Naseem Hamed is about as shy outside the ring as he was in it. Once again, he has been pulling no punches in interviews this week and has revealed the advice he gave to British heavyweight Anthony Joshua in the lead-up to his last fight.
It was on April 1 in London when Joshua began the rebuild following back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk. He went 12 rounds with Jermaine Franklyn in what many saw as an underwhelming performance.
Speaking to talkSPORT Boxing, the former dazzling featherweight shared what he told Joshua in the lead-up.
“I remember seeing him before his last fight, I looked him in his eyes and I said yo, this is a time where you’re going to have to prove and show your heart. The whole world wants to see your heart. You’re going to have to smash this guy around and show that you’re in charge.
That didn’t happen.”
‘Prince Naz’ went on to offer his views on the current heavyweight landscape, given he was at the press conference for Usyk-Daniel Dubois where it was announced his son Aadam will be making his boxing debut.
He believes Joshua’s time ‘at the very top’ has passed.
“What kind of level are we talking about? The very top? [AJ] had his time. We’ve all got sell-by dates. Usyk has come along and done his thing. Tyson is still there. He’s still number one. These guys are undisputed heavyweight champions of the world. I want to see them fight, man. I’m sick and tired of all this bulls**t, boy.”
Next up for Joshua is a second grudge match with Dillian Whyte at London’s O2 on August 12. It’s a fight in which he would do well to take heed of Hamed’s comments if he wants to win over the public once more.