Sky Sports Pundits

You make a very good point. Remember that's why the reason Roy Jones, Jr. Never crossed the pond to fight a Euro and defend his title because of situations like we witnessed tonight in the main event between Whyte and Parker. Dillian kept holding down Parker's head forearming him in the throat, pushing him over the ropes all night and the referee didn't so much as a deduct a single point from him. Personally, I wouldn't put it pass that some those British officials are on the take. They are thoroughly corrupt. You could debate why RJJ never came, but he just felt he was THE top guy and A-side, and they should have come see him in the states. Like Joshua with Wilder, he is the shot caller and decides where he wants to fight. But the corruptness isn't only in the UK, it is everywhere. Smart teams make sure it is as even playing field as possible. I blame this on Parker's team more than anything.

Trust me, I've seen PLENTY of Matchroom/Sky Sports cards. I know how they are, but today was horrendous and it often times is like this. I don't care if they are former Matchroom fighters, they need to have some objectivity. They owe it to the viewers to be objective. Officiating was bad, but foreign fighters teams keep allowing Ian John-Lewis to get these assignments. They need to make sure he is not the ref and put in a complaint to the BBBOC.You make a very good point. Remember that's why the reason Roy Jones, Jr. Never crossed the pond to fight a Euro and defend his title because of situations like we witnessed tonight in the main event between Whyte and Parker. Dillian kept holding down Parker's head forearming him in the throat, pushing him over the ropes all night and the referee didn't so much as a deduct a single point from him. Personally, I wouldn't put it pass that some those British officials are on the take. They are thoroughly corrupt.

No it's understandable. It was a U.K. Card which was comprised of a lot of local Brits on it. So the Sky Sports announcing team was only doing their job. They have a working relationship with Matchroom Boxing. Therefore, they were partial in favor of their local fighters. They have to help sell Eddie Hearn's talent roster. If you are not a citizen of the U.K. It's hard to understand and I get that but it's just the way it is. What is unacceptable, however is the officiating; Because they are supposed to remain impartial and neutral while observing the fight. I personally thought that it was horrible Trust me, I've seen PLENTY of Matchroom/Sky Sports cards. I know how they are, but today was horrendous and it often times is like this. I don't care if they are former Matchroom fighters, they need to have some objectivity. They owe it to the viewers to be objective. Officiating was bad, but foreign fighters teams keep allowing Ian John-Lewis to get these assignments. They need to make sure he is not the ref and put in a complaint to the BBBOC.

Yeah for sure Boxing is a crooked sport and every area / territory has their fair share of BS shenanigans that will favour the home fighter But by and large UK is the worst for foreign fighters IMO, It’s a cluster f.uck tornado that combines the worst of HBO commentary, Texas Judges and Washington Refs all swirled together in a Union Jack to make it almost impossible for a foreign fighter to fight on a level playing field The foreign fighter's team needs to be on top of things and make sure they get better refs. Forget the judges, a lot of times the refs are the determining factor. Parker's team looks abysmal so I blame them for allowing Lewis to be the ref tonight.

I mean there are hometown advantages pretty much anywhere, and there have been bad scores/robberies in the states against the away fighter as well. But per fight, I do agree it is tougher to get an away decision or fair shake in the UK. That could be simply due to the crowd and incompetent refs. EVERYONE knows Lewis is one of the, if not the WORST ref in the UK and yet he keeps getting these big fight assignments. You could argue Parker's camp should have know better and objected that choice and had them pick someone else. Yeah for sure Boxing is a crooked sport and every area / territory has their fair share of BS shenanigans that will favour the home fighter But by and large UK is the worst for foreign fighters IMO, It’s a cluster f.uck tornado that combines the worst of HBO commentary, Texas Judges and Washington Refs all swirled together in a Union Jack to make it almost impossible for a foreign fighter to fight on a level playing field

**** Sky. That is all.

The problem here is that they are ex British boxers who know the British boxers which does lead to bias... simply because many are friends... Agreed. Does Adam Smith come up with the broadcasting team or is it someone else? Obviously being linked to Matchroom they will have their fighters, but you may want fighters who have retired for some time or don't have the same connection to Hearn. They at times make Watt look competent and we know how bad he was towards the end of his tenure. Watched so many fights on youtube with Ian Darke commentating, and man was he bloody goooood (Prince Naseem voice).

