Marco Antonio Barrera’s Tactical Brilliance Seals Victory Over Prince Naseem Hamed in ‘Playing With Fire’ Showdown

On Saturday, April 7, 2001, Prince Naseem Hamed and Marco Antonio Barrera met in an event billed as Playing with Fire for the vacant IBO strap. The bout took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada. Hamed vacated the WBO featherweight strap while his Mexican opponent moved up to featherweight for the first time in his career. Barrera was dominant throughout the contest, and we wanted to take you back to what was the only defeat in the career of Naseem Hamed.

Prince Naseem Hamed vs. Marco Antonio Barrera

Barrera Defeats Prince Naseem Hamed

Barrera was known as a come-forward fighter who would look to walk down his opponents and unload heavy combinations. For the bout against Hamed, the legendary Mexican changed his approach and boxed on the back foot, seemingly a tactic to avoid the lethal left-hand counterpunch from “Prince.”

Hamed struggled to nail down Barrera and gain momentum, which frustrated the Brit as Barrera used his lateral movement to circle away and pick off his opponent with precise counter-punching whenever “Prince” tried to close the distance.

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As the fight entered the final round, the Mexican started more aggressively and looked to engage with the British fighter before ending the fight – picking his punches off the back foot as he had done throughout the contest. Despite Barrera losing a point for getting Hamed into a full-nelson and throwing him into the turnbuckle, it had no bearing on the result as the brilliant Mexican won deservedly by unanimous decision, with the judges scorecards reading 115-112 x2 and 116-111.

What Happened Next?

Immediately after the fight, Naseem Hamed expressed his desire for a rematch, but he ultimately failed to invoke the rematch clause within the required two months, which saw Barrera move on to face Enrique Sánchez later in the year. 

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After a year of inactivity, Hamed returned to the ring, defeating little-known Manuel Calvo in the final fight of an entertaining and memorable career. The Mexican fighter vacated the IBO strap before continuing at featherweight until 2004. Prince Naseem Hamed will be remembered for a plethora of reasons, but make no mistake – he’s one of the most entertaining boxers of his generation, and the legacy of both Hamed and Barrera will continue to live on.