What's happened to Ian Darke?

[Boxingmad]

I thought he'd be doing the Hamburg show but it seems now that John Rawling is getting the big gigs.

[Andy]

Darkie's now with ESPN.

[stujones]

He's on a limited schedule due to the contract with ESPN. Might even be finished with Sky - he has done some fights this season, but not sure if that was part of finalising his contract with Sky or whether he can still commit to some shows on Sky.

Greatly missed on Sat, IMO.

[mkirkhope]

Darke is a legend for me. One of the few who's commentary really adds to the occasion rather than makes it worse - will be a real shame if that's him finished on sky.

Apparently he became semi-famous in the states after they loved his commentary on football when the USA scored that last minute goal to stay in the world cup.

[keithmoonhangover]

Ian Darke is the man. I really miss his expert opinion and banter.

[REAL_DEAL]

darke is doing the world cup

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0WvBBOJ ... r_embedded

[hazza80]

The 'voice' of boxing!

I'll never forget watching the likes of Tyson, Hoylfield, Lewis etc in the 90's with the great Mr Darke commentating!

He was on talksport recently....said he will do the occasional commentary for SKY when required, but now works full-time for ESPN.

Shame....by far the greatest.

[keithmoonhangover]

The 'voice' of boxing!

I'll never forget watching the likes of Tyson, Hoylfield, Lewis etc in the 90's with the great Mr Darke commentating!

He was on talksport recently....said he will do the occasional commentary for SKY when required, but now works full-time for ESPN.

Shame....by far the greatest.

[boxerbob]

i think rawling is terrible , watt has gotten worse and is so depressing now

[mkirkhope]

My best memory of Darke is during the ringwalks for the Arthur Gomez fight he was going "It is absolute mayhem in here. Absolute bedlam! I can't hear myself think"

That's a real shame if he's largely gone from sky now - head and shoulders above the other commentators.

[lurkyshaka]

i think rawling is terrible , watt has gotten worse and is so depressing now

I agree Rawling is monotone, patronising and miserable.......its a great shame that Darke has all but gone. Rawling isn't on the same level and is annoying and depressing to listen too.

Regarding Watt....well i've always been a supporter because he's been there and done it, but i think he has gone past his sell by date as a ringside commentator. He's so incredibly negative all the time, so pessimistic he's become biased against British fighters. Only able to see what the opposition is doing. Case in point the Macklin/Sturm fight where he'd point out Sturm's punch economy, and ignore the fact that Macklin was far, far busier while Sturm often did nothing but cover up.

Nobody's perfect. But at the end of the day Darke was/is good at his job. He added some drama and knew his stuff. He was SKY's top commentator by a long way.

[THEBUTCH]

Darke was the best Radio commentator IMO. His coverage of Bruno v Tyson 1 was great.

[Deserter]

The 'voice' of boxing!

I'll never forget watching the likes of Tyson, Hoylfield, Lewis etc in the 90's with the great Mr Darke commentating!

He was on talksport recently....said he will do the occasional commentary for SKY when required, but now works full-time for ESPN.

Shame....by far the greatest.

x3

[markinmidd]

knows his stuff and a pleasent fella to us fans when meeting him.

[whiskey]

I heard he was bladdered and rude when a bunch of guys i know met him out there in Vegas.

Thus my respect for him went up !

[keithmoonhangover]

“Phil Collins is in the crowd. I didn’t know he was a boxing fan. I enjoyed his last album.”

The last Collins release when this comment was made? The Best Of Phil Collins.

“He’s a keen chess player but it is the hooks and not the rooks you have to watch out for in this game.”

Ian Darke, stone cold legend.

Amen to that.

[Jon Saxon]

“Phil Collins is in the crowd. I didn’t know he was a boxing fan. I enjoyed his last album.”

The last Collins release when this comment was made? The Best Of Phil Collins.

“He’s a keen chess player but it is the hooks and not the rooks you have to watch out for in this game.”

Ian Darke, stone cold legend.

Amen to that.

x2

[allahsnackbar]

My best memory of Darke is during the ringwalks for the Arthur Gomez fight he was going "It is absolute mayhem in here. Absolute bedlam! I can't hear myself think"

That's a real shame if he's largely gone from sky now - head and shoulders above the other commentators.

Haha I remember that well. Awesome commentator. He was really at his best that night.

[allahsnackbar]

I've had so many nights where I stayed up all night watching undercard fights and then a main event at 4-5am featuring the likes of tyson, mayweather, roy jones, lewis, etc. i thouroughly enjoyed listening to darke for the full duration of the night. he was great to listen to and his sense of humour always brought a smile to my face, even at 5am in the morning! The man knows his boxing and really puts the likes of john rawling to shame. Absolutely puts him to shame. No comparison whatsoever.

not having darke commentating reduces the quality of the broadcast to old timers who have grown up watching and listening to darke all night. sky should have reached into their pockets to keep the chap

[carrotcruncher]

I've had so many nights where I stayed up all night watching undercard fights and then a main event at 4-5am featuring the likes of tyson, mayweather, roy jones, lewis, etc. i thouroughly enjoyed listening to darke for the full duration of the night. he was great to listen to and his sense of humour always brought a smile to my face, even at 5am in the morning! The man knows his boxing and really puts the likes of john rawling to shame. Absolutely puts him to shame. No comparison whatsoever.

not having darke commentating reduces the quality of the broadcast to old timers who have grown up watching and listening to darke all night. sky should have reached into their pockets to keep the chap

Twenty years ago, fans were bemoaning the loss of Reg and Harry. The sport moves on, as has Darke for big bucks from ESPN apparently. He was good, but personally I preferred Harry, and Reg, and Barrington Dalby, and Raymond Glendenning, and Simon Smith, and Des Lynan, and Howard Cosell, and Jim Lampley. In other words, it is the fight that matters. For Harry, we remember little more than "Oh my God, he's won it back at 32. I don't believe it. And he's doing his shuffle." Glendenning and Dalby made such a pigs ear of the Robinson-Turpin fight that the matter was raised in parliament, Darke had an absolute stinker on Hatton's City of Manchester Stadium fight against the Mexican, Simon Smith got old and inebriated, Reg leaned on Jim Watt into his dotage. Cosell retired and then trashed the sport that had made him a fortune, Lampley ..... The truth is that we remember the commentators of old through rose coloured spectacles. They all had their moments, and they all made mistakes. It is the nature of the game. The current Sky team do a great job imho, and we should give credit.

[chinny]

Yes I'm afraid Rawling was awful again on Saturday. He just doesn't ring true for me, whether constantly referring to the sanctioning bodies (who really cares at this point) or suggesting haye v kilt was a good fight, or suggesting there was a good chance Haye would knock him out in the last minute

Ian Darke. I miss him badly now he is gone

[Giancarlo]

Rawlings is bloody terrible.