Prince Naseem Hamed says two men stand alone as the greatest boxers of all time

Hailed as one of the most exciting fighters of all time, ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed inspired a generation of British boxers, although when it came time to name the greatest of all time, Hamed found himself torn between two names.

‘Naz’ breathed new life into a dormant featherweight division during the 1990sdestroying Wales’ Steve Robinson before pulling together 15 defenses of the WBO title at 126lbs, and also capturing the IBF and WBC crowns during that time.

The Sheffield star would hang up the gloves in 2002, but his victories were over Kevin Kelley a Tom Johnson will live long in the memory, with his legacy cemented as a must-watch featherweight in British boxing history.

And yet, in terms of greatness, Hamed acknowledged that the two prominent candidates came from all over the pond, acknowledging the legend pound for pound. Sugar Ray Robinson and heavyweight icon Muhammad Ali like boxing best, in an interview with Radio Rahim.

“The best ever will have to go to the person they (the public) always say is either Sugar Ray Robinson or Muhammad Ali.

“They are just set in stone, that will never change.”

Robinson reigned as welterweight champion of the world for seven years, before becoming a five-time middleweight champion and the reason behind the introduction of pound-for-pound rankings.

Meanwhile, Ali is the only three-time lineal heavyweight world champion and the only person to win Ring Magazine’s Fighter of the Year award on six occasions, with victories over fellow greats such as Joe Frazier, George Foreman and Sonny Liston defining his illustrious career.