The Disastrous Defeat of Prince Naseem - video

[TIC]

naseem was exciting but overrated

[Primo Carnera]

naseem was exciting but overrated

Very true.

[Spicoli]

That was a nice little piece. Best description of Barrera pre and during the fight with "tactical endurance". I've always thought Hamed was genuinely convinced he was just going to be dealing with a walking stereotype in Barrera as a face first attacker looking for a brawl. Barrera could always 'box' it's not like it happened overnight. He just put the fully matured package all in that night and did a great job at getting into Hameds head with all the pre fight 'going to war' stuff. Hamed tried everything in the book from cooling him down with entry delay to tackles taunts and tantrums but Barrera focus was staring right thru him. Hamed was one of the most reflex savvy and explosive fighters of an era but his two left feet and high head swaying in the wind were there pretty early. A few guys caught and rocked him before being hammered under but Marco went to town on it. I forgot how quick Hamed was all wrapped up as far as being at the top. But speaks to his massive ability to grab and keep fans and detractors alike. Obnoxious ego turned up to 10 and wrestling gimmicks that would make Macho Man Savage blush but always exciting (for the most part ).

[mikeeod]

This was the first fight where you could see MAB’s transformation and elevation to the next level of fighter. He was always a great fighter, but he was more of a seek and destroy, walk you down, JCC type fighter earlier in his career. The first HBO after dark fight I watched was his war with Kennedy McKinney, another really good fighter who matched up well to provide a great kickoff to the show/series.

I think MAB fell in love with that style and thought everyone would wilt against like McKinney had- this is especially true for Junior Jones, who had wilted against John Michael Johnson and had shown vulnerabilities against Darryl Pickney. Junior had MAB’s number though, and styles make fights and something about Jones’s right had a different effect on MAB and Barrera lost two in a row.

Credit to MAB for going back to the drawing board and modifying his style to be a perfect blend of tactical brilliance combined with bursts of pressure and toughness. His jab became such an imposing/daunting weapon that he could completely control the fight with the jab alone- this was the first fight where you started to see that and he only improved until he ran into a young Manny Pacquiaou.

Hamed was a great fighter but he had already started to decline by the Barrera fight- he was better when he was more of a British star/fighter and had suffered from the trappings of success. Or his training suffered. Either way- I don’t feel his heart was in it at this point and he never got back to the top again.

[TitoFan]

The Marco Antonio Barrera vs Naseem Hamed fight is one of MY FAVORITE FIGHTS OF ALL TIME.

[Master]

I think MAB fell in love with that style and thought everyone would wilt against like McKinney had- this is especially true for Junior Jones, who had wilted against John Michael Johnson and had shown vulnerabilities against Darryl Pickney. Junior had MAB’s number though, and styles make fights and something about Jones’s right had a different effect on MAB and Barrera lost two in a row.

Junior Jones also lost an epic battle with Paul Ingle at MSG getting stopped in the 11th round. It was on the under card Lennox Lewis v Grant and was a unification for IBF/IBO title. That was Ingle's best performance because he came back from being knocked down in round 9.