Just where then, does The Prince, as he was once known – he surely does not deserve to be referred to in such revered terms today, not after his unforgivable behaviour during the immediate aftermath of the car crash for which he is now serving jail time- rank amongst the very best in featherweight history? Many will disagree, but to my mind he does not belong in a list of the top ten finest featherweights of all-time.
No way did I agree then (the statement was made by Emanuel just prior to the Barrera fight, back in 2001) and no way do I agree now. I was shocked by those words, coming as they did from a highly knowledgeable and respected trainer. I vividly remember Emanuel Steward, who was training Hamed at the time, telling an interviewer that Naseem Hamed would, in time, go down in history as the greatest featherweight of all-time.
19.05.06 – By James Slater: Now that we can all pretty much take for granted the fact that Naseem Hamed’s career is over as a prize fighter, what with his jail sentence, it is time to evaluate his achievements as a boxer.