The ref's are definitely a problem here i think. As for judging, it seems to be getting a bit like Germany used to be. Then again, i think that applies everywhere now. I think it's just promoters and occasions having an influence over judges. Can you imagine anyone would get a close decision v AJ in the UK on a Matchroom show? - i doubt it. Same as Canelo and his fights. If the best thing the judges can give Canelo is a draw, you know there's no way he won that fight. So that side of things goes on everywhere. The problem is that people only look at bad scoring when the fights go to a decision. If people look at scorecards before fights have been won by knockout, you'll see that many fights are extremely badly scored and certain fighters were never going to lose on points, but they seem to get ignored. Again, I think take crowd could be a factor there for the scoring. Or at least part of it. UK or at least a lot of these Matchroom cards have good crowds for the main event fighter or just a local favorite, and they erupt anytime they throw something, regardless if it lands or not. Like I said, it is hard to get fair shakes anywhere, but a bit harder in the UK IMO. Despite the robberies stateside, the away fighter will still be able to take the belt from the hometown guy more than say in the UK. But that is what it is. A bigger problem is the reffing. It's just bad. It's like Kenny Bayless in Floyd vs Maidana II type of bad, even worse. And it happens far too often. The quick stoppages is another thing to worry about. So yeah, I'd say the reffing is a bigger problem than the scoring.

My goodness, what the hell were that babbling about all fight and scoring the fight? I think Bellew said at one point he had Whyte up 10 POINTS? How the hell is that possible? Parker clearly won the 1st round, 5th round, the last three rounds and then you could argue the 4th round. He was clearly winning the 2nd round and the BS KD turned that round upside down for him. But I just don't get their analysis 90% of the time. I remember Froch had Brook up 5-1 against Spence and made it seem like it was a domination. And I thought at that time that was bad, but they keep getting worse and worse. I don't know what is worse at the moment, Sky Pundits or the crap comparisons we hear from Max Kellerman LOL. I've seen some very good analysts and commentators in the UK, but SKY can't get any of them? Their lower level cards get damn solid commentating. Anyways, some enjoyable moments in the two HW showdowns. Now on to the SHO card tonight! The problem here is that they are ex British boxers who know the British boxers which does lead to bias... simply because many are friends...

I mean there are hometown advantages pretty much anywhere, and there have been bad scores/robberies in the states against the away fighter as well. But per fight, I do agree it is tougher to get an away decision or fair shake in the UK. That could be simply due to the crowd and incompetent refs. EVERYONE knows Lewis is one of the, if not the WORST ref in the UK and yet he keeps getting these big fight assignments. You could argue Parker's camp should have know better and objected that choice and had them pick someone else. The ref's are definitely a problem here i think. As for judging, it seems to be getting a bit like Germany used to be. Then again, i think that applies everywhere now. I think it's just promoters and occasions having an influence over judges. Can you imagine anyone would get a close decision v AJ in the UK on a Matchroom show? - i doubt it. Same as Canelo and his fights. If the best thing the judges can give Canelo is a draw, you know there's no way he won that fight. So that side of things goes on everywhere. The problem is that people only look at bad scoring when the fights go to a decision. If people look at scorecards before fights have been won by knockout, you'll see that many fights are extremely badly scored and certain fighters were never going to lose on points, but they seem to get ignored.

No it's understandable. It was a U.K. Card which was comprised of a lot of local Brits on it. So the Sky Sports announcing team was only doing their job. They have a working relationship with Matchroom Boxing. Therefore, they were partial in favor of their local fighters. They have to help sell Eddie Hearn's talent roster. If you are not a citizen of the U.K. It's hard to understand and I get that but it's just the way it is. What is unacceptable, however is the officiating; Because they are supposed to remain impartial and neutral while observing the fight. I personally thought that it was horrible

Let’s be real UK has a great boxing fan base But everything from the ref, Judges , commentary is almost always stacked against the away fighter. Out of towners almost never get a fair shake in the UK and it’s always been this way. More often then not there’s complaints about 1 if not all of these components when a Brit fights a out of towner The Brits have jimmy rigged the system to give their Home country fighters every possIble advantage no wonder only a select few want to travel outside of the country if they don’t have to And no wonder most foreign fighters would rather fight elsewhere unless they get paid a stupid amount to either sell their strap or cash in on their name I mean there are hometown advantages pretty much anywhere, and there have been bad scores/robberies in the states against the away fighter as well. But per fight, I do agree it is tougher to get an away decision or fair shake in the UK. That could be simply due to the crowd and incompetent refs. EVERYONE knows Lewis is one of the, if not the WORST ref in the UK and yet he keeps getting these big fight assignments. You could argue Parker's camp should have know better and objected that choice and had them pick someone else.

