Prince Naseem Hamed believes Terence Crawford could knock out a prime Floyd Mayweather.
Crawford retired from boxing in December on the back of an incredible win against Canelo Alvarez to become the undisputed king at super-middleweight.
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‘Bud’ retired with a 42-0 record, having defeated the likes of Canelo, Errol Spence Jr, Kell Brook and Amir Khan in his 17-year professional careerCredit: Getty
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Fans have debated whether Crawford would be good enough to get the better of Mayweather in his heyday, and Hamed believes he could’veCredit: Getty
Through his triumph, ‘Bud’ became the first male three-weight undisputed champion of the four-belt era, putting him ahead of fellow modern greats like Oleksandr Usyk and Naoya Inoue.
Crawford bowed out of the sweet science with a perfect 42-0 record, prompting several members of the boxing fraternity to debate how the Nebraska native would fare against Mayweather in a fantasy bout.
Mayweather, too, retired from boxing with a flawless record, with his 2017 win over Conor McGregor the 50th straight victory in his iconic career.
Prince Naseem Hamed backs Terence Crawford in fantasy fight with Floyd Mayweather
Speaking ahead of the new film Giant, which tells the story of Hamed’s rise from Yorkshire to the Las Vegas lights alongside trainer Brendan Ingle, played by Pierce Brosnan, the British former world champion was asked the same question.
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“It’s a good question,” Hamed responded live on talkSPORT’s Drive show with Andy Goldstein and Darren Bent.
“Do you know something? Terence Crawford, for me, I’ve seen him with this… He had something else on a lot of other fighters.
“Not only technically, and his boxing brain, his boxing IQ, but he had some within strength.
“Some strength that was within. That was physical. You’d see him grab somebody and throw them across the room, that’s four or five times bigger than him.
“I don’t know. I’ve never been asked this question. I’ve never really thought about it. But there would be a possibility of him knocking Floyd out.
“Bear in mind, though, Floyd’s skills were on such a level in his prime. But this is the whole thing right now.
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Hamed said Crawford could flatline a prime Mayweather, but added that you can’t compare the legendary boxers as they ‘are in totally different time zones’Credit: talkSPORT / Getty
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Hamed retired from boxing at the age of 28 with a record of 36-1Credit: AFP
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His trainer, Ingle, is played by Brosnan in the boxing filmCredit: Getty
“You can’t compare apples with apples because these guys are in totally different time zones.”
Hamed had mentioned Crawford as one of the modern pugilists he loves watching.
The 51-year-old also named Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis and Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis in the conversation.
“I’ve always liked watching Tank,” Hamed said.
“And – he’s just retired – Terence Crawford was an amazing fighter, especially beating Canelo in his last fight.
“Then him calling it a day – that’s the best thing he could have done – respect to him.
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Hamed said Crawford had ‘strength within’ that he’s not seen from any other boxerCredit: Getty
“There’s a guy called ‘Boots’ Ennis. I like watching him. He’s a class fighter.
“He’s got some skills, he can deliver, and I think he’s going to be hard to beat.”
Giant is produced by Rocky icon Sylvester Stallone, although Hamed claims Stallone had little to do with the actual making of the film.
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He also says a lot of details in the film are incorrect, and has promised to bring out his own documentary series with Mark Wahlberg in the future.
Giant is distributed by True Brit Entertainment and will be released in UK cinemas tomorrow, January 9.