Boxing pet hates.

[stujones]

Just a thread so you can express your boxing pets hates. Whether its a particular commentators view, a mythical "fact" that has been proven wrong for years, set rules or whatever.

One of mine big pet hates is this constant comparison of Marquez/Barrera/Pacquiao/Morales - to the fab 5 (the overlooking of Benitez is another pet hate).

Now its not that - I think the current 4 are great a deserve this acclaim. But its the experts (likes of Bert Sugar / Wally Matthews) reasoning "that like the early 80's, there isn't a great Heavyweight champion" and "like this era is post Lewis, the 80's was post Ali and pre Tyson".... UHHHHH Larry Holmes

One of the most constantly overlooked fighter in boxing history. Isn't it the job of these experts/historians to stop actually prevent the casual fans to consider/remember fighters such as Holmes. Sugar actually did the opposite recently and dismissed Holmes as a non top 10 all time Heavyweight, when actually pressed by Brian Kenny.

[1southpaw]

ONE OF MY PET HATES IS WHEN EVER YOU GET A FIGHTER (HEAVY) THAT GETS A COUPLE OF KO,S ON THE TROT THEY START CALLING HIM THE NEXT TYSON AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE FELLAS RECORD YOU CAN TELL THAT IT,S BEEN PADDED OUT

[DavidPayne]

Just a thread so you can express your boxing pets hates. Whether its a particular commentators view, a mythical "fact" that has been proven wrong for years, set rules or whatever.

One of mine big pet hates is this constant comparison of Marquez/Barrera/Pacquiao/Morales - to the fab 5 (the overlooking of Benitez is another pet hate).

Now its not that - I think the current 4 are great a deserve this acclaim. But its the experts (likes of Bert Sugar / Wally Matthews) reasoning "that like the early 80's, there isn't a great Heavyweight champion" and "like this era is post Lewis, the 80's was post Ali and pre Tyson".... UHHHHH Larry Holmes

One of the most constantly overlooked fighter in boxing history. Isn't it the job of these experts/historians to stop actually prevent the casual fans to consider/remember fighters such as Holmes. Sugar actually did the opposite recently and dismissed Holmes as a non top 10 all time Heavyweight, when actually pressed by Brian Kenny.

Sugar is a curats egg sometimes, but I find him compelling viewing.

[Carbo]

Just a thread so you can express your boxing pets hates. Whether its a particular commentators view, a mythical "fact" that has been proven wrong for years, set rules or whatever.

One of mine big pet hates is this constant comparison of Marquez/Barrera/Pacquiao/Morales - to the fab 5 (the overlooking of Benitez is another pet hate).

Now its not that - I think the current 4 are great a deserve this acclaim. But its the experts (likes of Bert Sugar / Wally Matthews) reasoning "that like the early 80's, there isn't a great Heavyweight champion" and "like this era is post Lewis, the 80's was post Ali and pre Tyson".... UHHHHH Larry Holmes

One of the most constantly overlooked fighter in boxing history. Isn't it the job of these experts/historians to stop actually prevent the casual fans to consider/remember fighters such as Holmes. Sugar actually did the opposite recently and dismissed Holmes as a non top 10 all time Heavyweight, when actually pressed by Brian Kenny.

Sugar is a curats egg sometimes, but I find him compelling viewing.

Yeah, Sugar is great. He's such a showman. Frankly, he's not the writer he was 10 or 15 years ago, but he sounds like he's spent that time smoking one of those big fat cigars he seemingly has welded to his hands and drinking Wild Turkey somewhere in New Orleans. He has that PT Barnum thing going on.

My pet hate at the moment is the mishandling of boxing by ITV and HBO. They have no clue of how to get the best match-ups and show the best fighters on a consistent basis. It should be a sinch, but they can't do it.

And now, to make up for the mess, they're dropping the brilliant Larry Merchant in favour of Max Kellerman. Gadzooks!