Have to agree. Bellew's scoring was laughable. I had it at one point like 4-3, and this guy is saying, I have it 69-63. I was like WTF? Then he mentions the 10 point lead heading into the 12th round and I all but lost it. I knew the judges scoring was going to be much closer and how much of an idiot he was going to look like. Again, a BS KD was the lone difference in the fight. Without it, we have a draw!!!

Let’s be real UK has a great boxing fan base But everything from the ref, Judges , commentary is almost always stacked against the away fighter. Out of towners almost never get a fair shake in the UK and it’s always been this way. More often then not there’s complaints about 1 if not all of these components when a Brit fights a out of towner The Brits have jimmy rigged the system to give their Home country fighters every possIble advantage no wonder only a select few want to travel outside of the country if they don’t have to And no wonder most foreign fighters would rather fight elsewhere unless they get paid a stupid amount to either sell their strap or cash in on their name

Hating on Brits just to hate? Come on man, this was truly a pathetic showing by the commentating team and it often is. And you bring up Kellerman? Great, I called him out in my post to so not sure your point. Atlas is a mad man and that is why he is no longer a commentator on ESPN. The guy they replaced him with Kriegel is also something special.....and not in a good way. But I believe it was the 7th round where Parker landed almost every significant shot of the round, and Bellew kept going on and on about Whyte bullying him and dominating the round when he barely even threw punches in that round. And the 10 points on my card line was just out of this world baffling. It's just a bad mix to be honest. You can't have Bellew AND Froch together. Like for a three man booth, one ex-fighter is all you need. The other two have to be more even keeled guys. One PBP pundit, and another guy like Al Bernstein who will make his comments throughout the fight, but won't be doing the crap Froch and Bellew do. Have to agree. Bellew's scoring was laughable.

Another thing that makes me laugh is that they just tell lies sometimes. Saying things like nobody ever stopped Takam like Chisora did when Povetkin stopped him in good fashion too.

Scorecards were far too wide but froch was very considerate towards both Takam and Parker. Froch knew straight off that Parkers gameplan wasnt effective, they can only call what they see and that includes the officiating. If IJL is giving whyte a very lenient fight, then froch calls it way and mentioned it numerous times. Froch said specifically where parker was faling and he was right.. Bellew is bellew.. hes a knob, not a commentator, what do you expect? Haye was also very impartial in the chisora fight. Hatin on brits just to hate, very very sad considering Kellerman and Atlas etc etc have been just as guilty of ****e commentary Hating on Brits just to hate? Come on man, this was truly a pathetic showing by the commentating team and it often is. And you bring up Kellerman? Great, I called him out in my post to so not sure your point. Atlas is a mad man and that is why he is no longer a commentator on ESPN. The guy they replaced him with Kriegel is also something special.....and not in a good way. But I believe it was the 7th round where Parker landed almost every significant shot of the round, and Bellew kept going on and on about Whyte bullying him and dominating the round when he barely even threw punches in that round. And the 10 points on my card line was just out of this world baffling. It's just a bad mix to be honest. You can't have Bellew AND Froch together. Like for a three man booth, one ex-fighter is all you need. The other two have to be more even keeled guys. One PBP pundit, and another guy like Al Bernstein who will make his comments throughout the fight, but won't be doing the crap Froch and Bellew do.

Sky and HBO is so unbelievably bad its beyond ridiculous at this point This^^^^ I've been watching fights on mute for awhile now

Not really sure why you think scorecards were so bad. Whyte has two knockdowns to his name and was comfortably winning all the mid to late rounds;without Parker’s last round knock down it would have been much wider cards

Am a brit and am sick and tired of listening to sky commentators sucking off their fighters it gets under my skin. I thought it was a close fight Whyte deserved to win but every success Parker was getting got not mention and the ref saved whtye there no excuses absiur that. When AJ fights it's 10x worse because he's the golden goose that pays them the handsomely. It's the same with Top rank fitjefs /commentary.