Judge: Naseem Hamed you stand before us today accused of ducking the best competition available to you at the peak of your powers, as well as possessing an inflated opinion of your own physical gifts and lacking hall of fame credibility. How do you stand?
NH: Not guilty.
Representing Mr. Hamed (Underwertaker)
DEFENCE
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury: would it not be a tad superfluous of you to consider the personality of the pugilistic pantomime act that I defend before you today? For it is not only he who demonstrated the art of arrogance before combat. His acts of self-gratitude and narcissism were perfected by the very man synonymous with boxing itself, Mr Ali. Not to get the two boxers confused of course, but many more fighters, some of whom did not merit half the accolades or indeed the criticism that Mr Hamed has endured, were just as obnoxious. Were this a case of brash self-gratifying arrogance, Mr Hamed would be guilty as charged. So to determine the real worth of this man as a pugilist, let us start at the beginning.

Hamed's rise to the top was meteoric. He turned pro in 1992 as an 18 year-old flyweight with glittering amateur credentials (exhibit A). By the age of 20 he was already a European champion at bantamweight, trouncing durable Italian Vincenzo Belcastro over twelve lopsided rounds. This was a fight that many felt had come far too early for Hamed, then 11-0. Despite this, he sent Belcastro to the canvas twice, and barely put a foot wrong in a dominant display. Consider, if you can, contrasting the early career of Hamed with that of highly touted British youngster Amir Khan, currently 15-0. As a 2-year pro, Khan is finally beginning to flirt with boxing's big guns, but as a 11 fight pro, he had not even fought the best domestic competition. And we are talking about arguably the biggest prospect in the world. There is no denying that Hamed was way ahead of most typical boxing prospects by the time he was a European champion. Not only this, he already coveted mainstream attention, unprecedented for a fighter of his experience (or lack of) and weight class. By the time he fought Steve Robinson for his first world title, he was already a regular on Sky television. He battered and humiliated a solid fighter in Robinson on hostile territory at the tender age of 21.
Much is made of Hamed's desire deserting him late in his career, which is a point to debate endlessly. But there is no denying the level of fortitude it took to do what Hamed did in 1995, when he first announced himself on the world stage. It is the kind of metal that talented would-be's like Michael Grant and Andrew Golota ultimately lacked. The Prince had fought in only 19 pro fights, and became the youngest champion in British history. 2 years later he would unifying the division on American soil. It was politics that did not allow Hamed to hold all four four belts at the same time. After taking Robinson's WBO belt, he captured the IBF crown from Tom "Boom Boom" Johnson, the WBC title from Cesar Soto, and WBA champion Wilfredo Vasquez gave up his trinket to challenge Hamed in 1998. Along the way, Hamed was successful in 16 title fights, beating 11 past (Kevin Kelley) present (Johnson, Vasquez, Soto) or future (McCollough, Ingle) world champions (exhibit B). But to define his career through statistics does not quite define the man himself.
As a boxer, Hamed possessed tremendous power in both hands, arguably hitting harder than any featherweight since the great Alexis Arguello - maybe even as far back as Sandy Saddler in the late 1940s. 31 of his 36 opponents were left seeing stars, many of whom were unaccustomed to the art of staring at the ceiling. As an athlete, Hamed was truly special, no more evident than in the man's outrageously unorthodox boxing style. Hamed was able evade punishment through cat-like reflexes, and a ridiculous balance, which often did not appear to be the case. Very seldom did the prince hold his hands to his chin, or indeed his chin to his neck. He taunted his opponents by appearing vulnerable, but had the physical gifts to best any man who nearly got the better of him. Only the great Marco Antonio Barrera meticulously carved open Hamed's vulnerabilities. But it took a master plan to do so. The usually gung-ho carnivorous Barrera displayed remarkable technique and intelligence in what many consider his defining victory. And for the man he beat, does he sound so much like a fraud ?
Coupled with the Prince's arrogant attitude, his fade into oblivion is what many point to when debating his legacy. I shall not make excuses for Hamed's heart turning itself away from the squared circle, in favour of quasi-celebritidom. He could have done more, and solidified himself as one of the all-time great boxers. But to do that ignores what he was in his prime. Many consider Salvador Sanchez to be the greatest featherweight of all time, and do not flicker at the thought of granting him access to the hall of fame. Naseem Hamed achieved so much in so little time that he perhaps suffered from Bjorn Borg syndrome. When you finally get beat, the aura of invincibility so tightly wrapped around your psyche is crippled. Harder than, for any man, to ignore the new found fortunes sitting in their bank accounts, and then re-accommodate themselves into one of the most brutal sports of all. Hamed never had that signature victory, but neither did Mike Tyson, Kostya Tszyu, Lennox Lewis and many other shoe-ins for the HOF. Even the great Joe Louis never bested a man of equal stature in his two-decade run as world heavyweight champion. Do we begrudge Hamed for fighting in the era he did? Did Juan Manuel Marquez losing to Freddie Norwood give Naseem Hamed any impetus to pursue that fight instead of a much more lucrative one with the baby-faced assassin? If any man can offer me proof of Hamed's physical attributes being overstated, I can find twice to the contrary. And if statistics can lie, they can also provide all the evidence one needs to see. Hamed never became the next Willie Pep, but boy was he was something else for the time he fought. And on that note, the defence rests.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the Prosecution (Rasta)
It was a valid and eloquent effort put forth by Alex in defense of Mr. Hamed but in the end we are left wondering just what the criterion is for entering this hallowed place called the Hall of Fame? If it is based solely on popularity rather than substance then Hamed is a shoe in. The defenses opening statement compares Naseem to Ali in personality and nothing could be further from the truth. Ali had charisma, Naseem had arrogance. Ali beat the best heavyweights in boxing history while Naseem toiled and fumbled in mediocrity.
Having said that, it could easily be argued and shown that there are many presently in the Hall that have no business being their. This fact however in no way lends itself to Hamed getting in. To do so further waters down the very shrine many hold so dear.
Let`s now review the defenses (exhibit A). Consider his fights prior to Belcasco. The combined win/loss record of his first 11 opponents is and was, 105 wins with 198 loses and 29 draws. Two of these first eleven fights were with Peter Buckley. In the first fight Buckley came in sporting and 18 and 18 record and in the second an 18 and 21 record. He also fought Gargano who had a 26 and 59 record and Matthews who was 6 and 37.
The prosecution asserts that Belcasco was not the durable opponent that the defense contends already bringing 6 losses to the contest and losing to some very questionable opponents both before and after the Prince. It`s what follows that fails to legitimize Hamed knocking on the Hall`s door.

