This is yet another matchup I'd go against Naz. I dont think Fenech would give Naz enough time and room to operate. He'd stay in his chest, pushing him back, and mugging him all night.
Fenech fought such a variety of styles that I am sure he'd not be offput by Hameds style. That was always one of Hameds ACE's, he'd go all herky jerky and then mug guys with his big leaping shots or he'd catch guys coming in- guys who thought it made sense to "apply pressure" to deal with Hamed's jack-in-the-box BS. Anybody- and I do mean anybody- who could live with Hamed's style and get their own game working always had a chance to be competitive. Once you were competitive, if you had any talent, you had a chance to win.
"Everybody's Got a Plan Until They Get Hit" - Joe Louis Fenech Would Certainly Outwork Hamed as Looooooooooong as it Lasted, But What Happens WHEN He Gets Hit???...Fenech Could Be Hit, Hurt and STOPPED, Obviously... REED
In Fenech's defense, he walked through two huge hitters at 126 - Victor Callejas and Marcos Villasana. He was never stopped nor seriously hurt at 126 - that came at 130. He never lost period at 126, which is more than can be said for Hamed. Now neither Callejas nor Villasana punched like Naz, but prime Jeff Fenech aint gonna get taken out by just 1 big punch. Naz would have to give him a sustained beating, and not sure if Fenech affords him the room to get off. Fenech was mentally a LOT tougher than Hamed.
But WHO Ever Successfully "Walked Thru" Prince's Bombs???...There was an Ever Present AVAILABILITY to Fenech and You're Matching Him Against Arguably THE Biggest Banger in the Division's History... The Barrera Fight Created a False Narrative About Hamed's "Toughness", Just as There's an Exaggeration to the Degree in Which Barrera Beat Him (Not from YOU, but in GENERAL)...People Act Like it was a Roy-Richard Hall 1-Sided Ass Beating, When it was More of a Subtle SCHOOLING than Anything... If Hamed Wasn't Tough Mentally and Otherwise, we NEVER Hear of Him Again After the Kevin Kelley Fight...Nor Does He Climb Off the Deck to Put Augie Sanchez on a Stretcher Either... REED
Fenech wouldn't have to necessarily walk through all of Naz's bombs is what I'm saying. He's not Paul Ingle. For some reason, history paints Fenech as this face first brawler like he was Provodnikov or something, but Jeff actually did a really decent job of averting punches coming in. And Hamed would have to catch him coming in, cause on the inside it's a mismatch. We have one of the all time great infighters, against a guy who can't infight to save his life. And I'm not saying that Naz was a mental midget, but yeah, I do think he had a lil frontrunner in him. This is different than Kevin Kelly. Love my Queens brotha, but he had a glass jaw. If it comes down to Naz hitting Jeff with a good shot, and Fenech is still charging him and mugging him, I could easily see Hamed being tamed and coming a bit undone.
No One EVER Simply Walked Hamed Down and Beat Him Up on the Inside, is REED's Point...REED Ain't Sure Fenech's Still Charging and Attempting to Mug Him After Eating a Shot or 3 Either... Again, We're Talking About a HISTORIC Level Featherweight Banger Who Punched from Angles We Ain't Seen Since... Good Matchup and SOMETHING Would Have to Give, One Way or the Other...But Similar to the Hamed-Lil' Red Thread, REED's Betting an AGGRESSIVE Attack on Hamed Would Be the Ultimate UNDOING of Fenech and Lil' Red... For What it's Worth, Fenech Would Be the Tougher Fight, in REED's Opinion... REED
I thought Fenech showed a great mix of aggression and skill against Villasana. I think Hamed would only have a puncher's chance against a guy whose chin was never an issue until he moved up another weight class.
I like this guy! We have similar thinking. Yes, Fenech was superb against Villasana, who was a murderous puncher. He was also superb against Callejas, also a murderous puncher. I don't think Hamed was mentally tough enough to handle Fenech's pressure. He would come undone.
