best commentators

[man]

i always enjoyed larry merchant, since
he saw things before others did. best
example for me that still stands out
was the first round of pac vs marquez.
he called marquez' unusual aggressive
stance before the first knock down as
well as him weathering the storm after
the third. no one saw that, he called it.

i think max kellerman is a tremendous
talent and i enjoy every moment when
he is analysing something. he is smart,
knows a lot of history and makes up his
own mind.

on the online side i think radio rahim
and kugan cassius do great jobs in
their interviews and i enjoy the more
intimate and authentic character of the
web-people compared to TV. great
example is kugan cassius with adam
booth.

all of these make it look very easy, when
you see them do their thing, and one can
only appreciate it when you look at those
who do not do it so well.

[ClivePatrickLyons]

Bob Sheridan was the most exciting caller going you can hear the emotion in his voice a great example is Tyson v Douglas Bobs call was dramatic especially when Tyson bit the dust i'v also heard the call of Sugar Ray Leonard and I cannot remember who his off-sider was but they were boring to listen to when you compare them to Bob Sheridans call of that fight but the older Bob gets he seems to favour certain fighter's its almost like he's forgot to sit on the fence like great sport's commentator's should

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Cosell

[man]

Cosell

recall him in foreman - lyle, i think
he gave as much in calling as they
did in fighting ...

[foxdog1923]

Col. Bob Sheralden whose probably been commentating the longest of all the commentators.

Teddy Atlas aint too bad. I like some of his analogies, analysis and insights into a boxer having being a former trainer himself.

Mike Schavello is not a boxing commentator but a very passionate, electric type kickboxing commentator whom cracks me up sometimes. Can also make boring fights seem interesting just through his commentary alone.

[man]

Teddy Atlas aint too bad. I like some of his analogies, analysis and insights into a boxer having being a former trainer himself.

i like teddy too. he is controversial
and that pisses some off, while i
find it entertaining and he is very
passionate. remember that fight
where he tried to make a judge
correct his "wrong" score? classic.

[foxdog1923]

Teddy Atlas aint too bad. I like some of his analogies, analysis and insights into a boxer having being a former trainer himself.

i like teddy too. he is controversial
and that pisses some off, while i
find it entertaining and he is very
passionate. remember that fight
where he tried to make a judge
correct his "wrong" score? classic.

Yeah thats right lol. I forgot about that, I thought he'd let it go but no, not Teddy. Its the boxer in him.

[Ambling Alp II]

Al Bernstien was really good. He was knowledgeable, and likeable. He was one of the best "expert" or color commentators. Alex Wallau was really good as well. Sean O"Grady and Ray Leonard were good.


As for play by play or blow by blow, Sam Rosen, Barry Tompkins and Marv Albert were really good. Tim Ryan was not far behind.

Chris Schenkel (who did a lot of fights on ABC) was pretty good. Occasionally he and Howard Cosell would do fights all by themselves. Occasionally they worked with each other.

You want a guy who knows the sport, is not biased, and has enthusiasm.
The one thing that I think has been lacking a for a long time is someone who asks good post-fight questions.
Usually it's a long the lines of "Did you think you deserved the decision? Answer is almost always "yes".
Or "who are you going to fight next?" Answer: I will fight anyone. (Translation: I will be fighting a stiff next.)
As grating as Cosell could be, he was great at asking pre-fight and post-fight question and actually getting good answers.

[Bodyshot3]

Gutteridge and Carpenter in their respective pomps....a long, long time ago now but they were free to cover boxing full-time, knew the business inside out having both been journalists previously and were not afraid to express an opinion. And they both had a big broadcaster behind them.

I liked Jim Neilly on BBC radio as well - it was a shame that the BBC got the hump with pro-boxing - because he would have been a good man to follow Carpenter although perhaps lacked the deep knowledge Harry had.

Woodhall is a pundit rather than someone who calls the blow-by-blow action but he keeps the flag flying for those of us who like someone who really, really knows the sport and calmly explains the fight and what each boxer is trying to do. Best of the modern Brits by a distance.

[Cutman Scabbers]

I like George Foreman!

[man]

I like George Foreman!

i think he has no clue when
commenting on fights.

[ElJefe]

I can't remember what fight it was but I remember Roy calling a punch that led to a KD/KO a round or two before it happened. Sees things very quickly, easy to see why he was so hard to hit.

[ElJefe]

I like George Foreman!

i think he has no clue when
commenting on fights.

