Ward as a commentator.

Which is precisely why I'm glad he's in the booth with those guys.

I thought he made a great point (several times) that it's not easy to run across the ring and knock out another professional fighter just because fans think you should.

That's the sort of perspective that HBO needs at times - that of an actual fighter who has to go in there and deal with the ramifications of recklessness vs that of talking heads who think KOs should happen just because of entertainment.

Ward is terrific as a commentator. Well, other than when he called Garcia 'Martinez' for about a round.

 

He put Lampley and Kellerman in their place for suggesting Jennings-Szpilka was not crowd-pleasing. Really, those two are so annoying when a fight doesn't seem to promise a KO . . .

 

SOB Ward is not crowd pleasing except to his own fans in his home town, not to mention his personal referee, judges, boxing commission, etc. Ward did not even respond when Stevenson called him out, said he would even come down to 168 to fight him.................Ward's knees started shaking.............

 

Of course they did....LoL

 

I think Ward is actually pretty good at the Gig. He does come off smug at times talking about the A side and all that stuff. But he explains things well and you learn something about boxing when he is talking.

Ward is 10 times better than Roy Jones who can't get his words out and then just repeats something that Jim or Max said. Roy Jones is a horrible commentator. Brutal. Its almost as bad as Freddy Roach doing those fights on NBC sports. No disrespect to Freddy, but who in their right mind thought that was a good idea?

 

At the end of the day though, boxing is for entertainment. That's what sells tickets and HBO subscriptions.

No HBO subscriptions, no boxing, no jobs for boxing announcers.

It's not that hard to understand.

For evidence, look at how the numbers decline when Lara and Rigo fight.

Fact is, if every fighter fought like Rigo and Lara, there would be no fight.

 

He was a little biased for Jennings very early in the fight when nothing was happening, but as it turned out, he was guessing correctly lol.

 

Ward would beat Stevenon's ass. If he came down to 168, Stevenson would get his ass beat worse. He can fight Ward after he fights Kovalev-if he wins that fight.

 

He brings insight that Lampley/Kellerman don't bring. And for that, I like listening to him. He's not quite RJ but he's getting better.

 

You sir are correct especially Lampley they expect every fight to be Gatti-Ward might be time for Lampley to retire

 

Respectfully, boxing is entertainment for you.

For the fighter, boxing is his livelihood. And there is a whole different calculus at play than just your entertainment.

IMO, Ward brings great insight into that. While Kellerman/Lampley were chastising Burgos, Ward is pointing out the internal struggle of a fighter in trying to set traps and catch a superior fighter vs running in face first in an attempt to satisfy a few booing fans and 'make the fight'.

For me, I find great value in that sort of analysis. It helps me, as a fan, better understand why the fight is unfolding the way it is. And I always say, if the color commentary isn't making me a smarter fan nor giving me insight into the action in the ring, than what exactly are they doing there?

What u described above has become a big problem with HBO. The 'entertainment' portion of boxing doesn't just have to be rock'em-sock'em robot type of fights. You can watch 2 drunks on a Saturday night punch each other in the face for 'entertainment'.

There can be entertainment value in the display of skills, ring mastery, watching an opponent get mentally broke down, etc. HBO has become too lazy to rightfully promote that.

 

Agreed completely.

When Ward mentioned the 'internal negotiation' going on in a fighter it really solidified -- for me at least -- that he not only has, but provides quality insight. That's a rare thing in a play-by-play-jock-as-commentator.

 

ward, jones, malignaggi, lewis, foreman....these guys individually know more about boxing than all the other talking heads combined.

 

Right man. And if it ain't entertaining, you ain't getting my money.

PERIOD.

What the **** you think I pay mother ****ers for?

You think I'm gonna pay some mother ****er to stand around look at eachother?

Hell no.

I wouldn't watch that **** for free.

At the end of the day, sports are entertainment. If they aren't, they don't get watched.

If you can't deal with that, you might need to think of another line of employement.

Period.

 

Don't really like HBO's crew. Don't dislike them though. Including Rjj. Showtime's crew is better than HBO's. Only guy I liked was Merchant. Personally Jim Lampley was better earlier. I don't know, I prefer Showtime. Paulie is so much better than RJJ and Ward.