[Old bones Ian]

I hate seeing pricks at ringside on there mobile phones waving their arms so their mates can see them on the telly.
You see it at some of the biggest fights, and i think why spend hundreds of pounds on a ticket just to wave your arms , and get your gormless face on the TV.

Another is when a commentator doesn't keep up with the action , but keeps giving usless facts about the boxers competing.

Also the endless introductions to a fight, and the fact its creeping in over here, i don't care if your ready to rumble. get on with the boxing.

[jonp]

I dont like one fight fans,they buy a ticket watch the main event or their mate and then disapear to the bar or a club.
I like fans who want to see the fights ,all of them.

[MightyWarrior]

And now, to make up for the mess, they're dropping the brilliant Larry Merchant in favour of Max Kellerman. Gadzooks!

What a clanger that is...HBO have lost the plot. Larry, for all his faults, is a one of a kind - a legend really, and was once a great writer too.

And Max? Well he's just a enthusiastic fan with ZERO history - he probably doesn't know much about boxing pre-Tyson.

And Bert Sugar used to be the dogs knackers when he edited the Ring in the early 80's ( though I hear he didn't actually PAY many of his writers, allegedly! ) but he's probably about 177 bottles of Johnny Walker past his prime these days.

I know some say much the same about Larry, but he holds his drink A LOT better than Bert.

[Old bones Ian]

I've never liked the style of Larry Merchant , he takes sooo long to ask a question. I'm not knocking his knowledge of boxing, just how he interviews.

Bert Sugar was excellent when editor of The Ring, was maybe at its best then.

One of my other pet hates (yes i am a very bitter man), is when newspapers don't reseach articles on boxers, you get so many incorrect facts in alot of the daily papers.

[stujones]

Big clanger on Merchant.... wasn't he scheduled to retire a few years back but decided against it. He is a bit of an instituation, these days when he makes his thoughts they often digress so much that you just want to scream. However, you wouldn't swap him for anyone.

Has it been 100% confirmed this is happening. I know Kellerman has been phased more and more into it - but I didn't think its been confirmed.

Harold Lederman (spelling) is the guy who grates me... what a squeeky, annoying voice and what is the point of his job. Just reads the rules and does the scoring.... is he the fight statistian aswell? If so, then fair enough.

I don't have a problem with HBO programming though.... I thought they've been much better than Showtime in recent years. The HBO fights have been quality... Showtime does need some improvement.

I do think ITV can learn from the US televesion in terms of presentation... all the major boxing channels - Showtime, Versus, ESPN, HBO - have much better presentation and unlike sky (another pet hate coming up) don't have the attitude of "we'll show 5 fights but only one in full". Sky's cutting of rounds to show "bits" of fights further down the card (often mismatches) annoys me greatly.

[oliverfennell]

My pet hate is the over-use/misapplication of the word "journeyman", usually by general sports writers who are not boxing experts. Somebody in one of the nationals once wrote about Lennox Lewis getting knocked out by "journeyman" Hasim Rahman.

[overhand_right]

Agree. The supposedly 'brilliant' Hugh McIlvanney referred to Bruno as a journeyman. What a complete bell end.

[DavidPayne]

The last one is a big one for me.

I wish commentators would learn the power of allowing viewers to absorb the fight, action, crowd noise.

You don't have to talk every second of every round.

[overhand_right]

Sugar Ray Leonard not giving Hearns a quicker rematch nor sticking around to offer Hagler an immediate one.

Holyfield's former lawyer, the guy who wrote a book on Holyfield, I used to love Commander Evander, now I can barely stand him. Cheers for that.

Why would Leonard need to rematch them having already beaten them? Does he need to keep fighting them again and again til they beat him? Are you one of the WBA people responsible for keeping John Ruiz at the top of their rankings?

Whats the Holyfield book? Never heard of it, would love to check it out...

[DavidPayne]

The last one is a big one for me.

I wish commentators would learn the power of allowing viewers to absorb the fight, action, crowd noise.

You don't have to talk every second of every round.

