to be or not to be..the comeback of naseem hamed

www.eastsideboxing.com

By Peter Cameron, Sunday 21th March 2006: July 1995 was a fine month to be British. Nigel Benn, Chris Eubank, Lennox Lewis and Naseem Hamed all had fights in July 1995. All four won, each by knockout or stoppage. It was the last time this fabulous quartet ever fought in the same month. Over a decade later and Benn and Eubank have long since retired, whilst big Lennox finally hung up his gloves in June 2003. Hamed never officially quit the fight game but his lengthy absence from the ring suggested he too was gone for good. Or so we thought.

Then in November 2005 Hamed announced he was back. Seismic waves of anticipation reverberated around the boxing world as Hamed spoke of a possible six-fight contract with an American television network. He had often mentioned comebacks before, but this time was different. There was extra purpose in his words. The message was clear; this time he meant it..

"I've really missed boxing because I've been doing it for a hell of a long time, and I consider myself not bad at it. But then again I think boxing has missed me and it's time to get back and do some stuff. My confidence has never really gone. I'm raring to go after a good three-year lay-off. I believe I can be even better."

On hearing the news, Emanuel Steward added to the excitement by saying "Hamed can be world champion again". Steward, involved with Hamed from 1999 to 2001, continued "It depends on how he's going to approach training. When he did train he trained extremely well, he's a good trainer. If he trains hard, I don't think it will take him more than three months (to be ready)."

Hamed's place in history is already secure. Arguably the most naturally talented boxer ever to emerge from these shores, Hamed's mix of unorthodox brilliance and infuriating braggadocio made him the biggest draw in boxing outside of the heavyweights. Everywhere he went, Hamed generated commotion and controversy. His debut on American soil contained a 10 minute ring walk and six knockdowns, himself visiting the canvas on three occasions before finishing off Kevin Kelly in the fourth round of a candidate for Fight of the Year. For Hamed's fight against Wayne McCullough on 31st October 1998, HBO spent £70,000 erecting a mock graveyard for Hamed to prance through on his ring entrance. Against Vuyani Bungu he descended into the ring on a flying carpet. Hamed could just about get away with these ridiculous antics because he produced the goods in the ring. He had unnatural power for a featherweight, and the balance of a ballerina. His speed, like his shorts, imitated a leopard.

Not since Sugar Ray Leonard in 1987 has a comeback been so eagerly anticipated. The return of the Prince would potentially see British boxing, already experiencing a renaissance thanks to Joe Calzaghe and Ricky Hatton, become more popular than ever. Throw in the new kids appearing, led by Kevin Mitchell and Amir Khan, along with some exciting, if limited, heavyweights, and it could be argued that British boxing has never been healthier.

Unfortunately this is overlooking some crucial, show-stopping facts.

Emanuel Stewart could not have seen Hamed in the flesh recently, otherwise he would have re-evaluated his "three months to be ready" claim. In recent television appearances Hamed has resembled the Michelin Man, far too heavy for the featherweight division he once occupied. Unless Hamed manages to lose this excess baggage, he may find himself sharing a ring with Ricky Hatton or Floyd Mayweather of the welterweights, a division of relative giants compared to his own 5ft 4&1/2 inch frame.

Hamed has not been seen in a ring for nearly four years, which is an eternity in boxing. With the exception of the Muhammed Alis and Sugar Ray Leonards of this world, four years is far too long a lay-off. For all the optimism, the reality is that there is more likelihood of a Labour donor not receiving a peerage than there is of Hamed ever recapturing his former magic.

The world has changed beyond recognition during Hamed's disappearance. At the time of Hamed's last fight, Audley Harrison was still considered a hot prospect; Lennox Lewis was the number one heavyweight in the world (although he probably still is); Tyson was still scary; Roy Jones was unbeatable and ruling the pound-for-pound ranks; nobody had ever heard of Amir Khan. Away from boxing, the invasion of Iraq was still just a discussion topic for Republican think tanks, and George Bush was still popular.

