[Franchize]

Okay guys, this has been looming in my head for months, and I have to put this out there. It's obvious as hell that HBO is going to be the network to air the "Megafight", not that we should care much about whether it happens or not.

With that said, HBO has seemed to thrive on this, and KNOWING that the richest fight in boxing history will be aired on their station, has created this huge wave of bias, to say the least. I know that they push their house fighters, fine, that's what the network is supposed to do, but when it gets this out of control, it exceeds disgusting.

Lampley - After last night's main event, he truly chaps my ass to no end. He doesn't know shit about the action taking place in the ring, and his bias towards fighters has gotten horrendous. Listening to him becomes more of a nightmare with each fight that he calls.

Merchant - If he doesn't see a guy's organ aren't hanging out of his body, then he's obviously in a pissy mood. In no way does he further belong on the network.

Steward - What an embarrassment! For a guy that has been training as long as he has, he's now resulted to providing minimum boxing knowledge, and piggy-backing off of Lampley, who doesn't know his ass from his elbows. All he is capable of now, is reflecting on the Tommy Hearns days, which means shit, if he cant provide significant info on what's going on right in front of him.

Kellerman - He's grown on me and is likely to speak on what's actually happening in the ring, rather going along with the current agenda.

With all of this said, it seems like HBO has become arrogant as hell, since they know that the big fight will be on their network. It goes from Pac, Roach's sub par training, Khan, Donaire, Martinez, Chavez Jr., and a few others...when it comes to their bias and agenda pushing.

Rather than using this megafight exposure to help raise the ratings, they'd much rather "sell" these so-called "name" fighters and vomit a bunch of useless, bias, horseshit that usually sways viewers' perspective on what they're really watching with their very eyes.

Who else sees this resulting from HBO knowing that the megafight will be on their network?

It's post like this that drew me to join this site! Excellent post! You really hit the nail on the head about every single "character" (and I purposely used that word to describe them as that's what they've become). I've been spewing the same 2 words for the last 2 years to all of my friends: Irresponsible Journalism! You see it with Mike Breen in basketball. You see it with Trent Dilfer in football. You see it with Lampley in boxing. These so called analysts are talking nonsense to prove a point they've made and hammer home an agenda. It's as detrimental to the sport as any referee, any scorecard and any drug test. Today's sports, especially with social media, is fueled by the casual fan...not the diehard fans.So if you are watching a sport and trying to get into it, and you are wet behind the ears in what to look for, you are being coerced, like it or not, by the commentators you hear and the crowd reactions. So when analysts say BS like Manny has some of the best footwork the sport has ever seen OR a journalist writes Floyd Mayweather is clearly ducking OR when suspect shit like Manny having a tattoo parlor attached to his gym gets overlooked OR when Larry Merchant says Kelly Pavlik is going to be one of the best middleweights ever....it incorrectly molds the minds of casual viewers. It makes people question reality even if it's right in front of their faces.

Dan Rafael, as dedicated to the sport as he is, conveniently omits things from his articles about Manny because he knows he has to sit with Freddy on EPIX ( and he completely sucks up to him every time).

There's no legit reason why fighthype, as phenomenal a job they do with the exclusive interviews and unfiltered quotes, isn't more mainstream.

There's no legit reason why a wise boxing mind like Teddy Atlas has been confined to ESPN.

It's all politics. Create an imagery and suppress anyone trying to wipe the bullshit from our eyes.

