“He was a good puncher and once again he was a southpaw. He was more powerful than Naseem Hamed,” Tom “Boom Boom” Johnson speaking with Ring Magazine on Colombia’s Ever Beleno.
“Two Power-Punching Superstars Clash In A Mythical Matchup For The Ages”
Former featherweight king Naseem Hamed still enjoys plenty of press.
During the typical summer drought we boxing fans endure at this time of the year, with precious little boxing scheduled (although things pick up again later this month, with Pacquiao-Thurman and some promising heavyweight fights) it’s time to dig into the archives and pull out a classic.
Former featherweight king “Prince” Naseem Hamed, by his own admission, retired too soon. Just 28 when he decided to hang up the gloves, the cocky and powerful southpaw passed up potential £$millions in further purses, and he left many fans wondering what might have been had he managed to retain the desire to fight.
Born today in The Steel City of Sheffield in the south of Yorkshire, England, was one Naseem Hamed – better known in boxing circles as Naz, or “The Prince”.