Personally, I love Gus Johnson, Al Bernstein, and Antonio Tarver as a commentating team. Gus is very good at calling the fight and Bernstein and the "Magic Man" are very insightful, unbiased, and they don't show favoritism. Lampley tends to get excited over nothing, Merchant is an old bafoon who stays complaining, I do like Manny Steward and Roy Jones though. Max Kellerman is cool as well.
I like the SHO team better. don't get me wrong I love HBO and I am actually more used to their feel and how they do their telecasts but SHO has always been my favorite even since back when Nick Charles was around (R.I.P Nick).
It's a preference thing, I like how Tarver calls the fights, he has a calm and humble touch about him and he blends very well with Gus Johnson because even though they are calm they know when to turn it up when it's time and keep the excitement alive, Al Bernstien knows a lot so therefore he only adds, the chemistry there is great. overall I like how they call the action and I like how they do their segments, this is nothing new though I always liked SHO over HBO
I will always support HBO though, to be honest like I said before I'm more used to it but I feel that the inner workers of HBO Boxing's staff don't really do business right, I mean c'mon you gave Andre Berto 1.3 million for fighting Freddy Hernandez?
I like SHO's system better because they do you fair. HBO always puts on BIG fights though so that's a plus for HBO but overall I like SHO better because they put on big fights too and they don't pull punches, I loved how Jim Grey was able to interview Russell Mora so aggressively
just my opinion though...
My fav 3 are Lampley, Merchant, and Steward...Steward says some dumb ass sh** and doesn't really know boxing but I'm used to hear him talk. I like Lennox and Roy sometimes thuough. My favorite is Merchant. And he knows less boxing than anybody!
Yeah, they might not know ****, but they're characters.
My fav 3 are Lampley, Merchant, and Steward...Steward says some dumb ass sh** and doesn't really know boxing but I'm used to hear him talk. I like Lennox and Roy sometimes thuough. My favorite is Merchant. And he knows less boxing than anybody!
Manny Steward is the worst
30 seconds into the fight
Steward : ''Fighter X is looking terrible, no head movement whatsoever, it's going to be a long night.''
and then the 4th of July fireworks come blazing out as fighter x throws a 12-punch combination, placing Steward in a awkward position.
lol
i think it's cause i'm subscribed to only hbo, so i don't watch showtime fights that often, but the hbo crew is the best. tarver and bernstein are good commentators but i don't like any of the other guys. hbo takes it and it's not even comparable.
Bernstein always calls it wrong. He had a good night for Agbeko/Mares, but he's so off more often than not. I don't know if it's his vision or what. And Farhood's voice is an acquired taste I guess. He reminds me of Egon from Ghostbusters, I don't mind it. If you get past his voice, he's far more knowledgeable than Bernstein and Gus Johnson combined. Just because they hand Bernstein a script and let him redub the classics like Joe Louis fights and Sugar Ray, doesn't mean he's actually involved with the sport as in-depth as other commentators. Farhood does telecasts for local shows and broadway boxing, he's always pretty involved with the amateurs as well. Hell, even Gus Johnson will occasionally call a Golden Gloves tourney.
I'll just have to agree to disagree about Bernstein. Farhood is knowledgeable and dedicated to the sport, I'll give him that. LMAO about the Ghostbusters resemblance.
And like I said, I enjoy Merchant for the same reason. He's hilarious, my only problem is that he's also ripping in when it's a good night of boxing. He's kind of the comedy relief for me, that will occasionally drop a gem of commentary if you can get past all of his misquotes (there are usually at least 4 per telecast).
He is almost always negative, but that doesn't really bother me even during a good fight. He is the only person I know involved in boxing who has the gift of poetry, and I'll miss him when he is gone.
I like Lampley (his voice is like the most memorable for some reason, next to Merchant's, but that's because you can't forget Merchant's I'll take 5 minutes to say 4 words).
I don't like Merchant because the dude is so pessimistic about everything. He'll let you know if the fight is boring or not, has nothing insightful to say about the fight but just criticism.
Roy Jones Jr is a great commentator, I also think Foreman is not a bad commentator. They need people with in ring experience. I wish Tyson was a commentator, I bet he'd be a good commentator, probably bring in some hilarity into the fight as well as some knowledge.
You are way wrong on Al Bernstein, the dude has been involved in Boxing for many decades and is very knowledgable about the game, moreso than most commentators. He was even in Rocky V back in 1990, hes been around a long time.
"You are way wrong" is not a very good argument. And I never doubted how old the dude is. I didn't doubt how ugly he is either. Yes, the man has been in the game a very long time, but I still rarely agree with what he sees. He often calls out the wrong punch, misses what's happening on the inside, and most importantly, he chose the worst of all Rocky movies to be in. I do however like him more than Max Kellerman. I'd rather watch his awful scene in Rocky Balboa 10 times in a row than listen to him get lost in another never ending analogy. By the time he's done making a point, he's missed half the action.
merchant is the worst!! but lampley and steward i love.
gus johnson is exciting, bernstein can be a little to bias i think, and tarver is a smiling ass
Roy Jones and Tarver are both incredibly insightful. I was shocked at how much I was enjoying Tarver's commentary. Gus Johnson doesn't know enough about boxing in my book, and neither does Al Bernstein. Personally I think Steve Farhood is way better than Bernstein, Johnson, and that 'special' guy HBO hired, Max Kellerman. These days Lampley isn't so bad, he kinda sons the shit out of Max from time to time, and Merchant, who I believe is personally killing the sport with his cynicism (does he even like boxing anymore?), is pretty hilarious and worth watching. And I can go either way on Steward, sometimes he's dead on, sometimes he's biased and I kind of hate him as a trainer 50% of the time.
You are way wrong on Al Bernstein, the dude has been involved in Boxing for many decades and is very knowledgable about the game, moreso than most commentators. He was even in Rocky V back in 1990, hes been around a long time.
I AGREE!
Showtime Broadcasting Team don't let their PERSONAL FEELINGS take over the Broadcast like Merchant and Steward
HBO Broadcasters turn into CHEERLEADERS DURING THE FIGHT
compared to Gus Johnson who actually seems EXCITED about Salido pulling off the UPSET over JuanMa and his tone didn't change or became less excited...which is how it SHOULD be, but on HBO when the fighter they want to win is getting his a$$ kicked, the Broadcast turns EXTREMELY NEGATIVE!
So for me...NO QUESTION Showtime Broadcast Team is BETTER! Mostly because they have Tarver!
Co-sign.......
BANG, BANG, BANG, LMAO. What the hell is that?
Ahahahah that was terrible. All of them had bad nights, I guess Jim was just borrowing some Joe Rogan tactics and trying to make the fight seem better than it was. My favorite quote is still Lennox going "OHHHHHH, HE GAVE HIM THE WIBBLIES ..... AND THE WOBBLIES!!!!"
I AGREE!
Showtime Broadcasting Team don't let their PERSONAL FEELINGS take over the Broadcast like Merchant and Steward
HBO Broadcasters turn into CHEERLEADERS DURING THE FIGHT
compared to Gus Johnson who actually seems EXCITED about Salido pulling off the UPSET over JuanMa and his tone didn't change or became less excited...which is how it SHOULD be, but on HBO when the fighter they want to win is getting his a$$ kicked, the Broadcast turns EXTREMELY NEGATIVE!
So for me...NO QUESTION Showtime Broadcast Team is BETTER! Mostly because they have Tarver!
i like the HBO team more.
but i really dont mind the showtime team at all they're pretty cool too
but it just doesn't seem right if theres a big fight and Jim Lampley isnt calling it