Who's the greatest boxing commentator of all time

I think the biggest controversy of that year was Lee Marvin's 'Best Actor' gong at the next Oscars, ahead of some excellent performances such as Burton in the Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Steiger in The Pawnbroker. But Sonny's performance as 'Charlie Horizontal' in One Night in Lewisham took some beating.

 

Dunphy is my all time favorite, also really liked Clancy & Ryan, Bernstein.

 

Yeah, I liked hearing Don's voice on the old footage and Al always came across as a top bloke... "John Tate on his back....so's Mike Weaver"

 

Don Sunphy commented on the broadcast of the Muhammad Ali vs Zora Folley title bout on March 22 1967 in Madison Square Garden.

 

On this forum, it is Pugguy.

 

Dunphy never did it for me. I understand he was the ‘voice of boxing’ forever but he is a creature of his time and the style of that time didn’t connect with me much.

To me he’s sort of a radio style broadcaster (which is understandable given the time he came up all broadcasters came from radio) who didn’t really grasp (as most of his day didn’t) the new medium of television that much … people who grew up with TV were much better fits with it IMO. He’s not far from the ‘a left-and-a-right-and-a-left’ style, followed by the opponent coming back with ‘a left-and-a-right-and-alert.’

I never found him to be expertly insightful (which I can forgive) nor greatly at ease like he was having a conversation with the audience nor very poetic — he didn’t capture (for me) moments the way, say, Cosell did with ‘Down Goes Frazier, Down Goes Frazier, Down Goes Frazier’ or make the event feel bigger.

(He was also saddled as TV became more of the medium for big fights with terrible ‘celebrity’ color men who he would have to ask inane questions to to get them to talk and then go along with whatever incoherent thing they blathered, which was no help to Dunphy for sure.’

I think he was serviceable and could sit ringside and tell you what was going on before your eyes, but to my ears he didn’t greatly enhance it. I do understand those of a certain era for whom he might be more like ‘comfort food’ and a familiar voice of their time. Just didn’t connect with me.

 

Respect your opinion. But Howard Cosell was not a very impartial commentator, he was like Jim Lampley and George Foreman were later. Cosell was part of an act with Muhammad Ali, sort of a Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin duo. Ali would chop down an opponent, Cosell would criticize Ali. Lampley was a diehard Tyson fan while Foreman should have voted for Oscar De La Hoya for President. In commentating you have to be impartial, not on any fighters side. Dunphy called it down the middle. In my hometown during the Sugar Ray Leonard vs Daniel Gonzales bout on March 24 1979 in which I attended and had the pleasure of running into Carlos Monzon, the fans booed Cosell, he let it known that he favored Leonard instead of calling the fight down the middle, someone intentionally spilled beer on his toupee, another person walked by and attempted to pull it off. This fight was nationally televised by ABC. Cosell had to hide in an alley behind the Community Center. While I respected the fact that Cosell was a registered attorney, he was never fair.

 

I don’t know that a broadcaster has to be ‘call it down the middle.’ The audience wasn’t tuning in to see Daniel Gonzalez. What’s the biggest crowd he even drew in his hometown (or anywhere) fighting anyone else — so the people who showed up weren’t there to see him either. I doubt most knew or cared who he was.

Sounds very low-class to pour beer on someone and try to take off their toupee and then say it’s the person being bullied/picked on’s fault. What kind of person does that?

It was popular to hate Cosell and razz him because he was pompous. But to pour a drink over someone’s head while they’re doing the job they’re paid to do? That’s terrible behavior. I would bet anything Howard was better and more successful at his job than the little men you’re holding up as examples were at theirs.

Daniel Gonzalez lasted 123 seconds with Ray Leonard. What exactly is Cosell supposed to say about him in that amount of time to be ‘fair and impartial’? He can’t even say the guy is taking punches well, lol.

Yet I reviewed the broadcast and Howard seemed rather kind to Daniel. Talked about his left hook and how he had confidence that he could knock Leonard out if he landed. Talked about his squat, powerful build. Mentioned how he presented a difficult target (which he reasserted after the KO, saying he presented such in the early moments before getting caught). Gonzalez landed all of two punches, one a hook to the chest, which Howard recognized as a hard blow. Given how long the fight lasted, I don’t know what more you were looking for.

I don’t need some dry commentator telling me what I can see. The broadcaster is there to capture the event. If the New York Yankees play a high school team, no broadcaster in the world would spend half the broadcast telling us how Little Timmy was a great shortstop in the local interscholastic league while he’s striking out on three pitches — if he hits three home runs off the Yankees, I’m sure the broadcasters would recognize that.

Putting things in perspective is part of the broadcaster’s job. In Dunphy’s day that wasn’t the case — he watched the same fight you were watching and told you what you were seeing, which you could actually see (a left-and-a-right-and-a-left). That adds nothing to a broadcast. Howard came along at a time (and was probably a pioneer in this regard) where the broadcaster became part of the show — they were encouraged to opine and make forceful statements. If they were wrong, so be it … people would say they were wrong.

Howard MADE Monday Night Football. He might be the guy people loved to hate, but without him the most popular weekly primetime sports show perhaps ever (and most important) would never have taken off.

But 100% without question, if Howard Cosell showed up at a sporting event for a certain time in history it made the event bigger. It said ‘something important is happening here.’ Dunphy never had that heft. Nor was he anywhere near as entertaining.

 

Haha - not at all. But I used to be able to drink as much as Larry Merchant in my "binge" days.

 

I pretty much agree with everything you've written.

And let me say, before there was "Down goes Frazier", there was Ellis' unforgettable "Sonny wobbled! Sonny wobbled!" So, what if Cosell made his observation 3 times in a row, he was obviously plagiarizing the mighty Steve Ellis with a slight tweak.

One thing I recall re Dunphy, there were a few fights when he would observe that a fighter no longer had his mouthpiece, only for Don also say, "I didn't see when it came out". IIRC, the most famous example was when Ali's sizzling right cross sent Frazier's mouthpiece flying across the ring during the Thrilla, allegedly travelling as far as the 3rd row seats.

At any rate, it was impossible to miss but Dunphy didn't say a thing when it happened. But later in the round he did say, "it appears Frazier has lost his mouthpiece". Perhaps old Don fell victim to intermittent micro naps during some fights.

 

Across the pond, I always liked Ian Darke. I’m not sure he was an ‘expert’ but his style, cadence and word choice was often top tier.

I will never forget one call he made at the World Cup for its poetry, after a striker scored a goal with a deft shot: “He could open a can of soup with his left foot.” Not many can come up with that.

 

I hope it wasn't because "Bonnie and Clyde" were entrusted with announcing the Best Actor for that year. You're right that Sonny, as the Maine character, did deserve the golden statue for his authentic depiction of a boxer in La La Land. Worse still, we missed out on what would've been a riotous and ATG acceptance speech from chatty Charles.

 

All the former boxers- let’s you understand how they thought when they fought. Gil Clancy was always good and all the other real boxing coaches.

 

I can imagine it now, Sonny accepting the 'well deserved' award with a simple Chewbacca-esque growl.

Surely not? This is Ali we're talking about, that mouthpiece must have travelled at least 10 rows back, flying at around 100 mph and shattering Imelda Marcos' sunglasses on the way?