Sky's Adam Smith

[CaptainSpacerod]

Any supposedly serious boxing journalist should read this forum so I hope he sees this.

You're a fvcking disgrace mate. I've no doubt you love the game but you do it a huge disservice by pretending that the late pantomime showing of Haye v Bellew is a serious fight. Haye is years past his best and Bellew is a plodding also ran at world level. Your comment that Bellew is " one of the biggest punchers in world boxing" is risible.

Sky's link up with Matchroom has seen the amount of absurd hyperbole around fights and fighters grow exponentially to a barely tolerable level for any fan with even a modicum of knowledge but if the initial offerings are any indicator the build up to this fight will hit a new nadir. The paying public aren't as stupid as Sky would like to think. Every time a non event fight involving Joshua is made PPV and presented to the audience as a legitimate world championship level fight boxing's reputation nosedives. Every time you interview Eddie Hearn after one of his stable has fought and he claims we've just seen a world class operator in action when we haven't and you don't pull him up on this you're doing boxing a disservice. Every time an elaborately staged and wholly manufactured "beef" between fighters is reported as genuine enmity, boxing is the loser.

I don't blame Hearn - his job is to earn money for himself and his fighters. Your job is to report news to boxing fans and offer informative, intelligent analysis and opinions on boxing matters to your paying audience and you don't.

Where's your journalistic integrity mate ?

[ewenhay]

Any supposedly serious boxing journalist should read this forum so I hope he sees this.

You're a fvcking disgrace mate. I've no doubt you love the game but you do it a huge disservice by pretending that the late pantomime showing of Haye v Bellew is a serious fight. Haye is years past his best and Bellew is a plodding also ran at world level. Your comment that Bellew is " one of the biggest punchers in world boxing" is risible.

Sky's link up with Matchroom has seen the amount of absurd hyperbole around fights and fighters grow exponentially to a barely tolerable level for any fan with even a modicum of knowledge but if the initial offerings are any indicator the build up to this fight will hit a new nadir. The paying public aren't as stupid as Sky would like to think. Every time a non event fight involving Joshua is made PPV and presented to the audience as a legitimate world championship level fight boxing's reputation nosedives. Every time you interview Eddie Hearn after one of his stable has fought and he claims we've just seen a world class operator in action when we haven't and you don't pull him up on this you're doing boxing a disservice. Every time an elaborately staged and wholly manufactured "beef" between fighters is reported as genuine enmity, boxing is the loser.

I don't blame Hearn - his job is to earn money for himself and his fighters. Your job is to report news to boxing fans and offer informative, intelligent analysis and opinions on boxing matters to your paying audience and you don't.

Where's your journalistic integrity mate ?

The business model adopted by TV companies is definitely to blame. Exclusive TV deals with one promoter has damaged boxing even more than multiple governing bodies in my mind. Sky followed the flawed us model adopted by hbo and showtime. If TV companies said they had x number of slots available and it was up to promoters to table the best fights for the spaces then we would soon see individual promoters offering better fights and rival promoters working together to offer better matches. TV companies need to show some balls and things would change pretty quickly.

[TheCobra]

I agree Haye vs Bellew is a dreadful panto-fight that they will hype up to the absolute maximum. Getting bored of it as a proper boxing fan, they're just dumbing it all down for a new audience of casuals.

[ewenhay]

I agree Haye vs Bellew is a dreadful panto-fight that they will hype up to the absolute maximum. Getting bored of it as a proper boxing fan, they're just dumbing it all down for a new audience of casuals.

Sky and therefore Smith are too financially invested in the matchroom deal to be able to have any objectivity any more.

[lefty]

Any supposedly serious boxing journalist should read this forum so I hope he sees this.

You're a fvcking disgrace mate. I've no doubt you love the game but you do it a huge disservice by pretending that the late pantomime showing of Haye v Bellew is a serious fight. Haye is years past his best and Bellew is a plodding also ran at world level. Your comment that Bellew is " one of the biggest punchers in world boxing" is risible.

