If Naseem Hamed was still fight...

[Beanflicker]

I love Hamed - he was entertaining in and out of the ring - but he never had the depth or the talent to remain undefeated for so long. He couldn't adapt. He was fast as hell, hit hard as hell and had a very unorthodox style, but if that didn't work (like it didn't vs Barrera) he had no Plan B.

Hypothetically, if he did remain unbeaten, he probably would be bigger than Mayweather - and that's assuming he fought and beat all the best guys in that weight area since then.

[Beanflicker]

A lot of Mayweather's draw is the fact that he's undefeated. If he were to lose a fight, the drop off of PPV buys for his comeback fight would be staggering IMO.

With that style and with the arrogance, you can't afford a loss, because the second you show weakness and fail people are ready to jump on you and forget you.

[cyclone]

A lot of Mayweather's draw is the fact that he's undefeated. If he were to lose a fight, the drop off of PPV buys for his comeback fight would be staggering IMO.

With that style and with the arrogance, you can't afford a loss, because the second you show weakness and fail people are ready to jump on you and forget you.

NOBODY watches Floyd or anybody because of their records....c'mon....you sound crazy as hell.

Were you talking all that shit when Chavez Sr was padding his record and preserving his 0 at all costs??

[Fenster]

HBO gave Naz a $12million six-fight deal whilst Floyd was contracted to six-figure paydays. Without Naz Floyd wouldn't have became the star he did. Naz paved the way for smaller weight fighters like Floyd (who was superfeather champ then) to become super earners.

Naz-Kelley the highest grossing gate in featherweight history.

If Naz was still fighting today he'd be much bigger than Floyd as he'd currently be the heavyweight champ of the world.

[THE THIRD MAN]

Hamed was really only top of the Championship, once promoted to the Premier League he couldn't match it and he only ever gained promotion once and that was against Barrera IMO. Hamed then wimped out and retired age 27 without seeking a rematch or doing what real champions do, comeback from adversity and win again.

No, the 'Prince' decided to turn back into a toad and vanish leaving a legacy that sees him being recognised only as a novelty attraction without a great deal of substance. Big fights were all there for the taking for the 'Prince', a Barrera rematch, Morales and Marquez were all top 5 Featherweights as of December 2001.
Pacquaio was still a Super Bantamweight and if the 'Prince wanted to move up in weight then the Super Feather division had at that time Floyd, Casamayor and Freitas all undefeated and just 4lbs away!
For his PPV numbers to match PBF he needed to continue fighting and beat A list fighters, IMO he never beat an A grade fighter. This was a career unfulfilled.

[Dark Lord Al]

I used to love watching Hamed and cheering for the other guy , as he is a total prick.

[Mark TKO]

do people tune in to see Mayweather do a job or in the hope he gets beaten ?

[Violent Demise]

I love Hamed - he was entertaining in and out of the ring - but he never had the depth or the talent to remain undefeated for so long. He couldn't adapt. He was fast as hell, hit hard as hell and had a very unorthodox style, but if that didn't work (like it didn't vs Barrera) he had no Plan B.

Hypothetically, if he did remain unbeaten, he probably would be bigger than Mayweather - and that's assuming he fought and beat all the best guys in that weight area since then.

I don't think people are realizing how big of a draw Mayweather is. His PPV numbers are very impressive considering every single fight of his is a PPV fight. Not to mention his style of fighting. Yes he has some help in getting those numbers (Alvarez, De La Hoya). But the fact that he can even get close to 1 million buys for fighting Robert Guerrero speaks volumes. Hamed would need to face the elite top fighters to even get close to 1 million. Also Hamed was limited by the fact that he was only 5'3. He was stuck fighting Featherweights and below. He would of got murdered fighting Junior Lightweights like Diego Corrales, Joel Casamayor and Arcelino Frietas.

[Beanflicker]

I don't think people are realizing how big of a draw Mayweather is. His PPV numbers are very impressive considering every single fight of his is a PPV fight. Not to mention his style of fighting. Yes he has some help in getting those numbers (Alvarez, De La Hoya). But the fact that he can even get close to 1 million buys for fighting Robert Guerrero speaks volumes. Hamed would need to face the elite top fighters to even get close to 1 million. Also Hamed was limited by the fact that he was only 5'3. He was stuck fighting Featherweights and below. He would of got murdered fighting Junior Lightweights like Diego Corrales, Joel Casamayor and Arcelino Frietas.

