Floyd Mayweather has told the boxing world to give a British legend ‘his flowers’, believing him to have a case for being the best fighter to come from the country.
‘Money’ Mayweather hung up the gloves with an incredibly satisfying record of 50-0. He’s known the world over to be a modern-day great in the sport, and will take up his place in the history books without doubt.
Travelling the globe on his exhibition circuit, the 46-year-old recently touched down in London to fight in the UK for the first time. Whilst the event left a lot to be desired, the British boxing media had a chance to pick his brains and get him talking about the sport.
As captured by Seconds Out, Mayweather paid respect to Naseem Hamed.
“Prince Naseem Hamed, he don’t get the props that he truly deserves. We still speak on a regular basis. Helluva showman, and a lot of the people in the UK forget about him. We need to give him his flowers.
Unbelievable. One of the best fighters to come from the UK, if not the best.”
‘Prince Nas’ is indeed one of the best to come out of Britain – for entertainment value as well as skills in the ring. Known by his leopard print shorts, the featherweight southpaw had a knockout-to-win ratio of 84%.
Hamed graduated from the arenas in Sheffield to fighting in Madison Square Garden, Atlantic City, Detroit and Las Vegas, becoming a global superstar and one of the faces of boxing in the nineties.
He hung up the gloves with 36 wins from 37 fights, his one loss coming to Marco Antonio Barrera in his penultimate contest.
Mayweather joined him in the International Boxing Hall of Fame last year, and fans would struggle to find a more entertaining pair with the skills to back it up.