Howard Cosell or Larry Merchant?

[straightjab65]

I have to go with Cosell. I hate larry merchant, he talks with no emotion, it always sounds like he's reading. Cosell was a great personality in a golden era of boxing.

[stix]

Truth is, for me, they both suck. I'd much rather hear Emmanuel Steward, or a retired boxer, doing the commentation.

"I'm gonna let everybody know - that thing you got on your head is a phony, and it comes from the tail of a pony!"

[joeboxer]

what complaints were there ever about Cosell? I wasnt alive when he was brodacasting but ive heard him comment fights and he seems to be fairly impartial and jsut tell it like it is

Cossel felt that boxing was too violent and he made his opinions known, he was assigned to do commentary but he wasn't even a real boxing fan.

He eventually left commentary because he was so disgusted by a particular fight that he felt (rightly so) the reffere should have stopped much earlier.

[STEELHEAD]

i recall cosell being hated on because he sided with mohamed ali who a lot of people dispized because of the draft stuff. cosell could call a fight beter than anyone. man i remember seeing ali kiddingly fake slap him around then take his toupee off his head and buff his bald dome all in fun all while cosell was trying to get a straight interview out of him. i'm white and i thought it was crazy how so many white cornpones hated ali even when he was cassius and before his draft problems. the 1960's was still pretty much like it was during jack johnsons days.