Hey, I know how big Mayweather is, but I have to say that Nas had much more star power in and out of the ring. Mayweather is the better fighter by leaps and bounds, no doubt, but if Nas was fighting today and still undefeated - which would be 22 years of undefeated boxing - with that kind of resume and his star quality, there's no doubt in my mind that he would be one of the biggest sports legends in the world right now.

With Nas was huge, he had sponsorship/commercial deals with huge companies like Adidas and Sony... if he had the skill to box on and beat all the top level guys (MAB, Morales, FW Pac, hell maybe even PBF) and remain undefeated for as long as Floyd did, there's no doubt in my mind he'd be selling more PPVs than Floyd.

[Violent Demise]

I don't think people are realizing how big of a draw Mayweather is. His PPV numbers are very impressive considering every single fight of his is a PPV fight. Not to mention his style of fighting. Yes he has some help in getting those numbers (Alvarez, De La Hoya). But the fact that he can even get close to 1 million buys for fighting Robert Guerrero speaks volumes. Hamed would need to face the elite top fighters to even get close to 1 million. Also Hamed was limited by the fact that he was only 5'3. He was stuck fighting Featherweights and below. He would of got murdered fighting Junior Lightweights like Diego Corrales, Joel Casamayor and Arcelino Frietas.

Hey, I know how big Mayweather is, but I have to say that Nas had much more star power in and out of the ring. Mayweather is the better fighter by leaps and bounds, no doubt, but if Nas was fighting today and still undefeated - which would be 22 years of undefeated boxing - with that kind of resume and his star quality, there's no doubt in my mind that he would be one of the biggest sports legends in the world right now.

With Nas was huge, he had sponsorship/commercial deals with huge companies like Adidas and Sony... if he had the skill to box on and beat all the top level guys (MAB, Morales, FW Pac, hell maybe even PBF) and remain undefeated for as long as Floyd did, there's no doubt in my mind he'd be selling more PPVs than Floyd.

That's the thing with Hamed. It involves way to many "if's" And most of those "if's" are unrealistic. I don't deny Hamed's popularity. And while he too was an arrogant prick to many he's still more likable than Mayweather. And if he was to remain undefeated for 22 years, you are correct that he would be bigger than Mayweather currently is. Problem is Hamed didn't have a prayer of remaining undefeated against the elite fighters around him

[Beanflicker]

That's the thing with Hamed. It involves way to many "if's" And most of those "if's" are unrealistic. I don't deny Hamed's popularity. And while he too was an arrogant prick to many he's still more likable than Mayweather. And if he was to remain undefeated for 22 years, you are correct that he would be bigger than Mayweather currently is. Problem is Hamed didn't have a prayer of remaining undefeated against the elite fighters around him

For sure, obviously that is an impossible hypothetical because Hamed didn't have the skill to beat Barrera and IMO would have had his ass handed to him by Morales, Pac and PBF of that time.

In the end he was much more interesting than Mayweather, was more press-friendly and had a much more fan friendly style than Mayweather.

Trouble was, he wasn't half the fighter Mayweather was.

I remember after one of Floyd's fights at the time, while Larry Merchant was doing the post fight interview with him Floyd said that he wanted to set up a fight with Naseem. Larry got serious, looked him in the eye and said "Floyd, Naseem's not going to fight you". Didn't have the substance to hang with the big boys.

[goti71]

That's the thing with Hamed. It involves way to many "if's" And most of those "if's" are unrealistic. I don't deny Hamed's popularity. And while he too was an arrogant prick to many he's still more likable than Mayweather. And if he was to remain undefeated for 22 years, you are correct that he would be bigger than Mayweather currently is. Problem is Hamed didn't have a prayer of remaining undefeated against the elite fighters around him

For sure, obviously that is an impossible hypothetical because Hamed didn't have the skill to beat Barrera and IMO would have had his ass handed to him by Morales, Pac and PBF of that time.

In the end he was much more interesting than Mayweather, was more press-friendly and had a much more fan friendly style than Mayweather.

Trouble was, he wasn't half the fighter Mayweather was.

I remember after one of Floyd's fights at the time, while Larry Merchant was doing the post fight interview with him Floyd said that he wanted to set up a fight with Naseem. Larry got serious, looked him in the eye and said "Floyd, Naseem's not going to fight you". Didn't have the substance to hang with the big boys.

I remember that one too. It was the Corrales fight. Floyd offered to meet Naz at 128 or 130 and Merchant really laughed at the idea.

It would have been a horrible night for hamed.