Comments Thread For: HBO is Leaving Boxing After 45 Years, Network Announces

[j.razor]

Lampley's getting up there in age but he's still a solid, highly knowledgeable play-by-play guy so wonder if another boxing outlet would pick him up (thinking probably not but we'll see). Have read he'll stay on at HBO in some capacity but not sure what his role would be - I'd assume that "Fight Game" show he has is finished but we'll see on that as well. If Lampley is done as a play-by-play guy I tip my hat to him - he had a fantastic run.

I'd assume the most likely scenario for Max is rejoining the boxing team for ESPN, where he's already employed. HOPEFULLY he replaces Mark Kriegel as the main color commentator - regardless of what you think of Max I think nearly all of us can at least agree he's a more capable commentator than that guy LOL. Kriegel is an excellent writer/storyteller so can maybe be retained in that role but have never thought the guy was a good fit ringside.

jim sucks & he took hbo down with him....LMMFAO!

[Zaroku]

Hallelujah!, amen... praise GOD...

[Fists_of_Fury]

I'm sad tbh. To watch something so great from my childhood, as long as I can remember, die the way HBO boxing did sucks. My Dad was a boxing fan with KO magazine and RING lol. I was born into watching boxing and loved it. I have so many great memories of fights and fighters on HBO boxing. I got to watch Floyd go from a young Champion all the way through his prime on HBO boxing. I got to watch prime Roy Jones go from middleweight up to Heavyweight. Besides the guys listed before here is a list of fighters I liked watching on HBO: Oscar De La Hoya, Shane Mosley, Felix Trinidad, Ike Quartey, Fernando Vargas, Ricardo Mayorga, Vernon Forrest, Pernell Whitaker, Miguel Cotto, Manny Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez, Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield, Riddick Bowe, Mike Tyson, George Foreman, James Toney, David Tua, Arturo Gatti, Johnny Tapia, Naseem Hamed, David Reid, Diego Corrales, Acelino Freitas, Jose Luis Castillo, Zab Judah, Jermain Taylor, Kelly Pavlik, etc... etc... lol

[Fabes88]

Yeah, you just have a problem with their fighters.

HOLD THIS

lol then why would I pay my money to watch them if I had a problem? Come on, grow up.

[j.razor]

Is it my imagination, or did Kellerman actually become worse after the First Take gig was give to him? I don't remember disliking him at all, but he was miserable during the Alvarez/Golovkin fight. Bias from the word "go".

He was good when he was in FNF....then he went to hbo & he was calling it like it was in the Mayweather/de la hoya fight saying Floyd won clearly then he called it like it was when B-Hop fought joke calslappy saying he would rather be Hopkins cuz he was the one who got the knock down & was making joke calslappy miss all his punches while Hopkins was landing & that's where hbo told him to follow the scripted & he has especially since Floyd left hbo & he was bias in the Alvarez/golovkin fight cuz he said no way Alvarez won the fight.

[Diego Rodriguez]

another nail in the coffin of american boxing, sad to see.

Hardcore fans are going to be willing to pay to watch specific channels but the causal fan isn't. Lots of people who started as casual fans became hardcore or semi-hardcore. Casuals aren't going to go out of their way to watch boxing but if they see a fight on HBO they might get hooked. They might get more interested and follow a fighter or maybe follow the sport (become hardcore). Ultimately if boxing specific channels are the future boxing will make money but it will be a marginal sport or I should say even more marginal than it is now in the US.

[Prince Madison]

Hardcore fans are going to be willing to pay to watch specific channels but the causal fan isn't. Lots of people who started as casual fans became hardcore or semi-hardcore. Casuals aren't going to go out of their way to watch boxing but if they see a fight on HBO they might get hooked. They might get more interested and follow a fighter or maybe follow the sport (become hardcore). Ultimately if boxing specific channels are the future boxing will make money but it will be a marginal sport or I should say even more marginal than it is now in the US.

yeah i agree completely mate

[Larry the boss]

HBO hung themselves.....

[Fists_of_Fury]

HBO hung themselves.....

Was sad asf to see.

[Diego Rodriguez]

Showtime, FOX, ESPN and DAZN are spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year for the US rights to boxing matches.

You are brain dead my friend. I think it's you that needs the life support pulled.

I agree to an extent. Boxing in the US though is in decline and I think it will continue. That said it still has a following and there is money to be made. But yes I think US boxing has some serious challenges and I am not sure there are enough good people to figure out how to right the ship in the US.

As for boxing internationally, well that seems to be going very well.

I said this before and I will say it again, big money fights IMO have hurt the sport. The boxers make great money but when your stars only fight two times a year and sometimes only once that isn't good for the sport as a whole.