Whilst there are calls for Lennox Lewis to dust down his gloves and clean up the pollution which saturates the heavyweight division, at nearly 41 years of age and inactive since June 2003, he could never recreate the peaks of his prime. For Hamed, given the brilliant fighters that now reside in the lower weights, the task would be even greater. The painful truth is that, despite all the excitement a comeback would generate, Hamed would be sensible to remain in retirement.

The arrival of Amir Khan has brought back memories of Hamed's own rise through the ranks, and perhaps it stirred something inside The Prince. Perhaps he felt some envy, or a desire to be back in the limelight again. Now that Frank Warren has rejoined terrestrial television, boxing's profile is surging and maybe Hamed simply wanted to be part of all the buzz.

Even so, he would be wise to listen to the words of Barry McGuigan, himself a former featherweight world champion and now commentator for ITV; "My advice to Naseem is to stay retired and enjoy your life. It's very difficult to go back and recapture that hunger again. He can maybe get into shape but it is a different thing being fighting fit. He earned a fortune, he has a safe amount of money and has a comfortable existence."

July 1995 was a fine month to be British. Benn, Eubank, Lewis and Hamed would probably all feature in an all-time top ten list of British boxers. Indeed www.boxrec.com ranks Hamed as the second best featherweight ever (although its bizarre rating system also has Ezzard Charles as the greatest heavyweight!). A decade later and In Calzaghe and Hatton, the British fight scene is in safe hands. Whilst the return of Hamed would initially feel like a reconciliation with a long-separated wife, ultimately it would be a deflating experience.

hamed is better off staying retired....i just cannot imagine him getting back in the ring...though i would be curious to see him try....cant see it amounting to anything though...

wont happen...

Hamed could stay retired. But staying retired only gives his naysayers a reason to hate on him. They say that Barerra forced him to retire the same way they say Vitali Klit forcing Lennox Lewis(also a Brit) to retire, though both are untrue it remains, the difference is that people still think that Lennox Lewis at 39 could dominate the Heavyweights while Hamed at 33 they say couldn't, if he came back and was successful at defeating the super featherweights or a champ of the super featherweighrs and retires on that, there are no more questions, but I wouldn't be 100 percent confident unless he goes back to Ingle and not just fighting on memory.

Well, if he looks like the "Michelin man" as the article says, there's no way in heck that he will ever go back down to 130 lbs. Realistically, he will probably be unable to get below 140 lbs. ever again even if he trains like a fiend. That's just the way the body works. If a guy balloons up in weight and he's past the 30 year old mark, he usually has gone up in weight for good. Just ask Roberto Duran.

Naseem left prematurely..... he needs to come back to prove his worth, not just to everyone by also to himself.....and even if he loses, there will be no doubt and regret that stirred up inside him for all of these years.

Good luck Hamed, you'll need it 8)

Perhaps if all the rumours are true he can fight Eubank ;D

I'd personally love to a rematch to their legendary airport brawl, that Naz always claims he won :P

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Originally Posted by bilbo

Perhaps if all the rumours are true he can fight Eubank ;D

I'd personally love to a rematch to their legendary airport brawl, that Naz always claims he won :P

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lol, Naseem cilipped him in the nose with his little pinky ;D

Chris didn't hit him back though, a pinky is more then nothing

I'll never understand why a (at his best) B minus fighter gets so much attention, who cares if he comes back?

British boxing is doing very well right now with Hatton and Calzahge, no need for a clown like Naz

Apparently there's a need if his comeback is supposedly so huge

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Originally Posted by OumaFan

I'll never understand why a (at his best) B minus fighter gets so much attention, who cares if he comes back?

British boxing is doing very well right now with Hatton and Calzahge, no need for a clown like Naz

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Look at his record he's no B- fighter.

He only ever fought one good fighter , and that fighter dominated and beat him up to the same extent that Calzaghe did to Lacy. People forget how badly Barrerra schooled Nameem that night.

By the tail end of his career, he had left his trainer, forgotten the basics and relied on one punch power to bail him out. I can't see him sorting this out at his age, and he would come back even more one-dimensional than before.

However, that's not to say that he would completely fail. He is a big hitter, and he could be carefully matched and over-hyped to a world 'title' of some sort.