With George it felt like he'd be holding out hope for the underdog, especially if they were a puncher, so if they won he'd look like a genius. In the Toney/Barkley fight he was always saying how Barkley was still dangerous, meanwhile Toney was bouncing a 4 punch combination off his chin and strolling off without breaking sweat.

One of my favourite moments of his was when Lampley and Merchant were calling Ruiz a paper champion towards the end of the RJJ fight and although they had a point, George absolutely shut them down by telling them they can't sell it as a world heavyweight title fight and then backtrack during the fight. Suppose one of the advantages of being 6'4, the former heavyweight champion and arguably the biggest puncher of all time is that you don't have to bite your tongue when something annoys you.

[man]

I like George Foreman!

i think he has no clue when
commenting on fights.

With George it felt like he'd be holding out hope for the underdog, especially if they were a puncher, so if they won he'd look like a genius. In the Toney/Barkley fight he was always saying how Barkley was still dangerous, meanwhile Toney was bouncing a 4 punch combination off his chin and strolling off without breaking sweat.

One of my favourite moments of his was when Lampley and Merchant were calling Ruiz a paper champion towards the end of the RJJ fight and although they had a point, George absolutely shut them down by telling them they can't sell it as a world heavyweight title fight and then backtrack during the fight. Suppose one of the advantages of being 6'4, the former heavyweight champion and arguably the biggest puncher of all time is that you don't have to bite your tongue when something annoys you.

wasn't there one occasion when
he had some beef with the other
commentators? one could smell
the thought in them: "well, he is
clearly talking nonsense, but this
IS george foreman."

[Tuan_Jim]

Howard Cossell was the king, reserved and elegant with a fine sense of drama. He made fights feel like events.

I thought the team of Al Albert & Ferdie Pacheco brought an engaging mix of insight, humour and drama to fights.

Any line up with Gil Clancy - especially when sat between the solid Tim Ryan & the excitable Angelo Dundee.

I thought Larry Merchant had a humour, restraint & perception carried the HBO broadcasts for years. When he spoke it was always relevant - unlike Jim Lampley, whose non-stop verbal diarrhea has soiled literally hundreds of big fights.

Not only that, Max Kellerman, 'Lampley Jr', is now poised to carry on his migraine inducing work into the next era.

Showtime in the 90s had a great team with Steve Albert, Ferdie Pacheco and Bobby Czyz, even though they leaned too heavily towards Don King fighters. The charisma seemed to make up for it. The current Showtime team, led by that buffoon who warbles, hams & trills AS IF he is, hoowhoa, vooooiiiiiccccing a carttttooooon characterrrrrrr, is an abomination.

[Cutman Scabbers]

I can't remember what fight it was but I remember Roy calling a punch that led to a KD/KO a round or two before it happened. Sees things very quickly, easy to see why he was so hard to hit.

Roy is good. I'd like to see him get so many assignments he wouldn't have time to box.

[Counter-puncher]

Chris Algieri will become the best of the lot when he finds a spot, hes very smart and well-spoken, he is brilliant covering bellator kickboxing, great incisive analysis.

[Kalan]

I like George Foreman!

i think he has no clue when
commenting on fights.

With George it felt like he'd be holding out hope for the underdog, especially if they were a puncher, so if they won he'd look like a genius. In the Toney/Barkley fight he was always saying how Barkley was still dangerous, meanwhile Toney was bouncing a 4 punch combination off his chin and strolling off without breaking sweat.

One of my favourite moments of his was when Lampley and Merchant were calling Ruiz a paper champion towards the end of the RJJ fight and although they had a point, George absolutely shut them down by telling them they can't sell it as a world heavyweight title fight and then backtrack during the fight. Suppose one of the advantages of being 6'4, the former heavyweight champion and arguably the biggest puncher of all time is that you don't have to bite your tongue when something annoys you.

George was right.. HBO sold the Ruiz-Jones as a Heavyweight Championship fight for months...and then the commentators are going to tell us Ruiz is a fake because Jones was handing him his ass??? When reporters asked Lennox Lewis about Jones's victory, suggesting it was illegitimate, Lewis put a stop to that and said, "Roy Jones did a historic job.. He's the first Middleweight Champion in over 100 years to win the Heavyweight Championship. He's the Heavyweight Champion of the World." ... So then the questions became more along the lines of a unification fight.

[badkatt]

ian darke is the most under rated commentator by far ....his voice is awsume and im noteven british / im from canada . hbo should have got him in the late 80s

[jaclem3]

...don dunphy set the standard for all others to attempt to equal ...