Sky's link up with Matchroom has seen the amount of absurd hyperbole around fights and fighters grow exponentially to a barely tolerable level for any fan with even a modicum of knowledge but if the initial offerings are any indicator the build up to this fight will hit a new nadir. The paying public aren't as stupid as Sky would like to think. Every time a non event fight involving Joshua is made PPV and presented to the audience as a legitimate world championship level fight boxing's reputation nosedives. Every time you interview Eddie Hearn after one of his stable has fought and he claims we've just seen a world class operator in action when we haven't and you don't pull him up on this you're doing boxing a disservice. Every time an elaborately staged and wholly manufactured "beef" between fighters is reported as genuine enmity, boxing is the loser.

I don't blame Hearn - his job is to earn money for himself and his fighters. Your job is to report news to boxing fans and offer informative, intelligent analysis and opinions on boxing matters to your paying audience and you don't.

Where's your journalistic integrity mate ?

Is he a journalist? I thought he was head of boxing for sky. For what it's worth I agree with what you've said.

[Syntax Error]

Good post.

I hope Mr Smith does read it.

[Horse]

Worst commentator ever.

Bring back Nick Halling.

[lefty]

[ewenhay]

Worst commentator ever.

Bring back Nick Halling.

I actually get all misty eyed thinking about the days when Paul Dempsey used to present and Ian Darke was main commentator. And, at the time, I thought they were far from perfect.

[Autobarn]

Calm down everyone. There's much worse in Ireland and Australia.

[Autobarn]

Worst commentator ever.

Bring back Nick Halling.

I actually get all misty eyed thinking about the days when Paul Dempsey used to present and Ian Darke was main commentator. And, at the time, I thought they were far from perfect.

Always felt they were just fine.

[ewenhay]

Worst commentator ever.

Bring back Nick Halling.

I actually get all misty eyed thinking about the days when Paul Dempsey used to present and Ian Darke was main commentator. And, at the time, I thought they were far from perfect.

Always felt they were just fine.

In hindsight they were!

[Horse]

I actually get all misty eyed thinking about the days when Paul Dempsey used to present and Ian Darke was main commentator. And, at the time, I thought they were far from perfect.

Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got till it's gone?

[lefty]

Calm down everyone. There's much worse in Ireland and Australia.

That's like saying Dog shit is worse than Cat shit. It's still shit at the end of the day.

[ewenhay]

I actually get all misty eyed thinking about the days when Paul Dempsey used to present and Ian Darke was main commentator. And, at the time, I thought they were far from perfect.

Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got till it's gone?

Aye, that's true on many fronts, unfortunately!

[Autobarn]

Calm down everyone. There's much worse in Ireland and Australia.

That's like saying Dog poo is worse than Cat poo. It's still poo at the end of the day.

did you ever hear them in Ireland almost foaming at the mouth, losing all perspective when Bernard Dunne fought? Or the Aussies, when Green or Mundine were fighting terrible opposition for IBO titles? I've seen the bottom of the barrel and that is definitely it, not Sky Sports.

[Rexob]

Sorry but Smith has bought us some fantastic nights of boxing over the years, I think he is OK, no problem with him at all. Haye vs Bellew will go down a storm and IMO will see Haye retired from the sport after this beating which won't be a bad thing for everyone.

[dalcumly]

I totally agree with everything in the opening comment. When your employed by a commercial TV company ( SKY) money is KING. The job of the presenter / commentator on SKY is to 'sell' the product to the masses so the company he works for earns as much as possible, and the sad point is that the casual viewer will accept the garbage as being factual.
The Haye/Bellew 'event' will make 4 people a lot richer, Haye, Bellew, Hearn , and Francis at SKY, thanks to the casual fan seeking a night out , or a night in, paying the PPV price.
I can only protest by not spending a penny on it, telling anyone that asks- the truth, and refusing to read any stories during the build up unless written by genuine boxing people.
There's money to be made through boxing today, but it's being divided up between a few people and we know who they are.

