Best is too subjective, which is why asked 'fav'.
And I'm surprised you've not got Hagler in there.
And I'm surprised you've not got Hagler in there.
Prince Naseem Hamed
- Thread starter TheReligion
- Start date
I watched his fight against Benn. Seriously, Benn must've been on steds. How he got through that fight is beyond me. Arguably the best fight I've ever seen.
Great shame what happened, though. No boxer deserves that.
Hagler isnt there for the reason I stated beside he maybe the best Middleweight ever but Hopkins wasn't too far behind and tested himself at diff weights.
He is even looking at moving to 168 to fight Carl Froch for his WBC belt which would mean he held belts at 3 diff weights
He is even looking at moving to 168 to fight Carl Froch for his WBC belt which would mean he held belts at 3 diff weights
The G Man was a terrific puncher his left hook to the ribs was one of the best ever, he destroyed the massive punching Julian Jackson its just a shame that he ended the way he did would have been a great instead of just a title holder at 160
Yeah he beat him
Roy Jones is said to be the only fighter that reaches out to help him yet he won't go and see him as it would make him give up boxing.
You should read War Baby by Kevin Mitchell tells the story of Benn and McClellan as well as the fight
Roy Jones is said to be the only fighter that reaches out to help him yet he won't go and see him as it would make him give up boxing.
You should read War Baby by Kevin Mitchell tells the story of Benn and McClellan as well as the fight
Benn was possessed that night. I think he went under hypnosis before the fight and had headphones on when entering the ring. (unless I've totally lost it).
I never really liked Benn after that fight the way he just carried on celebrating despite seeing a man clearly in trouble to me was inhumane even if everyone banked against him.
After sparring and fighting I always check on my opponent to see how they are and the fact he was too concerned with telling everyone 'I told you so' made him a fighter I was not a fan of.
After sparring and fighting I always check on my opponent to see how they are and the fact he was too concerned with telling everyone 'I told you so' made him a fighter I was not a fan of.
Yeah he was a bit of a cock. But I must admit, I loved watching him fight. Great puncher, but his defence was more than a little suspect.
Fighters like that are always best to watch though, Julian Jackson was a HUGE puncher but came undone massively against Gerald McClellan
Being that you do box, it's no surprise you highlight that aspect and rightly so, wins are the goal. I'm not arguing he's one of the best p4p fighters, but you always got a show with Oscar and he was a master of that side of the spectacle that is professional boxing. His greatness is dependant on the measure of success; wins, money, popularity and a lasting influence. The only thing missing is a few wins so, to get back to the original point of contention, for Arum to claim that he lacked true greatness seems like a bit of sour grapes; but for 5 losses Oscar had a perfect career, including Olympic gold.
again alot of this came from him being marketed as a handsome mexican american man thus he drew large female fans as well being popular in the California area due to its high Mexican population. It is for this reason that he has a statue dedicated to him outside the staple centre but would not get one outside MSG or the MGM Grand despite his 'services' to boxing.
You always got a show with Oscar? Argueably his biggest match in his prime was a defeat to Tito Trinidad and that was because after raking up what he thought was a lead he got on his bike and ran for numerous rounds. Like Arum i thought he should have won but his reluctance to engage Tito and 'put on a show' was his downfall.
He pimped the sport of boxing but will be remembered as a good boxer and thats it
Whatever it was it's hard to argue that he was anything but successful. Is it that he has fewer bouts than say Mosley or Hopkins, who have an equal number of losses?
If he hadn't fecked about in those couple of fights where he coasted for a few rounds and had two fewer losses would that change your opinion of his career as a fighter?
Its a possibility as then his stats in big fights would not be so poor. Like I already said in his fights against elite talent he lost way more than he won. He beat names like Chavez and Whitaker but both we well past it thus when you look at in prime fighters he is not as impressive as a lets say SRL who beat Hearns and Duran in their prime and Hagler when he was close to his.
Oscar has more losses than Hopkins whose bar Jones and Mitchell losses are a) disputable b) when he was past 40
Oscar has more losses than Hopkins whose bar Jones and Mitchell losses are a) disputable b) when he was past 40
Sugar Ray is a legend though. He and Hagler are the fighters I remember from when I was a kid. Oscar is close to being a true great in that respect but not there, I agree. I just think his other attributes carry him into that group as well.
I probably shouldn't have gone to goldenboypromotions.com for my stats.
Or at least clued in when I noticed their online store was still selling these:
6 losses is a little on the heavy side.