I watched an ITV broadcast of a fight the other day, it may have been McCallum-Bomber and they said little to nothing during the rounds then provided rational insight in the break.

I think the inane babble is to cater to modern attention spans.

Possibly. And an interesting point but for every viewer they keep by maintaining contact with frontal lobe, they lose one because of inane bably they use to fill the seconds.

Film trailer man, Adam Smith is the worst.

I remember two bars of Bernard Hopkins ring music, My Way, were heard before commentators explained why the track was chosen, his history etv. For fkks sake, its' 5am, I've paid £15 quid to watch Hopkins (or whoever), a fighter casual fans couldn't pick out at a BNP meeting - do they really think I need educating about HOPKINS?!?!?!?!?!

Fkk off and let the atmosphere build mroe naturally you warbling no-mark.

[Khaosai-Galaxy]

Teddy Atlas, i really cant stand Teddy Atlas.

Everything he ever says is for the benefit of getting himself over, he is an untalented self publicist and the very best i could with for him is a terminal illness.

[DavidPayne]

Life is a terminal illness K-G.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Duke McKenzie calling everyone 'kid' and continually going on about 'down the pipe.'

The aforementioned refusal of Leonard giving Hagler a rematch. I absolutely despised Ray for that at the time, Hagler had conceded everything to make the fight happen, round length, size of ring, hell, he just about stopped short of having no head punching installed in the rules for the fight. Leonard also humiliated Hagler by trying to force him to admit he lost the fight, before agreeing a rematch.

Having watched the fight again recently, I don't think the result would have been any different in a rematch, possibly even over 15 rounds, Hagler was too slow of foot and his reactions weren't what they were, whilst Leonard was still remarkably pretty much at his best. Leonard, like DLH now, got some of his fights at just the right time. Leonard though, faced a peak Duran, Benitez and Hearns, three of the most gifted fighters of all time.

[Khaosai-Galaxy]

Duke McKenzie is beyond awful, is there really no one else ITV can dig up (literally, maybe??) better than him?


Id take Spencer Oliver if i were ITV, id also bring back the Cook Report too

[Podmore_Birmingham]

id also bring back the Cook Report too

Possibly the greatest show ITV have ever had. Roger Cook was a legend, shame a lot of people want him dead.

Tom Podmore

[DavidPayne]

I wished they'd made a second series of Prospects.

I think that was Channel 4.

A post minder London thing, where two guys are on the make with dodgy deals etc.

One guy went on to be the husband in 2.4 children and is now dead, the other was the camp black bloke in Gimme, Gimme, Gimme who lived downstairs.

I reckon about 1986 or 1987?

[jamesmcdonnell]

Duke McKenzie is beyond awful, is there really no one else ITV can dig up (literally, maybe??) better than him?


Id take Spencer Oliver if i were ITV, id also bring back the Cook Report too

Yeah, what happened to Spencer Oliver, I thought he had the makings of a good pundit, articulate, voice not too irritating, insightful, and of course with the benefit of being a former professional.

[DavidPayne]

He got his white tie stained and simply lost all confidence. It was like the white tie and white shirt combo contained all his special powers.

[Khaosai-Galaxy]

Duke McKenzie is beyond awful, is there really no one else ITV can dig up (literally, maybe??) better than him?


Id take Spencer Oliver if i were ITV, id also bring back the Cook Report too

Yeah, what happened to Spencer Oliver, I thought he had the makings of a good pundit, articulate, voice not too irritating, insightful, and of course with the benefit of being a former professional.

The last time i saw him, i literally had to help him get out of a bush he had fallen into in Finchley.

Ive lost contact with him, he was doing work redoing commentary of old fights for ESPN Asia or something last time i heard

[m1kee50]

Eejits on Boxing Forums lol (funny how MOST of the yanks are ok, but ALL the Brits are good as gold...)

[Phenomenal-Nutrition]

Supporting fighters and being biased based on nationality/race. It ticks me off seeing national/racial bias and peoples racial/tribal instincts taking over in boxing or other matters. I'm just a fan of great fighters.