Nelson didn’t hold back when asked about the remarks. He said Hamed was “delusional” and claimed the criticism only confirmed how far their relationship had broken down.
“I thought this kid was delusional,” Nelson told talkSport Boxing. “After Giant, I thought this kid hasn’t changed, and when I saw the show, I thought you definitely only got worse.”
Nelson said he had recently ignored two WhatsApp messages from Hamed and had no interest in rekindling a friendship.
“I opened him up. I’m not busy with him,” Nelson said. “If you give air to an idiot, you feed him.”
The former cruiserweight champion made it clear that while he still respects Hamed’s achievements in the ring, he no longer respects him as a person.
“Do I admire what he’s accomplished? Massive,” Nelson said. “But as a person, I lost complete respect for him.”
Much of Nelson’s anger appears to be tied to Hamed’s criticism of late trainer Brendan Ingle, who credits both fighters for their careers. Nelson said he couldn’t accept the way Hamed spoke about a man he believed gave everything to the gym.
The public falling out has turned into one of British boxing’s ugliest old-school feuds, with two former world champions now trading personal shots instead of memories.
It’s hard to watch because these two are such icons of that golden Ingle era in Sheffield. When you see former stablemates so late in life, it usually feels like there’s a lot of unhealed history there.
The “snake” comment from Naz clearly struck a nerve, but Nelson’s response suggests that his real problem is the perceived lack of respect for Brendan Ingle. For Nelson, Brendan was the man who kept him afloat when he was struggling. Seeing Naz shoot that legacy seems to be the deal breaker.
Nelson likes to give Naz his flowers for what he did in the ring, but he closed the door on the man himself. It’s a shame to see them at odds, especially since they were once the faces of the same gym, but Nelson sounds like he’s found a lot of peace in just hitting “block” and moving on.