[daprofessor]

It's post like this that drew me to join this site! Excellent post! You really hit the nail on the head about every single "character" (and I purposely used that word to describe them as that's what they've become). I've been spewing the same 2 words for the last 2 years to all of my friends: Irresponsible Journalism! You see it with Mike Breen in basketball. You see it with Trent Dilfer in football. You see it with Lampley in boxing. These so called analysts are talking nonsense to prove a point they've made and hammer home an agenda. It's as detrimental to the sport as any referee, any scorecard and any drug test. Today's sports, especially with social media, is fueled by the casual fan...not the diehard fans.So if you are watching a sport and trying to get into it, and you are wet behind the ears in what to look for, you are being coerced, like it or not, by the commentators you hear and the crowd reactions. So when analysts say BS like Manny has some of the best footwork the sport has ever seen OR a journalist writes Floyd Mayweather is clearly ducking OR when suspect shit like Manny having a tattoo parlor attached to his gym gets overlooked OR when Larry Merchant says Kelly Pavlik is going to be one of the best middleweights ever....it incorrectly molds the minds of casual viewers. It makes people question reality even if it's right in front of their faces.

Dan Rafael, as dedicated to the sport as he is, conveniently omits things from his articles about Manny because he knows he has to sit with Freddy on EPIX ( and he completely sucks up to him every time).

There's no legit reason why fighthype, as phenomenal a job they do with the exclusive interviews and unfiltered quotes, isn't more mainstream.

There's no legit reason why a wise boxing mind like Teddy Atlas has been confined to ESPN.

It's all politics. Create an imagery and suppress anyone trying to wipe the bullshit from our eyes.

well said. it's why i'm here too....well that and i was banned from the other site i used to post at for speaking truth. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

[pacco_diablo]

lampley pre-dlh was bearable. lampley these days is too homotional. he's the biggest cheerleader on hbo. give that guy some pom-poms. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA... homotional. HAHAHAHAHAHHA. I'm totally stealing that. He has cried a few times on air though. When one of the guys who had worked for HBO boxing for many years died, Lampley couldnt keep it together. That was actually pretty sad though.

[daprofessor]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA... homotional. HAHAHAHAHAHHA. I'm totally stealing that. He has cried a few times on air though. When one of the guys who had worked for HBO boxing for many years died, Lampley couldnt keep it together. That was actually pretty sad though.

he looked like he wanted to cry this past saturday. dude needs to lay off the weed.

[Jack 1000]

Ten to fifteen years ago. Lamply was brilliant, with awe-inspiring commentary that was a pleasure to listen to and give him credit for when a fight is great! There is no way that the Showtime crew could have called Ward-Gatti I with the kind of passion and excitement that is Lamply and the HBO crew. And Boxing After Dark produced in its early to middle years some of the best action fights on the network.

The problem is that Lamply took that once brilliant commentary and insight, which I believe was at the helm when Lou Dibella was at the network, but than you had guys like Ross Greenberg and Kery Davis, who saw boxing as a business. I think, (don't have proof of this though.) that Greenberg or Davis told the HBO crew to build up the rising stars so we can turn them into household names. Give the "Stars" C grade competition to get them to a PPV payday with the kind of fights that USED to be on HBO Boxing After Dark, and before that Saturday and Sunday live commercial TV.

After Lou Dibella left, and HBO management said, "Let's build up a star with the star's choice of competition, rather than classic two-sided fights." I think that's the time when Greenberg and Davis taught Lamps to be a pom-pom shaker for the star fighter. I believe that punch stats now favor the star fighter. People say the 24/7 shows, which I don't watch because they are pop-pom shows, are there to build up a star, make him a manufactured icon. And it hasn't changed since Lou left.

Merchant's sick of it and wants out. Manny Steward is just there to ride off of Jim's coat-tails. I am amazed and thrilled with Max Kellerman at HBO! He has been such a good voice of reason, seams to even show less-bias to his love of slick boxers over sluggers, and has shown great objectivity. He's no-long used as an intimidating parrot to Teddy Atlas' rants, and Max now shows class and professionalism. He may be the best guy at HBO right now.

