Prince Naseem Hameed

[pakistanalltheway]

Where the hell is he these days ? I know theres no comeback for him as hes fat now.
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Could have been a legend but was troubled. None the less a great entertainer and an even better fighter.

 

[chui_kadoo]

He retired at a very young age at 27. He only lost one fight and that was on pointsto Barrera. He was awesome though and a great entertainer.

 

[pakistanalltheway]

He retired at a very young age at 27. He only lost one fight and that was on pointsto Barrera. He was awesome though and a great entertainer.

31 were knock outs from just 37 fights.

 

[chui_kadoo]

31 were knock outs from just 37 fights.

His entrance to the ring were a treat to watch. His post match interviews were amazing.
The guy had so much self belief and confidence.
He was my favourite boxer.
A born entertainer and truly Box office. Its a shame that he retired so young.

I wonder what his views are on Amir Khan's latest defeat?

I would love to hear what he has to say about the fight.

 

[TAK]

He retired at a very young age at 27. He only lost one fight and that was on pointsto Barrera. He was awesome though and a great entertainer.

it was a bit more than a points defeat

 

[BoomBoomAli]

The hardest punching feather weight I've ever seen, he threw punches from all sorts of angles. He took on America and lost once to Barrera, a quality fighter.

 

[BMW Power]

He also went to jail because of that nasty accident where he injured an elderly couple in his SLR

 

[pakistanbest]

He was a great in boxing and had he continued he would have become a legend, he had everything, he could talk the talk but he could alway walk the walk, sad that he retired so early, was a huge fan of his growing up. Some wonderful memories and fights, respect to the true Prince

 

[Gabbar Singh]

It all went downhill for Nas after the Tom Johnson fight. He didnt train as hard as he used to, became lazy and let the fame and monoey go to his head. And dumping Brendan Ingle was the final nail in the coffin and he was then just surrounded by 'yes men'.

Even against Kelly and McCullough Hamed looked really slow. Shame really as the 1995 version of Hamed was awesome and he had age on his side where he really should have improved - instead he regressed. An incredible entertainer though.

 

[TwoHands]

i love the brother, lets be honest, he got exposed be Barrera, even by Kelly to a certain degree. he was good but not an all time great.

 

[KingKhanWC]

I would go as far as saying the Prince was the most talented boxer to come out of Britain. His lack of hard work and application in training cost him in the end. He talked a good game but his ego got the better of him.

Barrera is an all time great, no shame in losing to him but if Nas had trained properly he had the skills and especially the awesome power to stop Barrera.

Nas is know a trainer training young boxers. I think he regrets how his career ended.

 

[Tapori]

This.

It all went downhill for Nas after the Tom Johnson fight. He didnt train as hard as he used to, became lazy and let the fame and monoey go to his head. And dumping Brendan Ingle was the final nail in the coffin and he was then just surrounded by 'yes men'.

and

I would go as far as saying the Prince was the most talented boxer to come out of Britain.

Single-handedly,helped unite different ethnicities where I lived when he fought om tv in the 90's during my School years.

He should have easily had a re-match with Barrera (Lost on points TBF) and could have easily had some more epic fights, but I think his Pride was dented.

Genius.. but ultimately Flawed.

 

[PakPrince]

he was featherweight right?

not much into boxing but is that division taken seriously?

 

[PakPrince]

btw when i clicked on the thread i thought its abt the pakistani sprinter.

i was like ' why prince'???

 

[DC]

I would go as far as saying the Prince was the most talented boxer to come out of Britain. His lack of hard work and application in training cost him in the end. He talked a good game but his ego got the better of him.

Barrera is an all time great, no shame in losing to him but if Nas had trained properly he had the skills and especially the awesome power to stop Barrera.

Nas is know a trainer training young boxers. I think he regrets how his career ended.

This is pretty much spot on, the 1990s was a great time for British boxing and Nas was dynamite, a great shame the way he finished.

