Naseem Hamed in the Hall?

[bikersk]

Naseem Hamed is not a HOF fighter. He was an entertaining fighter, a charismatic fighter, but not a HOF fighter.

I agree with that.

He was limited as a boxer but unfortunately it is hard to deny his achievements. Believe me i have never liked Prince Naseem and was very happy when Barrera schooled him but the amount of titles he won must make him a contender for the HOF.

However other sports don't allow people to be inducted to their HOF when they have done something to bring the name of the sport into disrepute. Naseem has recently and has never conducted himself in a way that would make people think about boxing as a noble and dignified sport. For that he should not be inducted.

[Thread Stealer]

Naseem Hamed is not a HOF fighter. He was an entertaining fighter, a charismatic fighter, but not a HOF fighter.

I agree with that.

He was limited as a boxer but unfortunately it is hard to deny his achievements. Believe me i have never liked Prince Naseem and was very happy when Barrera schooled him but the amount of titles he won must make him a contender for the HOF.

However other sports don't allow people to be inducted to their HOF when they have done something to bring the name of the sport into disrepute. Naseem has recently and has never conducted himself in a way that would make people think about boxing as a noble and dignified sport. For that he should not be inducted.

But boxing's Hall of Fame is full of scumbags.

[Shamrock]

I had a tough time with this one... I was a huge fan of Naseem from very early on his career - I never had a problem with his antics in the ring - it's all a part of the game and he nearly always delivered a stunning performance.

I bought into Naz the nice down to earth guy outside the ring... only later did I realise that this was a sham or maybe he changed later in his career ?

After meeting him outside a football game I told him I was a massive fan and that he was making the whole country proud and held out my hand thinking I would get to shake the hand that I had admired for so long... instead he looked me up and down with one of those I'm too good to shake your hand looks and walked on ignoring me completely.

As a person (and a driver) he should not even be allowed to mention the words 'Hall of fame' but as a fighter...

He rejuvenated British boxing at a time when Benn and Eubank were coming to an end. He got people who don't talk about boxing... talking about boxing. His performance against Belcastro at such a young age was outstanding - he literally did what he wanted for 12 rounds and was still fresh enough to show boat at the end.

His fight against Steve Robinson an underrated fighter and a natural feather was a true test not only of his fighting ability but of his mental ability to deal with one of the most hostile crowds I have seen. Naz was near perfect that night hitting and moving at will - mixing different amounts of power into his shots to totally bewilder Robinson.

Naz had awesome power even when he seemed ridiculously off balance and that's what got a lot of his fights over quickly. He hit guys with power shots that had no right having power in them !!!

The shoot out with the Flushing Flash had me spilling more Guinness than I have in my life time.

Now to MAB - As soon as Naz split with Ingle I knew there would be trouble. Hamed's whole ball game was that Ingle style and as soon as he switched trainers Naz started to get caught. Suarez (spl) and Steward tried to change his style and it took away 40% of his effectiveness - NAz started to doubt himself. Naz had peaked maybe two or three fights before he faced MAB. A whole style based on reflex and if those reflexes slow just a little you're in trouble. He may have gotten away with it against a good fighter but in Marco he was facing a great one. Credit him for staying the 12 rounds though and taking his beating like a man.

So back to the question should he be in the HOF if he had done a job on MAB I would have said yes without too much consideration... to me though in the end Naz just fell short of what he promised us when he started his journey. An exceptional talent that should have led to an all time great fighter was wasted a little and in the end he became a very very good fighter not a great Hall of famer.

But then there are a number of other fighters who have been inducted who probably should not be there either so he probably end up there....