I was pondering some hypothetical fights through the years that I would have loved to have seen the other day, and when I thought of Prince Naseem vs Floyd Mayweather, I couldn't help but feel it would have been a fantasy match up that would've rocked the world.
When you sit back and think about it for a second, it's almost a bit of a crazy match up to speculate on. From a pre-fight build up point of view, the level of verbal assault would have been off the wall.
Of course, it wasn't exactly that far fetched at one time as well, when Floyd was early on in his career as a featherweight and the Prince was reigning supreme at the top of the 126 weight class.
Alas, it never happened, but what a polarizing stylistic match up it would have made for.
On one hand you would have had Mayweather, a defensive genius who at featherweight punched extremely hard to his credit, in a time where he regularly knocked guys out and blinded foes with quite incredible hand speed.
On the other hand, you would have had one of the UK's best ever lighter weight fighting exponents in Naseem Hamed - an explosive, orthodox switch hitter who punched like a freight train. Frightening power looking back on it.
Many will point to Naseem Hamed's boxing ability been found out at world level eventually by Marco Antonio Barrera, who gave 'Nas' a boxing lesson in his only defeat as a professional.
However the more discerning fight fan knows that was a Hamed at the end of his career, when he was not in love with the sport anymore, was too used to the good life (including his lavish training camp for that particular fight) and was a shadow of himself, by then.
Hamed never liked training and by that point it was a struggle to motivate him.
But for the sake of this mythical argument with a fantasy clash with the 'Money' man, lets put 'Nas' in his prime when he first one the title against Wales' Steve Robinson - ripping the WBO featherweight championship from the Welshman (in his own backyard).
That Hamed would have been a handful for any featherweight in history, in my opinion, a Hamed trained by the legendary Brendan Ingle - hungry with extreme confidence, just a very dangerous young man.
Mayweather's obvious advantages would have laid in his more polished and sharper skillset, but that power that Hamed carried in his prime and the unorthodox angles he delivered it from, would have been hard for anyone to work out (including Mayweather).
Don't forget that Hamed was quite the speed merchant like Floyd Mayweather, too. This would have made for something quite explosive in all practicality, you'd have to think.
Speed, power and skills on both sides, with as much trash talk as you could possibly ask for, it would have sold a few tickets, to put it mildly.
Both men were also excellent mind game strategists throughout their careers, where they often got under the skins of opponents which gave them a distinctive edge.
Who would have won the battle of the mind games? I honestly can't divide the two on that and overall in the match up, in all honesty.
It's just such a massive clash of styles and talent to compare in hindsight - but what a fight it would have been.
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