By Jake Donovan
The HBO broadcast team will take on a slightly different look for this weekend’s telecast, its final of an active 2015 boxing season. Former middleweight and light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins will join Jim Lampley and Max Kellerman on the call, filling in this weekend for Roy Jones Jr.
The three-man team will call the live action for the Boxing After Dark segment (HBO, Saturday, 10:15 p.m. ET/PT) of a loaded fight bill, live from Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York. Headlining the card, Luis Ortiz puts his unbeaten record on the line as he faces top contender Bryant Jennings. Opening the telecast, former featherweight champ Nicholas Walters faces streaking Jason Sosa in a super featherweight battle.
Ortiz looks for his third win of a 2016 campaign that has represented a redemption tour after a nine-month suspension for use of a banned substance. Jennings (19-1, 10KOs) fights for the first time since a 12-round loss - which he correctly describes as a learning lesson - to Wladimir Klitschko in April.
A bit more positive momentum comes in the co-feature, although both are terrific matchups. Walters (26-0, 20KOs) was forced to vacate his featherweight title at the scales after missing weight for an eventual 12-round win over Miguel Marriaga this past June, which also aired on HBO. Still, the hard-hitting boxer from Jamaica - who turns 30 next month - remains unbeaten as he looks to conquer a new weight class. In moving up to super featherweight, he faces Sosa (18-1-3, 14KOs), a 27-year old puncher from Camdem, New Jersey who has won 14 straight, including his last 13 by knockout.
Hopkins replaces Jones Jr., who suffered a brutal and potentially career-ending 4th round knockout loss to Enzo Macarrinelli just one weekend ago in Moscow, Russia. It wasn’t cited as the reason for Jones not being on the call this weekend, but rather confirmed by HBO staff and Hopkins himself that that the former two-division champ will instead get the assignment.
Despite his ties to Ortiz (23-0, 20KOs) as a partner with Golden Boy Promotions, Hopkins promised an impartial call.
“Even before Jim Lampley starts to spit on Saturday night, I’m going to put it out there on air, full disclosure that I am a partner with Golden Boy Promotions, who promotes Ortiz,” Hopkins told BoxingScene.com on Thursday after the final pre-fight press conference on site at Turning Stone. “After that, it’s may the best man win and I’m going to break down what both fighters bring to the table and let the fans at home watching know what they seeing in the ring as the fights happen.
"To play it safe, I may even disclose my Philadelphia roots, same as Bryant Jennings. This way, it's all out there and everybody know I'm there to do a job as an announcer and not have any rooting interest."
Hopkins (55-7-2, 32KOs) has performed in this role before, for HBO as well as previously for other outlets. The opportunity to work as an expert analyst was a motivating factor in returning back to the network – and bringing Golden Boy Promotions with him – last year after a brief spell at Showtime.
“Coming back to HBO, I was able to do three things,” Hopkins explained. “One, putting myself in position to beat Sergey Kovalev to collect the belts – I lost the fight (Kovalev scored a 12-round unanimous decision over Hopkins last November), but I was still able to get that fight. Two, it brought Oscar (de la Hoya, founder and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions) and HBO back together, allowing the two to once again do business together.
“And then three… it got me this color commentating gig!”
Also joining the broadcast as has frequently been the case in the past few decades is unofficial scorer Harold Lederman. Saturday’s show will be the first since Lederman – once of the most sincere and honest boxing personalities in the game – was elected into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, it was announced on Wednesday.
HBO will undoubtedly acknowledge the achievement during the broadcast, though a formal retrospective of Lederman’s many years in service will likely come closer to the Hall of Fame induction ceremony next June in Canastota, New York. Fittingly, the card this weekend takes place one exit away off the New York State Thruway in Verona.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox