Anna Woolhouse - Sky boxing presenter

[ILikeBeer]

I would say that the continued employment of Adam Smith and big Ron McIntosh has baffled Boxrec for years (and presumably Twitter, I don't know much about it, but it sounds pretty brutal) and been the source of many debates. Isn't Smith there through nepotism or something? People frequently wonder why he has his job. It's definitely not talent. So I think in this case it's pretty equal!

In that case, we're sort of arguing the same point.

The OP was suggesting she got there because she was female, or because she was good looking. I'm not saying that's untrue. I'm just saying that that's pretty much how TV works. OP said that if Anna Woolhouse wasn't interviewed properly, her being there was discrimination against equally competent men.

The counter-point to that was, it's not exclusively a gender thing. In the example you used with nepotism, that's not fair either. That's somebody else getting a job based on reasons other than ability.

The point people were trying to make wasn't; "Waaah! Don't criticise poor Anna". People were merely pointing out that there isn't some stringent hiring policy that is being applied to the men, that isn't being applied to the women.

[samwbr]

She knows nothing abut boxing and why do these birds always have to wear glasses and every1 on every channel is a bird!

[Boxerbeetle]

I wonder how many Tweets Carl Froch gets about his physical appearance compared to how many Anna Woolhouse gets?

He gets a few hundred from me every week

[dalcumly]

We're now getting into a sensible debate - at last.
A lot of the recent posts are worthwhile and well argued. I'm not suggesting all-male or all- male presenters , in fact I wouldn't have a problem if all the presenters were female - providing they went through a fair recruiting system, and not one which chose a good looking reasonably competent female, with no previous background in boxing,simply because the organisation feels the need to be politically correct and appoint a female.
( I don't suppose for a moment that Anna Woolhouse is reading this, but if she were I'd hope she would understand this isn't personal - as they say - it's business ).

I'd have to concede that if most Sky boxing viewers are perfectly happy with a female ,who has apparently carried out extensive research to get up to speed, presenting to them then that's OK. But the point is she's had to do the research, the knowledge was not there already.
Again, going back to a previous suggestion, if she was a plain looking lady , but had been involved in boxing all her life , and had information coming out her ears, would she have got the job?

[Ezzard]

She doesn't need to be an expert on boxing. That's what the pundits are there for. She needs to be an expert on TV presenting...and she's good at it.

Ex-pros in all sports are mostly overrated as pundits...they generally have 1 or 2 points that they go over and over.

[Boxerbeetle]

We're now getting into a sensible debate - at last.
A lot of the recent posts are worthwhile and well argued. I'm not suggesting all-male or all- male presenters , in fact I wouldn't have a problem if all the presenters were female - providing they went through a fair recruiting system, and not one which chose a good looking reasonably competent female, with no previous background in boxing,simply because the organisation feels the need to be politically correct and appoint a female.
( I don't suppose for a moment that Anna Woolhouse is reading this, but if she were I'd hope she would understand this isn't personal - as they say - it's business ).

I'd have to concede that if most Sky boxing viewers are perfectly happy with a female ,who has apparently carried out extensive research to get up to speed, presenting to them then that's OK. But the point is she's had to do the research, the knowledge was not there already.
Again, going back to a previous suggestion, if she was a plain looking lady , but had been involved in boxing all her life , and had information coming out her ears, would she have got the job?

The trouble is, literally every one of your points can be applied to virtually every tv presenter in history. There is no great meritocracy when it comes to the entertainment industry.

[ILikeBeer]

She doesn't need to be an expert on boxing. That's what the pundits are there for. She needs to be an expert on TV presenting...and she's good at it.

Agreed. And I think it's a point that's lost on many.

She doesn't have to have the in-depth knowledge of the pundits, she has to be able to facilitate a conversation. She'll obviously need to know a bit about boxing in order to do so. But the in-depth analysis and expertise is what the pundits are there for.

In a lot of sports, the host of the show isn't a pundit, or somebody who has played that sport at a high-level. It's somebody who can bridge the gap between the fans and the experts.

[TheGman]

I atched a programme about her on sky a few months back and she was saying how she gets abuse on twitter all the time cyber bullying really. First time i seen her i thought wtf does she know about boxing,now i think she is ok and as someone said earlier,she doesnt need to onow anything about boxing thats what the pundits are there for she just needs to ask the questions to th pundits about wats hapoening nd wats just happened

[Counter-puncher]

The point people were trying to make wasn't; "Waaah! Don't criticise poor Anna". People were merely pointing out that there isn't some stringent hiring policy that is being applied to the men...., that isn't being applied to the women.

