Looking Back At Prince Naseem Hamed: Was He Overrated or Underrated?

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By Rich “Lite It Up” Lopez

As Manny Pacquiao prepares for his fight this weekend against Lucas Matthysse, I can’t help to remember his early days in the Featherweight division. He along with Juan Manuel Marquez, Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales produced memorable fights in that division. There was another fighter in the Featherweight division around the same time making a splash. That was the brash Naseem Hamed and he sure did make an impact when he was around.

As I got deep into boxing in the mid 90’s, I was reading a lot of articles in boxing magazines. This was the first time I heard of Hamed and the article talked about how he was a sensation over in the United Kingdom. He was already the WBO Featherweight Champion at the time and there was already talks of him fighting Barrera or Morales.

I was not sure what to make of this, but I got a chance to watch him fight for the first time on TV when he fought Daniel Alicea which was televised on Showtime on June 6th, 1996. My first reaction was he was sloppy and easy to hit. He actually was dropped in the 1st round of that fight but did come back and stopped Alicea the next round. Due to his cockiness, I was not a fan of his even though his fights were entertaining. I simply wanted him to lose and felt he was getting lucky with his wins by his knockout power. Hamed gained a lot of attention with his personality and ring entrances, which he became a big ticket seller in the United Kingdom. Eventually he would get more popular once he started fighting on HBO. As Hamed got a lot of buzz, some fans either liked him or disliked him.

Eventually when he did stepped up in class and fought an elite level fighter which was Barrera, he got exposed. Then he would fight one more time and retire from boxing for good. Based on that, I felt that Hamed was not that good and the media did overhyped him.
As time went by and I look back at his career again, I think he deserves a more respect for what he accomplished.

Prince Naseem Hamed from Sheffield, United Kingdom had a record of 36-1, with 31 KO’s. He was a southpaw with an awkward style but had power with both hands. He started boxing at a very young age and compiled an amateur record of 62-5 before becoming a professional in 1992. He then moved up in the professional ranks and was 19-0, with 17 KO’s when he got his 1st title shot. He won the WBO World Featherweight title and put on an impressive win streak as the WBO Featherweight Champion that lasted for five years. He made 15 successful title defenses of his WBO title and was undefeated in world title fights. He also had a record of 10-1, 8 KO’s against former or current title holders. In addition he acquired the IBF and WBC Featherweight titles. He beat the following top fighters during his title reign:

Steve Robinson: Robinson was the WBO Featherweight Champion who already had made 8 title defenses of his title before losing to Hamed.

Manuel Medina: Medina was a five time world champion who fought the best in his division.

Tom Johnson: He was the current IBF title holder when he fought Hamed. Prior to that, Johnson made 11 title defenses of his title and was a world champion for four years.

Kevin Kelley: Former World Featherweight Champion. He only had one lost prior to the Hamed fight. This was also one of the best fights of 1997 and Hamed’s American debut.

Wilfredo Vazquez: Was a former three weight division champion and had just made his fourth defense of his WBA title. Vazquez was stripped of his title to challenge Hamed for the WBO title. Vazquez is one of the top fighters I believe should be inducted in the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the future.

Wayne McCullough: Former Bantamweight Champion with an iron chin.

Paul Ingle: Undefeated at the time when he fought Hamed and would later become the IBF Featherweight Champion.

Cesar Soto: He was the current WBC Champion when he fought Hamed.

Vuyani Bungu: Was a former Junior Featherweight Champion who had just made 13 title defenses of his IBF title. He then moved up in weight to challenge Hamed in the Featherweight division.

When you look back, Hamed accomplished all of this before losing to Barrera.

Of course I also feel had he fought Juan Manuel Marquez, Erik Morales or Manny Pacquiao, he would have lost to those great fighters as well. I’m not saying Hamed was an all-time great fighter, but he was bloody good at his time. We do have to give him credit for his accomplishments and he did beat some solid guys at his time. In conclusion, I felt he was underrated at his time.

What do you think? Was Hamed overrated or underrated?

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