Boxing: Hamed has to make a leap to be a legend.

FIVE years is a long time to remain unbeaten in defence of a world crown.

Come that anniversary next month, Naseem Hamed will be entitled to the quiet celebration he has planned with family and friends.

It's a remarkable achievement by a unique fighter and edges him towards the orbit of featherweight greats like Salvador Sanchez, Eusebio Pedroza and Azumah Nelson. Should he extend his record, surpassing the seven-year mark set by Pedroza, we can begin to mention Hamed in the same breath.

He has spoken this week of the golden legacy he would like to leave, of being regarded by his peers as a boxing legend.

For him it is no longer about money, or even belts. It's about going head to head with the best, putting his reputation on the line.

Hamed has targeted Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales, the world-class Mexicans who earlier this year fought each other to a standstill in an epic encounter. He is right to do so, but in my view that does not go far enough. Against both of those men, Hamed would be favourite to win.

It is not the fault of Hamed that the featherweight division lacks the quality of the division immediately beneath, or above at super-feather where Floyd Mayweather, Diego Corales and Acelino Freitas lie in wait and where, in my -opinion, the greater tests remain.

Were he to face any of the above he would not necessarily start favourite. All three would be box-office contests that would hold the boxing world in thrall, as Oscar De La Hoya (in his bouts with Felix Trinidad), Ike Quartey and Shane Moseley did at welterweight.

At that level of combat the outcome is almost secondary. It is about laying bare your sporting soul, risking all in the ultimate test of skill and bravery against an opponent similarly stretched, fighting at the limit of his endeavour.

Such contests define a fighter in a way others cannot. Hamed has yet to have his defining fight. He has scored marvellous successes in memorable contests against good fighters like Kevin Kelley, Steve Robinson, and Vuyani Bungu. But the great ones are still out there.

Augie Sanchez is not such an opponent. The fight in Connecticut tonight will not tell us any more about Hamed than we already know.

Whenever I have made similar points in the past, Hamed has bridled at perceived criticism. But there is no hostility on my part.

Indeed many of the criticisms I have levelled over the years have subsequently been acknowledged by him.

I salute Hamed's place in history. He has already achieved more than I did in my career. As a fighter he is unique, blessed with rare power and reflexes. The boxing text-book would not recognise much of what he does, yet he prospers.

But greatness is another matter. He is well on his way and I genuinely hope he gets there. But it will not come against Morales and Barrera alone. For that he must step out against Mayweather and Co. Only then in victory will people acclaim Hamed as a legend.