....cos the men are mostly sh1t

[Counter-puncher]

But the point is she's had to do the research, the knowledge was not there already.

how well-informed do you reckon Adam Smith was on boxing, before he got his gig at Sky?

[Counter-puncher]

The trouble is, literally every one of your points can be applied to virtually every tv presenter in history. There is no great meritocracy when it comes to the entertainment industry.

[ILikeBeer]

....cos the men are mostly sh1t

Well, exactly.

Why instead of going; "Waaah! Anna is a woman, it's discriminatory against well qualified men", do we not just say; "Most of the Sky pundits are rubbish, let's get some better ones"? The OP didn't really need to bring gender into it at all.

[Fightnight Scores]

The trouble is, literally every one of your points can be applied to virtually every tv presenter in history. There is no great meritocracy when it comes to the entertainment industry.

Agreed. And I think it's a point that's lost on many.

She doesn't have to have the in-depth knowledge of the pundits, she has to be able to facilitate a conversation. She'll obviously need to know a bit about boxing in order to do so. But the in-depth analysis and expertise is what the pundits are there for.

In a lot of sports, the host of the show isn't a pundit, or somebody who has played that sport at a high-level. It's somebody who can bridge the gap between the fans and the experts.

These two sum it up pretty perfectly.

I think Anna does a good job.

[milpool]

Has Naz ever made Anna Woolhouse cry?

[Finn]

Reading some of these comments highlight exactly what she is talking about.

She’s a good presenter, she does a very good job. She is also very attractive. My question would be - is only possible to become a female presenter for boxing or football if you are attractive?

I’ve personally never seen an unattractive presenter for boxing or football, even presenting on sky sports news. I don’t see the same pre requisite for male presenters.

[ILikeBeer]

That's a problem women have always had to face.

Sadly, that wasn't what the OP was complaining about. He was whining that women are employed. Not that women are judged more by their appearance than they should be.

[Cyclops]

I like her

[Punchy Joe]

she's a bit skinny and middle class, doesn’t look dirty enough for me....should have got a porn actress with a micro skirt, high heels, trout pout lips and giant fake tits.

[ewenhay]

Interesting debate.

I'd need to see more photos before I could make a decision

[KiwiRider]

She doesn't need to be an expert on boxing. That's what the pundits are there for. She needs to be an expert on TV presenting...and she's good at it.

Ex-pros in all sports are mostly overrated as pundits...they generally have 1 or 2 points that they go over and over.

Thank you
That's the whole point, she doesn't have to be an expert, her job is to focus the "experts" on giving pertinent information, and not to put her oar in when it isn't required.
I think she does a pretty respectful and competent job of it.

[Ezzard]

I'm probably in a minority here but... The bad tattoos...tacky advertisements...cheesy rap music...are all now synonymous with the sport. It's nice to have Anna presenting. She's a touch of class. Yes, she's a pretty lady but she talks nicely too. I can appreciate Buncey's informed bloke in the pub presentation. I like him too but you need the contrast.

[tobyh5]

I think the lass does a grand job but fck me did she say a stupid ass thing during the live broadcast and then repeated on the podcast this week

"Do you think AJ is now showing vulnerabilities?"

Uhm, no love, I think he is still looking a flawless, dominant world champion

[tobyh5]

I'm probably in a minority here but... The bad tattoos...tacky advertisements...cheesy rap music...are all now synonymous with the sport. It's nice to have Anna presenting. She's a touch of class. Yes, she's a pretty lady but she talks nicely too. I can appreciate Buncey's informed bloke in the pub presentation. I like him too but you need the contrast.

Pretty sure Jo Ankier is now the full time BT sport boxing presenter and is doing the Frampton card. She did not do the BJS card for some reason though which is why Bunce stepped in.

[Ezzard]

I'm sure she's related to someone on these boards.

A very capable young lady who does a great job. Only seen her doing interviews so far but be good to see her do some presenting too. Dempsey does a good job and has the advantage of the perfect surname.

[ewenhay]

I'm sure she's related to someone on these boards.

A very capable young lady who does a great job. Only seen her doing interviews so far but be good to see her do some presenting too. Dempsey does a good job and has the advantage of the perfect surname.

Whereas Anna hasn't. Who would want to live in a wool house? That would just be ridiculous. Imagine the scenes when it rained?