Jack

[Cshel86]

It's post like this that drew me to join this site! Excellent post! You really hit the nail on the head about every single "character" (and I purposely used that word to describe them as that's what they've become). I've been spewing the same 2 words for the last 2 years to all of my friends: Irresponsible Journalism! You see it with Mike Breen in basketball. You see it with Trent Dilfer in football. You see it with Lampley in boxing. These so called analysts are talking nonsense to prove a point they've made and hammer home an agenda. It's as detrimental to the sport as any referee, any scorecard and any drug test. Today's sports, especially with social media, is fueled by the casual fan...not the diehard fans.So if you are watching a sport and trying to get into it, and you are wet behind the ears in what to look for, you are being coerced, like it or not, by the commentators you hear and the crowd reactions. So when analysts say BS like Manny has some of the best footwork the sport has ever seen OR a journalist writes Floyd Mayweather is clearly ducking OR when suspect shit like Manny having a tattoo parlor attached to his gym gets overlooked OR when Larry Merchant says Kelly Pavlik is going to be one of the best middleweights ever....it incorrectly molds the minds of casual viewers. It makes people question reality even if it's right in front of their faces.

Dan Rafael, as dedicated to the sport as he is, conveniently omits things from his articles about Manny because he knows he has to sit with Freddy on EPIX ( and he completely sucks up to him every time).

There's no legit reason why fighthype, as phenomenal a job they do with the exclusive interviews and unfiltered quotes, isn't more mainstream.

There's no legit reason why a wise boxing mind like Teddy Atlas has been confined to ESPN.

It's all politics. Create an imagery and suppress anyone trying to wipe the bullshit from our eyes.

It's been said several times, and definitely should be exercised due to the "fanboy f*ckery" over the last 3 years..."Fans see and believe what they want". The sport has totally been smeared because this dumb commentary over the years. It's obvious as hell that Manny is a media-manufactured champion, but people are too damn dumb to realize it.

The fact that people will follow this guy religiously, is a sad reality to face. One of his video guys were on 24/7 saying that he was one of Manny's "disciples". What kind of shit is that?

You may want to check one of my recent posts in this thread about Teddy Atlas and why he's confined to ESPN FNF, Im sure it will coincide with your views as well. HBO has gone to shit over the past few years, and everybody has ordained themselves "promoters", since "nothing" seems to be working in regards to getting this "megafight" made.

The efforts are pitiful, to say the least. It's like me trying my hand as a sports agent, when I know damn well I dont know what to say on the phone, what to offer, what to decline, what the player really needs, what's a good career move for the player, etc.

Oh yeah..shoutout to Jack for opening this topic a couple of weeks ago. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) I hope that Im given some type of credit for digging a bit deeper by throwing the "megafight arrogance" in there. Lol

dude needs to lay off the weed.

Nothing wrong with weed sir (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cool.gif)

[Jack 1000]

THAT would be a HUUUUGE problem for HBO, because again, they have an agenda in place. Atlas is a VERY convincing figure, and has no shame in his dialog. There's a distinct reason why he will NEVER rise above ESPN FNFs, unless a network is willing to take a risk.

I disagree with Teddy on many things and don't think he's as good as he thinks he is. But that not the main issue. The issue is Atlas' arrogance and and if he were to preach negativity on HBO's house-fighter, that would be akin to "pissing on Lamply's pom-poms." Once that happened, Teddy would be canned like a tuna.

I was even surprised and give credit to Max who showed objectivity by saying that there actually were some people (although very few) at Ringside who had Bradley winning over Pacquiao. That comment probably did not go over too well with the HBO team's agenda to see the star fighter as iconic.

Jack

PS Who heads HBO's Boxing Department now anyway? Is Fat Dan {Raphael) there?

[daprofessor]

Ten to fifteen years ago. Lamply was brilliant, with awe-inspiring commentary that was a pleasure to listen to and give him credit for when a fight is great! There is no way that the Showtime crew could have called Ward-Gatti I with the kind of passion and excitement that is Lamply and the HBO crew. And Boxing After Dark produced in its early to middle years some of the best action fights on the network.