Superb superb fighter. I think preparation played a big part in that fight, Benn prepared well whereas McClellan split with Emanuel Steward only weeks in the run-up to the fight. They say Steward would have spotted the danger signs and could have maybe stopped the fight earlier.
CLK is spot on about Benn showing little class after the fight.
A terrible terrible shame.
I dont even thinking losing is bad Duran is one of the greatest boxers ever fullstop but lost 16.
I think its more how his career went. Some fights he was only in for the payday rather than the legacy ie Pac, some fights he should just never have been in ie against Steve Forbes who is a tiny man but landed quite a bit and fractured his orbital socket and Felix Sturm who he just didnt take serious and imo actually beat Oscar.
I dont think Oscar will ever be ranked anywhere near the Hagler's and Leonards of boxing despite his other qualities.
I think its more how his career went. Some fights he was only in for the payday rather than the legacy ie Pac, some fights he should just never have been in ie against Steve Forbes who is a tiny man but landed quite a bit and fractured his orbital socket and Felix Sturm who he just didnt take serious and imo actually beat Oscar.
I dont think Oscar will ever be ranked anywhere near the Hagler's and Leonards of boxing despite his other qualities.
I posted that vid in the boxing thread its one of the saddest things you will see
I know mate, heartbreaking, I must have missed it in the boxing thread.
Those two would be definitive true greats. Hard to argue against. Oscar is in a different sphere no doubt.
Do you think he did a lot for other boxers re: the size of the payday for big fights? For a time it seemed like only the heavyweights made crazy money.
Cocky little shitbag, who got what he deserved.
I don't particularly like him but he's still doing a lot for boxing. Lets be honest, its only really after playing the bad guy to Oscar's good guy that Mayweather has crossed into the mainstream consciousness. Pacquaio only really became huge (in the West at least) off the back of battering Oscar too. Mayweather-Pacquaio (if it happens) is the one potential Hagler-Hearns type event of this era, and Oscar is at the centre of transforming it into a great fight for boxing fans into a massive sporting event full stop. It most likely wouldn't even be a possibility if fighting Oscar hadn't ramped up their profiles and money-making potentials. He's not an all-time great fighter but he's done alot to keep boxing on the mainstream radar.
Hamed was & is an absolute Twat of the grandest scale
I remember when he fought Wayne McCullough from Northern Ireland, he belittled him & insulted him so much that he enraged the whole Country. We knew it would be hard for Wayne to beat him but aslong as he took the fecker to full 12rds as Naseem said he'd knock him out in the first round - he didnt & Wayne took him the distance. One of the proudest days in Irish boxing. We didnt care that he didnt win because we knew that would be a mini-miracle, so for him to take him to the cards felt like a win!
I remember when he fought Wayne McCullough from Northern Ireland, he belittled him & insulted him so much that he enraged the whole Country. We knew it would be hard for Wayne to beat him but aslong as he took the fecker to full 12rds as Naseem said he'd knock him out in the first round - he didnt & Wayne took him the distance. One of the proudest days in Irish boxing. We didnt care that he didnt win because we knew that would be a mini-miracle, so for him to take him to the cards felt like a win!
Pat Mustard is right he has done alot to keep boxing in the mainstream but in terms of paydays. I think fighters below HW started getting big paydays from the days of Leonard etc and it just went on from there.
Oscar was a good boxer Im not having a go at him at all but I think he was manufactured to be so, I mean early in his carreer he was gifted decisions in order for him to keep his '0', then as he did build his brand he decided to go it alone and thus golden boy was born he has been very smart to pick the best and most liked boxers to work with him ie Hopkins (definately a contender for best boxer of our times), Mosley (massive following in Cali) Barrera (huge Mexican following) thus his brand was only going to do well. Its not a coincidence, Oscar is a great business man maybe a better business man then boxer!
Oscar was a good boxer Im not having a go at him at all but I think he was manufactured to be so, I mean early in his carreer he was gifted decisions in order for him to keep his '0', then as he did build his brand he decided to go it alone and thus golden boy was born he has been very smart to pick the best and most liked boxers to work with him ie Hopkins (definately a contender for best boxer of our times), Mosley (massive following in Cali) Barrera (huge Mexican following) thus his brand was only going to do well. Its not a coincidence, Oscar is a great business man maybe a better business man then boxer!
I agree with that. I think his career is pretty impressive. Certainly not the best ever but overall very good.
No doubting how much of a twat Prince Naseem was and still is but he was certainly an entertainer. When he's on one of the boxing classics things on NutsTV or whatever i'll always have a watch because it was entertaining stuff.