Love them or hate them, the analysts for these fight networks do add something to the event. I think (and I'm surprised) that to me, Teddy Atlas is the best. Opinionated, brutally honest but the guy knows his stuff. Manny Steward, I respect greatly but he seems to be slipping a bit. May be because he works with Larry Merchant. Speaking of Larry Merchant, I can tolerate him but I know a lot of the people he works with can't stand him. Al Bernstein, steady, reliable and insightful. I rate them this way: Atlas Bernstein Steward Merchant comments? criticisms? thoughts? Other that need mentioning are Lampley, Kellerman, Lewis, Foreman, Jones, Jr, Matthews, Charles, Farhood, Tessitore, Johnson, Tompkins, Cryz, O'Grady, Albert, Tyson.
of those four, i'd rate them: 1 - bernstein, 2 - atlas, 3 - steward, 4 - merchant I think Steward gives more fight analysis and tactical insight than merchant. I'll think about the others you listed.
Atlas altough his predictions are **** he actually knows to analyze and knows what he talks about. Bernstein is decent.
1. Bernstein 2. Atlas 3. Merchant 4. Steward* *Steward deserves the bottom 4 spot just for saying that Antonio Margarito has a very under-rated defence. atsch
Using all your names: 1. Bernstein 2. Farhood 3. Czyz 4. Merchant 5. Mathews 6. Steward 7. Atlas 8. O'Grady 9. Jones 10. Tyson 11. Foreman Kellerman - so lousy and unqualified shouldn't even be on the list Play-by Play 1. Tompkins 2. Tesstitore 3. Albert 4. Lampley Johnson?? I'm not even sure who that is?
Merchant and Lampley have some kind of spark when they speak that makes you enjoy the fights, what I dont like about HBO is Lederman, I never agree with his scorecards
teddy is always spot on with his keys to winning the fight for each fighter which makes me wonder how he's so god damn terrible at predictions. I go Atlas, Bernstein, Farhood, Kellerman (i think he's alright and brings a great energy and brings appeal to a younger generation of fans). I find Foreman to be horrible and Lewis is pretty bad too, Lewis always just says what he'd do if he was in there without considering that the fighter he's referring too has a totally different style and different strengths and weaknesses than him, it's like he doesn't get that not everyone can fight his style. as for play by play tessitore is my favorite.
I'd go Bernstein then Atlas. Honorable mention to Lampley because the way he speaks about boxing makes me honestly believe that he genuinely loves the sport even though he is a world class nutthugger. Fish-eyed Kellerman is horrible.
Of the ones you mentioned, Berstein is the best one...especially paired with Gus Johnson (basically fills Lampley's role on SHO from time to time), who is by far the best in the business (too bad he doesnt call fights nearly enough).
everyone has their positives, unlike the Versus guys who think every fight could be a draw. I wish Kellerman was a third guy with Nick Charles and Wally Matthews.
I'd say Bernstein "feels" the wisest to listen to, but I find Lampley and Co. more entertaining. IMO, Steward says a lot of what he's TOLD to say, and what NOT to say by HBO. A lot of fights, Steward could tell what time of what round the **** is goin' down.
I really dislike the ESPN crew at times. Sometimes Atlas is so focused on being a trainer that he doesn't always give credit for what a fighter IS doing. Other times though Atlas is a very good broadcaster. I'd say Atlas is in the top 3. Joe Tessitore does kind of a bland Jim Lampley impersonation and if you count Brian Kenny, it's a really rough crew to listen to sometimes. I'd say overall though Atlas carries it. Depends on what version of the Showtime crew yer talking about. Charles and Farhood are brutal at times and can be complete homers for the favorite of the fight. Nick Charles also scares me...he looks like the sort of dude who drives a Free Candy van. Al Bernstein is great though aside from the occasional mistake. Nobodies perfect though. Farhood and Bernstein work well as a combination. Jim Lampley is the voice of boxing IMO. As an analyst he's relatively worthless but his voice, emotion and all around act makes him one of my favorite broadcasters. He remind sme of John Madden to be honest. Even though they're not great "analysts", they do a tremendous job of being emotionally involved and displaying the sort of overall quality that's hard to replace. Larry Merchant is just as good as what he does, the grizzled old prospector of an analyst. Emmanuel Steward can say some severe bull**** but he's a welcome addition to the table. HBO's B-Team is just awful though. I appreciate Kellerman's love for the sport but as a commentator he tries TOO hard to be a hybrid Lampley/Merchant/Howard Cossell sort of act. I think if HBO is truly committed to using Kellerman, he should be used as the lead (in Lampley's spot) and get a more entertaining more focused guy to be the Merchant replacement they're dying for. Don't get me started on Bob Papa, the guy is as worthless as a poopy flavored lollipop. Lennox Lewis is only as good as the weed he brings to the event. As for the boxers turned analyst? Bobby Cyz was great. He was knowledgeable, solid enough to take the lead and fine tuned enough to be the buddy cop if he had to. George Foreman is essentially the pinnacle of stupidity as an anlyst, he would say things that never made sense and then laugh it off as though we were just supposed to "go with it." The sad thing is that we all did because George has that kind of personality.
Yo' Arriba, fantastic post. ESPECIALLY loved (and agree with you!) the Nick Charles Free Candy Van, which I have no doubt is fully equipped with a sliding side door but NO windows. LOL.