Question about HBO commentators, Do you like them?

Larry Merchant might be the worst commentator in sports. Slow as ****, doesnt really know much about boxing, and only likes a certain style of fighter. His monologues at the end of fights are hilariously bad. Cant wait till he dies mid boring ass sentence.

Lampley is ok. Lies while commentating. Be like of Al Michael was calling a game and said a team got a first down when they fumbled.

Steward knows his **** and you can tell he cant stand larry merchant. But he is one of those good ole boy black dudes who wont put a dumb idiot like Merchant in his place, unlike Roy or Foreman who've given Merchant the business on many occassions.

Kellerman is ok. But hell having Paulie D call the action is better then Larry Merchant.



Showtime crew is miles better though.

 

A Merchant doesnt have is favorite fighters.

 

So, does this mean you're on the fence 'bout Larry? MW

 

they are my preferred crew, whether thats because they are the best or just that im so used to them IDK..

Lampley is awesome btw

 

They have good nights and bad. They can still really enhance my enjoyment of a fight, but just as often these days they make me cringe.

Lampley can often capture the drama going on in a fight or give a sense of the excitement, but he can also get way too caught up in narrative and gloss over what's actually occurring in the ring. This can sometimes be a matter of him simply prattling on about how poor Victor Ortiz is or some other sentimental nonsense while action is occurring in the ring. Even worse though is when he lets his expectations for a how fight will go determine the way he's seeing and calling a fight, no matter whether what's actually occurring mirrors those expectations or not. Unfortunately these two things seem to be occurring more and more frequently these days.

I generally dislike Merchant. I believe he lets his aesthetic preferences bias his commentary way too much. Additionally, despite his reputation as a straight shooter, his negativity often makes it difficult to sit through a fight. He made Wlad-Haye 10X more unwatchable than it needed to be, for example. At the same time, he's still able to surprise me with moments of lucidity; I thought he handled the post-fight in Alexander-Matthysse very well.

I like Kellerman, but I understand why people find him annoying. He seems to be able to call spades spades just as well as Merchant, but has the added benefit of actually seeming to still enjoy the sport. Steward can offer good insights into what's going on, but like Lampley, often seems to let his expectations for how a fight will go make him overlook unexpected things that are actually going on in the ring (e.g., not shutting up about Williams' perfect gameplan whilst missing the repeated lefts Martinez was landing up to the KO). Jones sounded much better during his first stint, and all too often comes across as the company man/apologist for the hyped fighter. Lederman's scoring is generally bad in close fights.

 

The HBO crew is elite. You can't get any better. Except for Kellerman, who should be liquidated or transferred to whatever job dumb ass white boys are good for, God knows what that would be.

 

I liked the HBO commentators in the 1980s Merchant and Tompkins and Leonard. They have changed a little.. but they are good no denying that. I do not like the young man Kellerman. I do not think he is up in the top level of commentating.

 

I like them though merchants slow delivery can be a pain and lampley gets on my nerves at times

i dont mind kellerman and merchant and dont get the hate

 

The only time i remember disliking Merchant was when he asked Katsidis about the death of his brother and then cut him off. I know he probably got word in his ear to do so but i would have allowed him to talk and cut out Jim Lampley's final word.

 

larry merchant is p4p no. 1

@ts - joe rogan will kick your ass!!!! literally....see joe rogan's youtube about reverse kick something....