Sky Boxing

Lads if you think this was bad, it's going to be a whole lot worse for Usyk-Bellew

Everything Bellew does is going to be made way over the top. And when he gets stopped it'll be a "brave performance" and that Bellew proved "he belongs at this level"

 

Adam smith is a clown

 

I know we all accuse the commentators in the UK of being bias, but Sky really do take the **** with it. It's not just Smith, but it filters all the way to the likes of Bellew screaming instructions from ringside (why haven't the BBBofC reprimanded Sky for this? Surely it broke some rules?) and that awful Frazer bloke.

I thought the commentary was fair for Hughie vs Pulev on Channel 5. They acknowledged Fury was down on the cards and likely needed a knockout to win. They make out as if he was robbed or anything which would have been the Sky propaganda.

I also think BT are OK generally. Rawling is much better than Smith and Paul Dempsey can be very cutting with his questions (didn't he call Tete boring and said the match didn't need analysis as it was so bad, could you see Sky being that honest? Especially when Okolie boxes!).

 

I'd like neutral, critical, dispassionate and above all sparse commentary and uninterrupted audio of the corners in between rounds as much as the next obsessive but to be fair to Sky or BT sport for that matter, boxing is something of a minority sport in the UK. They pretty much have to aim their programming at capturing the casual market because without it their investment in it probably doesn't stack up.

The hype, partial commentary etc is probably the difference between the current level of boxing coverage, which I don't believe has ever been equalled in quantity at least and a journey back to the slim picking of ten or 15 years ago. It's just the price you pay.

Having said that, Sky have upped their game in football coverage considerably since the convenient removal of Andy Gray and Richard Keys and the introduction of Neville, Carragher and decent analysis on Monday night football. BT sport are also doing intelligent coverage of their football. So hopefully some of that approach will begin to make it to boxing. Tony Bellew, who is a decent analyst of a fight, did a nice piece for the Povetkin fight.
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Sky are like a cult, brainwashing the vulnerable.

 

BT and Sky both disgust me when commentating on their own fighters , any clueless casual would think Ted Cheeseman is better than a prime Marving Hagler , he fought a good fight but he got hit plenty , Yarde the other week was the worst I've ever heard made reference to his Yarde is making a big name for himself on both sides of the pond and practically eulogising him for beating up a drunk Mecican cabbie who was half his size , 99% of the population of Britain don't know who Yarde is let alone America.