Who is your favorite ex-boxer turned color commentator?

Sean O’Grady should be on this list.

Ken Norton and Jerry Quarry were both also quite good imo.

 

Jerry Quarry was the first one to come to my mind.

 

Tommy Loughran back in the 1950's

 

Yes! Sean "The Champ " O'Grady was gold on Tuesday Night Fights.

 

Malignaggi was always good on Sky until the woke corporates there got rid of him. ''We've gotta stop looking for opportunities to give Bellew rounds guys.'' A great quote during Usyk vs Bellew as Haye and Froch pretended Bellew was winning the fight. Jim Watt was always brilliant. In all honesty, almost all the other ex-pros I've heard doing commentary were the absolute dregs.

 

Roy Jones Jr is the best one IMO. Honest, straight to the point, and fair.

Foreman wasn't the best commentator but I still miss hearing him calling fights regardless. Just something about his personality that made it worth listening even if he sometimes missed the mark at times.

 

I never understood a word Jim "Rab Nesbitt" Watt ever uttered.

 

Rocky Marciano

 

I will say this: I despised Ward as a boxer, but he's pretty darn eloquent in front of a mic.

 

If we are talking about best fighting sport commenter then I'm a big Bas fanboy.

 

Tex Cobb was actually an excellent commentator. Not sure why he didn't get more fight assignments.

 

If I had to rank those listed - Roy, Tarver and Ward would be up top, while Ray Leonard and Tim Bradley closer to the bottom. Hagler I think I heard only couple times, once for some Italian fight with Kalambay (Barkley?), other Toney vs McCallum one. He was cool to listen too, although probably never card about it much and did not see it as a career. McGuigan I mostly saw as the studio expert for Sky - don't think He called many fights as a commentator.
Paulie was great when He was starting off, but seems to have lost his enthusiasm quite quickly.

I also liked Scott LeDoux on ESPN Friday/Wednesday Night Fights a lot. Jerzy Kulej was commentating most of the major shows for many years over here in Poland. Right now lesser known fighter - Maciej Miszkin - is regular expert commentator and He's excellent at it.

 

A guy I wish we could've seen commentate was a guy like Joe Louis, unless he did and I didn't see it likewise with Jack Dempsey both guys really got boxing... Gene Tunney would've been an ace if he'd been honest, Benny Leonard and Archie Moore are the pick of the litter. One who I liked was Marciano, especially on his own you really get to figure out what makes him "tick" - I enjoyed Larry Holmes on the mic.

 

Sean O'Grady