NAZ HONOUR: Martin Smith says yes. Post a comment here if you agree.

He was the kid from the corner shop in Wincobank, one of nine children of a Yemeni immigrant, who started boxing at the age of seven and was a natural from day one.

He had speed, power, agility and a fighter's brain.

He was a showman who sold tickets, looked good on television, thrilled fans all over the world and brought star quality back to boxing.

He was merciless, loved to fight and was virtually untouchable in the ring until that towering confidence turned to complacency and he began to sow the seeds of his own destruction.

After he parted company with his coach and mentor Brendan Ingle, Naseem Hamed lost focus, discipline, and eventually the respect of the boxing world.

More importantly he lost the respect of the Sheffield public and today is more reviled than loved in his home city.

Yet this man, in and out of the boxing ring, gave us a decade of brilliance. A man who gave to his community, looked after his family, and championed his home city at every opportunity, all around the world. But it is for none of this that he will be included in boxing's hall of fame. Naseem Hamed will stand alongside other boxing greats because he was probably the best pound-for-pound fighter of his generation - in the world.

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I was fortunate enough to be in his dressing room in Glasgow in March 1995 before his fight against Sergio Liendo, and at saw first-hand the confidence, inner strength and hypnotic charisma of a true champion.

He destroyed his opponent that night and nothing can take away the class and utterly compelling presence of that young man.

He won three world featherweight titles with a record of 37 fights, 36 wins and 31 knockouts. That record belongs in any hall of fame.

There have always been flawed characters in sport and the performing world.

George Best, Alex Higgins and Paul Gascoigne are no less exceptional for all their faults.

What Naseem Hamed did to Anthony Burgin when he smashed his Mercedes McLaren into his VW Golf is unforgivable.

The events of that day in May 2005 considerably diminish Naseem's character in the eyes of the world.

But they do not alter his boxing record, sporting courage or undeniable athletic brilliance.