 

[TAK]

He also went to jail because of that nasty accident where he injured an elderly couple in his SLR

wasn't an elderly couple

and he fled the scene of the accident

god knows how the police managed to trace him

 

[pakistanalltheway]

wasn't an elderly couple

and he fled the scene of the accident

god knows how the police managed to trace him

lol hes the only one with a NAS plate on a Mercedes. I think a friend of his actually told about the incident but i am not sure.

 

[shaykh1985]

I thought he was a class boxer who had immense star quality something very few have these days...its a shame he didn't utilise his talent effectively...he became a lot lazier later in his career...the Naz that Barrera beat was not a prime Naz by any means or even a well prepared one and that Barrera was some fighter...his style of fighting was beautiful to watch as were his entrances...it was him that got me into boxing when I was young...

 

[chui_kadoo]

I was watching the Prince Naseem documentary the other day. The one where he prepares for Barrera. You can tell that he hardly meant business and was hardly in training mode. No way was he fully prepared for the fight. He seemed to take so many short cuts. He seemed to be more concerned about the entrance and having the right gloves than the fight itself.

Also there was a rematch clause for the fight so why didnt Naseem Hamed have rematch with Barrera?

 

[TAK]

he was outclassed to such an extent that it ended his career

there was a chasm between barrera and naseem

to fight him again would have been foolhardy

 

[Asif khan]

What an entertainer - a joy to watch but lost his desire and motivation to train. He bought into his own hype and ultimately paid the price. I often wonder if the Barrera defeat mentally destroyed him.

A rematch would have been pointless especially if your heart is not in it any more. Breaking up from Brendan Ingle was a disaster for him and it was all a real shame as he had exceptional talent that will never be completely fulfilled.

 

[DC]

he was outclassed to such an extent that it ended his career

there was a chasm between barrera and naseem

to fight him again would have been foolhardy

Not outclassed in talent imo, but mentally a long way. Nas was just too lazy at that time and didn't have the drive to get himself 100% ready.
A fully fit and fully focused Nas could have beaten Barrera.

 

[KingKhanWC]

This is an incredible video on the Prince.

GOAT of entertainers in British Boxing!
[MENTION=46929]shaz619[/MENTION] check this out if you havent already.

 

[PakLFC]

When knocked out he could never get up again. Great champs get up and win the fight. He mostly fought poor fighters until came the one who shut him up permanently.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

This.



and



Single-handedly,helped unite different ethnicities where I lived when he fought om tv in the 90's during my School years.

He should have easily had a re-match with Barrera (Lost on points TBF) and could have easily had some more epic fights, but I think his Pride was dented.

Genius.. but ultimately Flawed.

Great thread and I agree with this post. Nas really was the peoples champ - every race claimed him as one of theirs.

I can't really commentate on his technical boxing skills but I think he captivated fans in a way that no boxer since his retirement has been able to.

 

[Saj]

What a great character he was. A showman, but at the same time highly-skilled.

I'm sure many will have taken up boxing because of him.

 

[shaz619]

This is an incredible video on the Prince.

GOAT of entertainers in British Boxing!
[MENTION=46929]shaz619[/MENTION] check this out if you havent already.

I’ve watched half of it will finish the rest and outstanding series from Sky and what a highlight reel for Naz! incredible, for some of those KO’s he barely loads up lol which is freakish and when you look at the level of opposition and the manner in which they were dealt it’s even more impressive, there will never be another in the lower divisions quiet like Naz. While his motivations did decline during the tail end of his career with Ingle complaining about his prep for title fights, struggles with the weight and spotlight, there were also whispers about 9/11 impacting his decisions to retire; the British public can be like rats, they were so quick to turn on him, the response at the Calvo fight was pathetic, no way to have treated an all time great and legend, but you only see what was lost when it’s gone.

 

[shaz619]

What a great character he was. A showman, but at the same time highly-skilled.