[the_doctor]

So what you're saying is that an employee of Sky Sports is helping to hype up a fight due to be shown on Sky Sports? Im shocked and disgusted...

Seriously, some people on here need to dry their eyes and accept that this shit has been going on in boxing for years. It wasn't invented by Sky. It pre-dates Eddie Hearn and Adam Smith. BT Sport will be exactly the same once their shows start up.

[lefty]

Calm down everyone. There's much worse in Ireland and Australia.

That's like saying Dog poo is worse than Cat poo. It's still poo at the end of the day.

did you ever hear them in Ireland almost foaming at the mouth, losing all perspective when Bernard Dunne fought? Or the Aussies, when Green or Mundine were fighting terrible opposition for IBO titles? I've seen the bottom of the barrel and that is definitely it, not Sky Sports.

My point still stands.

[ewenhay]

So what you're saying is that an employee of Sky Sports is helping to hype up a fight due to be shown on Sky Sports? Im shocked and disgusted...

Seriously, some people on here need to dry their eyes and accept that this poo has been going on in boxing for years. It wasn't invented by Sky. It pre-dates Eddie Hearn and Adam Smith. BT Sport will be exactly the same once their shows start up.

I think everyone is perfectly aware what is happening and how the business works. The question is whether it is acceptable. You seem to think it is, others think not and want a better sport.

[lefty]

I totally agree with everything in the opening comment. When your employed by a commercial TV company ( SKY) money is KING. The job of the presenter / commentator on SKY is to 'sell' the product to the masses so the company he works for earns as much as possible, and the sad point is that the casual viewer will accept the garbage as being factual.
The Haye/Bellew 'event' will make 4 people a lot richer, Haye, Bellew, Hearn , and Francis at SKY, thanks to the casual fan seeking a night out , or a night in, paying the PPV price.
I can only protest by not spending a penny on it, telling anyone that asks- the truth, and refusing to read any stories during the build up unless written by genuine boxing people.
There's money to be made through boxing today, but it's being divided up between a few people and we know who they are.

Well Smith is also head of boxing aswell; so he's not just a commentator. He has budget targets I imagine which he has to hit.

[the_doctor]

So what you're saying is that an employee of Sky Sports is helping to hype up a fight due to be shown on Sky Sports? Im shocked and disgusted...

Seriously, some people on here need to dry their eyes and accept that this poo has been going on in boxing for years. It wasn't invented by Sky. It pre-dates Eddie Hearn and Adam Smith. BT Sport will be exactly the same once their shows start up.

I think everyone is perfectly aware what is happening and how the business works. The question is whether it is acceptable. You seem to think it is, others think not and want a better sport.

But what makes a "better sport"? Everything for free? No hype? Would it be a better sport if it was exclusively for the purists and we can have every big fight held in a sports hall full of 100 of only the most knowledgeable and ardent fans?

[Ricky_]

I don't blame Hearn - his job is to earn money for himself and his fighters. Your job is to report news to boxing fans and offer informative, intelligent analysis and opinions on boxing matters to your paying audience and you don't.

Where's your journalistic integrity mate ?

C'mon, Smith is no journalist . His job is the exact same as Hearn's, he's a promoter designed to sell whatever the share-holders at Sky tell him to sell.

Good post though, Sky are total sell-outs playing the short term game. It's clear to me the boxing business model is "Flog a bad-blood punch up to a bunch of football fans who get pissed on a Saturday night after watching Jeff & Kammy".

I don't think this strategy is going to be effective long term, although it's made a quick buck in the short term. Like you say, the casual fans aren't quite as stupid as they think they are, and i get the sense they're getting a little more clue'd on to the mismatches on offer through all the faux-hype from Nelson, Smith and the rest of the embarrassing shitshow Sky put together.

[TheLeprechaun]

He's disliked by most in British boxing. I think he will be surprised by what people say after he retires. They can't say it now because he's working in Sky at a high level in a job given to him.

He's always been very bad. It's a cross that British boxing fans have had to bear for a very long time. The day he retires myself and my mates will be having a few pints thats for sure