He really brought out the excitement of the fight and was a hell of an announcer! Miss him as well...
This has been such an interesting thread. I always thought it was a given that Jim Lampley was very good at his job. That doesn't mean I thought everyone liked him. I just assumed everyone could tell he was well spoken and knowledgeable. Obviously, I was wrong. (I don't say that much. ) I am one of those who do miss Lampley and the HBO broadcasts. That being said, I could have done without the original Captain Obvious, Roy Jones Jr. I also don't think three or four people are necessary for a broadcast. If I could pick a two man team I would go with Lampley and the very impressive Paulie Malignaggi. He was about the only color man who actually said things I didn't already know. I hear Paulie now on lower level broadcasts and he is constantly needing to explain to and correct his broadcast partners.
Some nights, when the moon hangs over my living room like a championship belt above the ring, I find myself missing Jim Lampley and the old HBO boxing team the way a fighter misses the sweet sting of leather after the final bell. It’s as if the airwaves are a smoky, half-lit gym, and all the voices that once painted the canvas with poetry and punch stats have packed up their spit buckets and gone home.
Im not gonna lie dude, I basically stopped watching boxing after HBO went down... I miss "hello!, I'm Jim Lampley". Lol the air of nostalgia and the feelings of making an event special, the crew was my favorite. I respect him so much. I loved his candid interview when he said basically "I was living a dream job, sleeping with many beautiful women, I was smoking pot " what a cool dude. I have a feeling that he gets to know the fighters more than we really think. Like when he cried for Miguel Cotto, some thought he died but nah jim was just getting emotional over his retirement. Every other commentator in the team was valued imo too, any of them. Boxing isn't the same anymore. Also Jim's randomness was unique: 3 occasions I remember, straight up Jim said "Filipinos, sitting and cheering for their idol Manny Pacquiao" lol. And "Bernard Hopkins as we observe him while he observes before the fight" lol bhops was just doing nothing lol. And lastly "Michael Jordan with visible blue tooth technology in his right ear" lol when it was a new technology lol. I gave showtime a strong second, and espn third place.
I'm pretty sure lamps is in his golden years now, it's nice the TV execs are bringing him back to commentate for special events. But yeah, i used to be glued to my tv during boxing after dark and hbo PPV. Methinks the reason it went down was because game if thrones was more lucrative, more buyers, more viewers, more jobs being made, just making HBO more money in general while boosting the economy. While In boxing, the sport where mostly all the money went to two people , the fighters. Yes it's a greedy sport and it was time for a change. People don't know how much I miss it!!!
Even the so called b-teams were great. Sean o’grady, Bernstein, Albert, all these guys are better than what we get these days.
It really is infuriating how bad the vast majority of commentators are these days. I never want to hear Mauro on the mic again