The combined records of his next eight opponents prior to his shot at the WBO featherweight title was and is 236 wins 54 losses and 15 draws. That looks pretty impressive but as the old saying goes, looks can be deceiving. The bulk of the win column comes from washed up veterans who were nothing special regardless of the wins. Fighters such as Freddy Cruz who although he had a record of 44/6/6 he had virtually nobody on his resume and 6 fights post Hamed he went on to lose 13 of 15 fights.
Then theirs Armando Castro and his 43/17/3 record and once again beating nobody of note really and then getting Ko`d by Morales and Millan and retiring. Next is Rafael Liendo and his 44/2/3 record and still a fighter with not one notable win on that inflated resume pre or post Hamed and losing 16 fights following their fight. And finally prior to his Wbo challenge to Robinson there is Polo Perez and his 37/12 record. It`s beating a dead horse to carry on at this point.
His first challenge for a belt was with Steve Robinson 21/9 and 1, having lost prior to the Hamed fight to a bunch of plumbers and once again not one stellar name on his resume Bare in mind that Hamed was 19 and 0 at the time. Even though his resume in my opinion is shady it`s actually better than Marquez`s, Morales and Barrera at the same point in their careers but again it`s what follows once he had a belt.
He then defends his WBO belt four times prior to the Johnson unification with the only notable win being Manual Medina a man with a 52 and 7 record at the time. Although Medina went on to win some pretty good fights he to was getting long in the tooth prior to Hamed. I believe Johnson to be a solid win but prior to Hamed he to had but a handful of decent wins against Medina and Soto. After Hamed Johnson lost a string of fights he simply should not have. Just as all those before him I find it hard to believe that Hamed ruined all these guys for all fights that followed him.
He then goes on to defend against Hardy and Cabrera who were about as "hardy" as a pancake. Hardy would retire two fights later and Cabrera would go on to lose 14 more times and some against questionable opponents. It`s at this point in Hameds career when names such as Tapia, Junior Jones, Mab, Morales, Harrison and Marquez start to pop up.
Although the defeat of Kevin Kelly was impressive I don`t think Kelly is held by most to be even an elite fighter let alone a world beater and again his record post Hamed and before bares this out.
I know I sound like a broken record but Vazquez also was well beyond his prime and the Pocket Rocket was short on experience when he fought Hamed. He follows up those wins with a decent win against Ingle and yet another win against a battle worn Soto and then a fighter not even near his league in Bungu. He then fights a no name in Augie Sanchez and almost gets knocked out and then gets a proper schooling from Mab.
In light of my friends (exhibit B.)
Let`s keep in mind that beating x champions and a few future champs should not guarantee you a trip to the hall as the question needs to be asked at what point did you beat them? How many hall of famers did he beat? In addition popularity can`t really be a factor can it? If the Hall is nothing but a popularity contest then just open the door wide and often. Yes Hamed brought the first million dollar purses to the feather division but that to in this writer`s opinion should not sustain entry.
It`s what you did in the ring and to whom. Regardless of the politics involved and who`s fault it is, in the end Hamed never fought any other featherweight greats save one while at the same time the majority of them were all fighting each other and some multiple times. In addition he quit after his first loss to an all time great and not only does his resume come up short but so does his mentality. This is hardly the pedigree for the Hall in the opinion of this fan. Exhibit B seems to concentrate on his charisma and the excitement Hamed brought instead of what he accomplished. The defense brings up Tyson and Lewis but at least they cleaned house and beat everyone of their day. Hamed simply cannot claim this or anything close. In the end I suspect he will get in based solely on some that got in before him but that does not make it right. The criteria should be about pugilism and nothing but. It`s got to be about quality not quantity and Hamed falls short on either count.
In closing I just want to acknowledge the claims of many in regards to Hamed in that he did resurrect British boxing and more specifically the featherweight division but in this fans opinion that`s not enough for the IBHOF. He had the ball and failed to run with it. He was dared to be great and he refused.
The Prosecution rests.

Article By: Kevin SinClair & Alex Neve