Boxing

 

Love Him or Hate Him-Naz is Back

By Fred De La Riva

10.01 - I'll be honest with you. I didn't like the Prince the first time I saw him. Something about the kid rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe it was his ring entrances. Maybe it was his mouth. Hell, maybe it was those ears of his that look like a parked car with both doors open. I thought his type of dress was a bad imitation of Hector "Macho" Camacho Sr. and Jorge "Maromero" Paez, but you know what? That was years ago. Since then I've come to appreciate the guy and I've honestly missed him.

He had such an unorthodox style in the ring. Let me take that back, because unorthodox is an understatement. It was all wrong, but it was fun to watch. His fights with Daniel Alicea and Kevin Kelley were prime examples of this. The kid was begging to be "clocked" and Alicea and Kelly were successful to a point, but ultimately failed, because Hamed had dynamite in both fists. His punches were devastating and they made good fighters revert back to being ordinary ones. Look at what he did to Tom Johnson & Augie Sanchez.

But there was more to Hamed than just his obvious talent in the ring. The kid had the gift of gab, that many fighters could only wish they had. I mean I actually looked forward to his interviews. In between his praises to "Allah" and his overblown self-promotion, there was a certain charm to the guy. He kind of reminded me of Muhammad Ali, who was pompous yet likeable. There was no in between in terms of liking Hamed. You either loved him or hated him. Simple as that.

The late 90's were his, as he was considered probably the world's top featherweight. He had the world at his feet, until he ran into Marco Antonio Barrera. I don't mean to get into the guy's head, but it seems that as large as his ego was, it was just as fragile too. In his following match against Manuel Calvo, Hamed looked out of place. The confidence he was often known for disappeared as Calvo failed to crumble from his punches. The boos heard over the airwaves were shocking, considering that Hamed had a following that rivaled Oscar De La Hoya.

It was obvious to any one that saw the Calvo fight and Hamed probably wouldn't admit it, but Barrera was still in his head. He's probably still there, and at 28 Hamed still has time to drive him out. A victory over the dangerous body puncher Michael Brodie could be just the ticket too. And it can't be a boring dance as he had with Calvo. Hamed is going to have to bring it. Lay it all out on the line. He is going to have to fight with a controlled fury and an intelligent game plan. Brodie will probably hit him, and that's good. Sometimes you need a good shot to the face to wake you up, but Hamed has the guns to repel anything Brodie has to offer.

It would be beneficial for the boxing game for Hamed to regain his confidence in the ring. Boxing needs it. Besides Mike Tyson and Oscar De La Hoya, who really commands those types of crowds that go beyond the boxing circles?

Nobody.

Hopefully, sometime in the near future he can unlearn his old tricks. A stint with another of boxing's premier trainers might do his some good. So what if Manny Stewart didn't workout. There are others out there with plenty to teach him. Freddy Roach, Nacho Berenstein and Buddy McGirt are but a few that might do him some good. It would be a sin to let the man's talent go by the wayside. Unfortunately raw talent in boxing can only go so far. This sport is in sore need of another personality, and Hamed has all the tools to be the guy. I wish him well.

Feel free to contact the author at reevee@earthlink.net

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