Mills Lane is the best ref I ever saw, Howard Cosell was the best announcer

Like fine wine from grand old kegs, I spring anew each year. In my time

long now past, as I'm in my fifty first year, I've seen so many things

change and well this is one mans opinion. You well know what opinions are

like. ......but for what its worth, in my time,..... the best ref I ever saw, was

the venerable Mills Lane. Professional, sharp and always in control.

Constantly garnering the respect of the fighters and a Commanding

presence in the ring. He was simply the best boxing ref I've ever seen.

Howard Cosell, a man of immense verbal dexterity, able to bring the

human element to the foreground of any event. Translating to the

masses the drama and glory of a Championship fight, like no one has

before or since. He was an event describing the event, Simply the

greatest broadcaster the world of sport has ever known. There you have it,

one mans opinion. These days I have to make due with Max Kellerman, I have seen more than Max, how old was fuking Max and

where exactly was he,when Arguello and Pryor were exchanging hammer shots, I ask you? and

that my friend is exactly my point.

 

Agreed

 

I respect your opinion, and your 51 years. I am not far behind. This was a nice post. But you must know that Cosell was polarizing to viewers, and that he ruined the viewing experience for more people than he gave pleasure to. Still, he was well known, and was a macher in broadcasting in his day, and that counts for something I suppose.

For the sake of balance, I had no problem with Mills Lane, but Tyson in his book had all kinds of problems with him with the Holyfield headbutts and bias he attributed to him. But he was a showman ("Let's get it on") and should get credit for that also.

 

Cosell was a terrible announcer

 

lane was an ok ref
but ****ed tyson against holyfield
by pretending to be blind and not see holyfrield's headbutts
but then again other refs do the same with holy and hopkins


cosell had a cool voice
but i doubt he ever put on a par of gloves to even hit a bag


typical ali match he would announce

"ali is lighting him up"

then you see a reply and ali throws 5 punches
norton slips 4 and blocks one 1 lol

 

I must respectfully tdisagree. he was biased and often was insulting and attempted to be bigger than the events he covered.Scott LeDoux should always be recognized for kicking off is toupee ant Randall Tex Cobb is bode a debt of gratitude for hastening his exit from the sport.

I thought Mills was a class act.

 

Cosell was a self-promoting blowhard who used Ali to become famous. He knew nothing about boxing but was colorful in a generation that took WWF seriously. He was a showman, nothing more. Mills Lane was a good referee who had a pretty good amateur boxing career. I always respected him. Once asked why he quit boxing he replied and I paraphrase that he just wasn't good enough to become a great professional fighter. Jim Lampley brings the same excitement to his broadcasting of fights as Cosell without all the silliness. Lampley actually knows the difference between a right cross and an overhand right which helps.

 

I agree on Lane, but HOWARD COSELL??? He wasn't even close to the best boxing announcer. As others have said, Cosell was a blowhard who really knew nothing about the sport, and then trashed it when it suited his egotistical purposes.

 

cosell stunk. the max kellerman of his day.

 

I liked Mills a lot. He was a judge when he was not refereeing. Sharp guy.

Cosell on the other hand, is a far different story. He didn't tell the story, he wanted to be in the middle of it, which is not a commentators role. He had a huge ego, thinking he was as big as Ali. Ali, to his credit, allowed Cosell to be a part of the drama. That was Ali's brilliance, not Cosell's. The best commentators are the ones that enhance a story while hardly knowing they are there. Ted Robinson, though not a boxing commentator, is an example today of excellence in commentating.

 

I respect Lane 100%...
I'm going against the grain & say Richard Steele is the GOAT ref in my lifetime.
(I forgive you Rich for Tyson/Ruddock)
^Chavez/Taylor was 100% the right call too. :deal

Fav announcer... I'm going Barry Tompkins

 

Al Bernstein for me.
Max is better than yall give him credit for being. He does respect the history of the sport. Not always right, but certainly does his homework. Will ask tuff questions without being a-hole sounding like Larry Merchant.

 

i agree 100% about mills, but howard was a bit over the top for my taste, i much prefer ferdie pacheco.

 

Max is a decent guy. Knows boxing but what bothers me is that he is given a shot at such a young age. The only reason he got the shot is he came out of NYC and because the boxing industry is dominated by Jews. Go down the list and more than half of the announcers are Jewish. None of them are ex-boxers, either. It is what it is but I think there are a lot of potentially great announcers who are not given the shot. Cosell, by the way, was Jewish.

 

Yeah. What the hec is that. Total BS