NAZ: TALKS A GOOD GAME?
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Prince Naseem Hamed will no doubt fling himself into the ring on Saturday confident of retaining his Super Featherweight crown. But, over recent months his camp have been on the ropes, and Naz may have to eat a large chunk of humble pie this time, argues Simon Breakell.
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Naseem Hamed claims he'll "turn into a monster" when he steps into the ring to face Mexican Marco Antonio Barrera.
The Sheffield showman takes on Barrera in Las Vegas as he attempts to defend his Super Featherweight crown and claim the adulation and respect he feels he is owed by the boxing fraternity.
There are many fight experts who are willing to say that Naseem Hamed is already the greatest British fighter ever.
However, there is also a significant percentage of trainers, ex-professionals and scribes who think the Sheffield man is little more than a braggart whose words will get shoved down his throat before his career is over.
What is undeniable is that boxing needs characters like Hamed, a fighter who intrigues people inside and outside the fight game.
Still unbeaten after 35 professional fights, Naseem faces the challenge of his young life when he steps into the ring against the Mexican tough guy on 7 April.
Despite having faced and beaten former world champions Tom Johnson, Kevin Kelley, Vuyani Bungu, Steve Robinson and Wilfredo Vasquez, some critics feel that the 27-year-old has yet to test himself against the absolute best fighters in his class.
But in taking on Barrera, Hamed should put an end to the questions regarding his ability - providing he wins.
That he has the talent is beyond question, although some are now wondering whether the changes of style and trainer during the last nine years are starting to take their toll.
From the onset of his professional career, Hamed, trained and managed by Brendan Ingle - the Irishman who taught him to box from the age of seven - was considered an elusive switch-hitter who seldom lost a round.
Hamed moved assuredly through to European championship level, capturing the super-bantamweight title by a clear decision over Italian Vincenzo Belcastro.
With media interest in Hamed growing as the likes of Nigel Benn, Chris Eubank and Frank Bruno neared the end of their careers, the young man was rushed into a world title challenge against WBO Featherweight champion Steve Robinson in 1995.
Such was the confidence of Hamed, his promoter Frank Warren and his trainer Ingle, the champion was allowed to fight in his own back yard - Cardiff Arms Park - and at his own weight, as the Super Bantamweight Prince moved up a division.
The outcome was as one-sided a contest as possible, with Robinson stopped in the eighth round after being on the wrong end of a comprehensive beating.
On route to the title, there had been few apparent chinks in the Hamed armour, but that would change during the first year of his reign.
Unknown Puerto Rican Daniel Alicea dropped him for the first time before succumbing in two rounds, while Mexican Manuel Medina had Hamed reeling until failing to answer the bell in the eleventh round.
Decisive wins over veteran American Johnson and British challenger Billy Hardy meant that Hamed was suddenly a massive commodity in America.
To that end, he made his debut on the other side of the pond in December 1997 against clever southpaw Kevin Kelley in New York's Madison Square Gardens.
Energised by fighting in front of his countrymen, Kelley stunned Hamed with knockdowns in the first, second and fourth round, whilst also hitting the canvas himself.
The brawl, a candidate for fight of the year, ended in the fourth when a super left hand from Hamed left his challenger on the floor for the ten count.
Whilst the watching crowd had received value for money, Hamed's vulnerability had been exposed for all to see.
Disharmony within the camp was to become abundantly clear when Hamed severed ties with promoter Warren and trainer Ingle at the end of 1998, handing over the business side of things to brother Riath and recruiting Oscar Suarez and Emmanuel Steward as trainers.
The changes have yet to reap significant benefits in the ring, with his performances yet to reach the heights of his demolition of Robinson.
In addition, Hamed has relinquished the WBO title that he held for five years after defeating the Welshman.
In his last fight against unheralded Augie Sanchez, he suffered yet another knockdown and looked very easy to hit.
A similar performance against Barrera will not go unpunished.
LPS5 note: I'm taking Barrera in this one. |