I'm sure many will have taken up boxing because of him.

A pioneer in the lower divisions and one of the most influential fighters in history, smaller guys rarely commanded the sort of purses which Naz did before him, his flamboyance and entertaining style influenced so many in the UK such as Khan, Carl Froch, Tyson Fury, James Degale etc and I’d even say he influenced the personality of Floyd, opened the door for him and other smaller guys to bring more attention to the lower divisions then ever before.

 

[shaz619]

I’ve watched half of it will finish the rest and outstanding series from Sky and what a highlight reel for Naz! incredible, for some of those KO’s he barely loads up lol which is freakish and when you look at the level of opposition and the manner in which they were dealt it’s even more impressive, there will never be another in the lower divisions quiet like Naz. While his motivations did decline during the tail end of his career with Ingle complaining about his prep for title fights, struggles with the weight and spotlight, there were also whispers about 9/11 impacting his decisions to retire; the British public can be like rats, they were so quick to turn on him, the response at the Calvo fight was pathetic, no way to have treated an all time great and legend, but you only see what was lost when it’s gone.

On the other side, while Naz could have continued and elevated his legacy even further by moving out of featherweight or pursuing battles with a golden generation which came along in JMM, Morales, Manny, Floyd etc as Marvin Hagley once said - It's hard to get up at 6am when you're wearing silk pyjamas; Naz mades the Forbes list and I believe his net-worth was close to a staggering 50m! and he achieved that as a FW alone, that is remarkable really, you see many fighters go on longer then they need to and he had already secured a HOF career, with that amount in the bank it was logical to move on

 

[silentkiller187]

Naz was a real legend of british boxing, shame how his career spiraled out of control so quickly after just 1 defeat but with him was expected.

I met him in a famous department store in london not too long ago, he was very nice and was happy to chat and pose for pics, but i will be honest i was lucky i recognized him, he looks like a balloon now really huge put on so much weight almost unrecognizable and he was with some dodgy looking people who you wouldn't associate with World champions or celebs, really sorry fall from grace he had the world at his feet at one point and could have easily built a legacy like mayweather had his heart been in it.

 

[LordJames]

what a shame as to how he faded away...

 

[LordJames]

Aadam Hamed (son of 'Prince' Naseem Hamed) about to go Pro in UK

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

What an entertainer - a joy to watch but lost his desire and motivation to train. He bought into his own hype and ultimately paid the price. I often wonder if the Barrera defeat mentally destroyed him.

A rematch would have been pointless especially if your heart is not in it any more. Breaking up from Brendan Ingle was a disaster for him and it was all a real shame as he had exceptional talent that will never be completely fulfilled.

I think Brendan Ingle's training methods were perfect for him, the low hands, ducking and swaying out of range, then countering with big power shots was perfect for his abilities. Not sure why he tried to change, I still wonder if even Khan made the same mistake. By trying to introduce a more defensive guard, he lost a bit of his speed and hitting angles.

 

[James]

Naz was a real legend of british boxing, shame how his career spiraled out of control so quickly after just 1 defeat but with him was expected.

I met him in a famous department store in london not too long ago, he was very nice and was happy to chat and pose for pics, but i will be honest i was lucky i recognized him, he looks like a balloon now really huge put on so much weight almost unrecognizable and he was with some dodgy looking people who you wouldn't associate with World champions or celebs, really sorry fall from grace he had the world at his feet at one point and could have easily built a legacy like mayweather had his heart been in it.

He’s still quite wealthy I think, is a businessman and owns multiple properties, but yes he looks very different nowadays !!

 

[shaz619]

He’s still quite wealthy I think, is a businessman and owns multiple properties, but yes he looks very different nowadays !!