The problem is that Lamply took that once brilliant commentary and insight, which I believe was at the helm when Lou Dibella was at the network, but than you had guys like Ross Greenberg and Kery Davis, who saw boxing as a business. I think, (don't have proof of this though.) that Greenberg or Davis told the HBO crew to build up the rising stars so we can turn them into household names. Give the "Stars" C grade competition to get them to a PPV payday with the kind of fights that USED to be on HBO Boxing After Dark, and before that Saturday and Sunday live commercial TV.

After Lou Dibella left, and HBO management said, "Let's build up a star with the star's choice of competition, rather than classic two-sided fights." I think that's the time when Greenberg and Davis taught Lamps to be a pom-pom shaker for the star fighter. I believe that punch stats now favor the star fighter. People say the 24/7 shows, which I don't watch because they are pop-pom shows, are there to build up a star, make him a manufactured icon. And it hasn't changed since Lou left.

Merchant's sick of it and wants out. Manny Steward is just there to ride off of Jim's coat-tails. I am amazed and thrilled with Max Kellerman at HBO! He has been such a good voice of reason, seams to even show less-bias to his love of slick boxers over sluggers, and has shown great objectivity. He's no-long used as an intimidating parrot to Teddy Atlas' rants, and Max now shows class and professionalism. He may be the best guy at HBO right now.

Jack

if what u say is true...it's a role lampley relishes. merchant really isn't far off. i don't buy that he's fed up. he and lamps seem to be on the same page....shit.

one thing i'll say for greenberg and davis....they called it right when they refused pac/mosley. no one ever seemed to give them credit for that one. instead he was fired because some pens for hire shit on him repeatedly for showing "favor" to al haymon and his stable. the only reason it was considered favor by those pens was because arum told them so. funny how tom hauser was writing for top rank and now he's working for hbo as an "advisor." seems to me these positions are just given to anyone. fat dan is another guy who doesn't know shit about boxing...but somehow has managed to weasel his way into some pretty nice positions. there are guys on this board and others that i consider more knowledgeable than fat dan.

[daprofessor]

It's been said several times, and definitely should be exercised due to the "fanboy f*ckery" over the last 3 years..."Fans see and believe what they want". The sport has totally been smeared because this dumb commentary over the years. It's obvious as hell that Manny is a media-manufactured champion, but people are too damn dumb to realize it.

The fact that people will follow this guy religiously, is a sad reality to face. One of his video guys were on 24/7 saying that he was one of Manny's "disciples". What kind of shit is that?

You may want to check one of my recent posts in this thread about Teddy Atlas and why he's confined to ESPN FNF, Im sure it will coincide with your views as well. HBO has gone to shit over the past few years, and everybody has ordained themselves "promoters", since "nothing" seems to be working in regards to getting this "megafight" made.

The efforts are pitiful, to say the least. It's like me trying my hand as a sports agent, when I know damn well I dont know what to say on the phone, what to offer, what to decline, what the player really needs, what's a good career move for the player, etc.

Oh yeah..shoutout to Jack for opening this topic a couple of weeks ago. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) I hope that Im given some type of credit for digging a bit deeper by throwing the "megafight arrogance" in there. Lol


Nothing wrong with weed sir (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cool.gif)

nothing wrong with it when u enjoy in the comfort of ur home...or chillin somewhere. but if ur behind the wheel....or in lampley's case....behind the mic...driving a telecast...there is no room for that.

[Franchize]

You may want to check one of my recent posts in this thread about Teddy Atlas and why he's confined to ESPN FNF, Im sure it will coincide with your views as well. HBO has gone to shit over the past few years, and everybody has ordained themselves "promoters", since "nothing" seems to be working in regards to getting this "megafight" made.

Oh trust me, I know about Atlas and his mystery email that nobody wated to talk about. Nobody even took him to task about that. Why? Because they didn't want to. If Atlas was on to something, it would have changed the landscape of boxing way more than any controversial decision.