And does anyone think that Lampley ever wanted to give a serious backhand to Lederman after an insanely over excited tale of the tape? ...."JIM!!"
OK JIM! JIM, I GOTTA TELl. YA,…! He was a little cartoonish but he loved the sport. I miss HBO commentary - it added to the excitement of the fight. I didn’t always agree with Harold’s scoring though…
Lampleys random stuff was funny too: "Michael Jordan, with Bluetooth technology visible in his right ear". Cotto and Evangelista sitting together with man love for each other. We take a look at Bernard Hopkins who looks out to view his surroundings. When Cotto retired Jim cried for Miguel, it sounded like his orbituary not his retirement lol. And then the night where Tua kod Moorer, says Lampley to Emmanuel (rip): "you're hurting inside aren't you??" Boy was he a fascinating blow by blow commentator, he even opined that big George Foreman had 'enhanced ring generalship' no doubt Jim! You had a great command of the English language! Now let me go and find that Cotto video This content is protected
Jim Lampley was a talented guy but felt his position at HBO occupied a very rare air and at times some of the others didn't belong on Mt. Olympus with him ... Lederman was one but for a long time no one received more condescending attacks on air than George Foreman .. while we all know George was eccentric in a lot of what he said, it was obvious that for quite a while Lampley couldn't stand sharing the booth with him and openly criticized him on air almost as if he was a buffoon ... it made me as a viewer uncomfortable but it all changed the night of the first Bowe - Golota fight when all hell broke out .. This content is protected At the :30 mark you hear Foreman essentially doing his part to protect his colleges and later at the 5:00 minute mark you hear and see Lampley, safely telecasting from a new location in the arena, in a highly emotional manner thanking Foreman for physically protecting him .. From that point on Lampley never treated Foreman on air with anything but the utmost respect, actually handing him softballs during actual fight coverage ..
Great post! I have that same recollection regarding how Foreman was treated on air before and after the Bowe vs Golota fight. Lampley never was dismissive of Foreman's opinion on air again after that night.
I got a kick out of Lederman’s overexcited delivery. I would wonder if he took some of the pills from the pharmacies he worked at. “Nobody can be saved by the bell, including the 12th and final round. JIM!” “I gotta tell you”