He did exceedingly well financially, that’s why he could afford to retire at 28. FW’s rarely earned as much and this gen can thank him a great deal. Most seem to take his weight gain as a fall fr grace when in reality and in his own words, he’s living his best life lol and is happy, very few fighters can say that from the 80’s/90’s. The end to his career may not have been ideal but the right decision with the lack of motivation, injuries and him getting to a stage where most likely he’d begin to decline given his high impact style.

 

[shaz619]

I think Brendan Ingle's training methods were perfect for him, the low hands, ducking and swaying out of range, then countering with big power shots was perfect for his abilities. Not sure why he tried to change, I still wonder if even Khan made the same mistake. By trying to introduce a more defensive guard, he lost a bit of his speed and hitting angles.

Naz had a tremendous chin though, fighting with hands low like that, unless you’re Roy Jones Jne you need an excellent chin (And even Roy was KO’d), Naz was often caught of balance and dropped many times throughout his career. Khan’s chin is exaggerated a little but fighting that way I don’t know if it would have been the best idea at the world level. With a more restrained defensive approach, it can appear a little speed is lost because he may not be throwing as many combos but it can lead to devastating results, Khan’s most defensive trainer was Virgil and under him he had his best career performance imo against Devon Alexander, it was great to watch and pure domination in what was billed as 50/50 fight (Devon may have even been the slight favourite).

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Naz had a tremendous chin though, fighting with hands low like that, unless you’re Roy Jones Jne you need an excellent chin (And even Roy was KO’d), Naz was often caught of balance and dropped many times throughout his career. Khan’s chin is exaggerated a little but fighting that way I don’t know if it would have been the best idea at the world level. With a more restrained defensive approach, it can appear a little speed is lost because he may not be throwing as many combos but it can lead to devastating results, Khan’s most defensive trainer was Virgil and under him he had his best career performance imo against Devon Alexander, it was great to watch and pure domination in what was billed as 50/50 fight (Devon may have even been the slight favourite).

You may be right, just seems like Khan's footwork became more static with the hands up style. Might just be nostalgia, but when I see film of his old fights, he looks dazzlingly fast on his feet, but a bit more measured and predictable with the high guard.

I said it before, I also think the low hands are harder to defend against because the punches are coming from a bigger range of angles. Anyway, Naseem was a brutal fighter in his heyday, not universally liked because he overdid the arrogance, but one of the most showtime British fighters in recent history.

 

[shaz619]

You may be right, just seems like Khan's footwork became more static with the hands up style. Might just be nostalgia, but when I see film of his old fights, he looks dazzlingly fast on his feet, but a bit more measured and predictable with the high guard.

I said it before, I also think the low hands are harder to defend against because the punches are coming from a bigger range of angles. Anyway, Naseem was a brutal fighter in his heyday, not universally liked because he overdid the arrogance, but one of the most showtime British fighters in recent history.

That’s a good observation, I’d go as far as saying his footwork has been in decline for quiet some time. He use to glide around the ring and moved beautifully laterally, and am not sure when this issue developed, but when he plants his feet or is a little more static as you say, he has a tendency to move his back leg to the left when he wants lean to the left and it puts all the weight on the front foot which is a big recipe for disaster. Ben Davidson pointed this out to and I just rewatched periods in fights from the past (even from signature wins over Devon/Maidana) where Khan has been doing this for ages but got away with it because of his much better conditioning and ring activity as he had a good measure of range, his reach advantage would help to. Typically I saw this happen past 6 rounds when fighters tend to feel the pace a little more and more recently, his movement tends to regress even earlier now due to his age and lack of ring time, what doesn’t help is he has always kept his left hand low and when you combine this with the poor footwork presently he is inviting the looping overhand right. A big shame no one has addressed this but AK is also to blame at times for not arranging enough mini camps between fight camps to give trainers more time to fix his issues.

With that low guard, lateral movement and excellent footwork is absolutely a must. Totally, with hands down like that combined with Naz’s movement and reflex’s, the angles he created for those highlight reel counters would be extremely difficult to defend against.