Prince Naseem Hamed is never one to shy from the spotlight and in the aftermath of the Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou fight he has been caught telling a heavyweight champion from the golden era that he would have got beaten by Lennox Lewis.
Lewis is the last undisputed heavyweight champion. He finished with a record of 41-2-1 with 32 knockouts and avenged his only losses – to Hasim Rahman Jr. and Oliver McCall – in some style. He fought the best of the best throughout his career, from Mike Tyson to Evander Holyfield, Frank Bruno to Ray Mercer, Andrew Golota to Vitali Klitschko.
One man he never faced in the pro ranks was Riddick Bowe, though he did beat him in the 1988 Olympic Gold Medal match. It is one epic fight that got away for several reasons – contracts, money, Lewis getting beaten once a contract was eventually signed, and even Bowe infamously chucking the WBC belt into a bin before the WBC could strip him for refusing to box Lewis.
A moment captured by Boxing UK shows ‘Prince Naz’ confronting Bowe in the presence of Lewis and offering his opinion on what would have happened should they have fought.
“My man’s willing and able still, he’s wobbling about a bit Lennox, and Riddick is still the man, but I told you, I rate Lennox. I can put him in any era in boxing and still believe he could beat anyone. Any era.”