Who would really care though, he is the past now.

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Originally Posted by X

He only ever fought one good fighter , and that fighter dominated and beat him up to the same extent that Calzaghe did to Lacy. People forget how badly Barrerra schooled Nameem that night.

By the tail end of his career, he had left his trainer, forgotten the basics and relied on one punch power to bail him out. I can't see him sorting this out at his age, and he would come back even more one-dimensional than before.

However, that's not to say that he would completely fail. He is a big hitter, and he could be carefully matched and over-hyped to a world 'title' of some sort.

Who would really care though, he is the past now.

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he fought good fighters, i think you mean that he only fought one great fighter

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Originally Posted by X

He only ever fought one good fighter , and that fighter dominated and beat him up to the same extent that Calzaghe did to Lacy. People forget how badly Barrerra schooled Nameem that night.

By the tail end of his career, he had left his trainer, forgotten the basics and relied on one punch power to bail him out. I can't see him sorting this out at his age, and he would come back even more one-dimensional than before.

However, that's not to say that he would completely fail. He is a big hitter, and he could be carefully matched and over-hyped to a world 'title' of some sort.

Who would really care though, he is the past now.

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Hamed fought plenty of good fighters...Kelly, McCullough, Sanchez, Medina to name a few.

That being said...he needs to stay retired.

I am not convinced that he did fight any good fighters - I thought that Kevin Kelley was erratic and chinny, McCollough was finished as a credible fighter by then - offering courage and a great chin, but not much else - Medina was an old war horse who had been fighting since he was about 15. Robinson was a journeyman.

Mind you, I will concede that Barrerra was a great fighter and not just a good one.

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Originally Posted by X

I am not convinced that he did fight any good fighters - I thought that Kevin Kelley was erratic and chinny, McCollough was finished as a credible fighter by then - offering courage and a great chin, but not much else - Medina was an old war horse who had been fighting since he was about 15. Robinson was a journeyman.

Mind you, I will concede that Barrerra was a great fighter and not just a good one.

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Exactly, Naz was a world class fighter there is no two ways about it, juist because he got beat by top 5 best fighter in any weight over the last ten years means he isnt World Class, when his head was right he was defintly world class, and beat guys like Johnson- Robinson so easily who were the World Champions in them fights with Naz.

There is arguments against any fighter everyone likes to have a dig when a guy is beaton, but there is no way Naz was not World Class.

Medina was fighting since he was 15 and??? So was Barrera wasnt he, Medina went on and beat some good names after Naz including another World Title.

His loss against Barrera wasn't that embarassing; nothing big happened in that fight (when I say nothing big, I mean something like knockdowns or maybe a slug-out). That usually happens when two fighters respect each other too much (remember Barrera, unlike his usual self, took a counterpuncher's stance throughout the fight and I have a feeling that that's what he's going to do when he fights Pacquiao again). Same thing with the Mayweather Jr. and Castillo fights, they respected each other just a little too much so they didn't come forward as they usually do.

And about Hamed coming back at 33 years old or so, hmm --- I don't know...

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Originally Posted by X

I am not convinced that he did fight any good fighters - I thought that Kevin Kelley was erratic and chinny, McCollough was finished as a credible fighter by then - offering courage and a great chin, but not much else - Medina was an old war horse who had been fighting since he was about 15. Robinson was a journeyman.

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It's easy to discount a man's record & his opponents after the fact...but back then...the fighters I mentioned were not jokes...they were issuers of the ole' beat down.

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Originally Posted by X

Mind you, I will concede that Barrerra was a great fighter and not just a good one.

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Originally Posted by X

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Agreed...but the other fighters were more than just good fighters. Come on now.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...=hamed&pl=true

lol ;D

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Originally Posted by Kessler-dk

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...=hamed&pl=true

lol ;D

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:coolclick: ;D

he's like a big cuddly teddy bear! :D

Didn't Medina just win a title shot ???

I miss the flamboyant ring entrances PERIOD! who's with me on this one??????? lets get some more fighters flying in on surf boards!

I dont think he will come back.

He is going to be sentenced for his car accident soon thats not going to help matters