Today in Boxing History: Naseem Hamed born in Sheffield, England

On this day in 1974, Naseem Hamed was born in Sheffield, England.

A unique combination of power and speed, Hamed was one of the most exciting fighters of the late 1990s. In 1995, in only the 19th fight of his career, he won the WBO Featherweight title with an eighth-round stoppage of Steve Robinson. Hamed then successfully defended that belt 15 times, winning 13 of those bouts by knockout.

While he was given many accolades by the boxing community, Hamed was also labeled as obnoxious. His entrances were long and flashy, he would taunt opponents in the ring, and his sound bytes were often edgy. However, as Larry Merchant often says, “It ain’t braggin’ if you can back it up.� For the first 35 bouts of his career, the flamboyance matched the performance.

But in 2001, Hamed faced the toughest opponent of his career in Marco Antonio Barrera. The veteran Barrera, who had moved up in weight for the bout, kept Hamed off balance the entire fight. The decision victory for Barrera would have been by a wider margin had he not become frustrated with Hamed’s antics and slammed his head into a turnbuckle in the 12th round, causing a point to be deducted.

Hamed has fought one bout since then, a unanimous decision win over Manuel Calvo in 2002. Although he has flirted with returning to the ring, he has never done so. It is highly likely that he will be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame at some point in the near future.