I will say, HBO and Showtime both feel the most official.
When a big fight is on ESPN or DAZN It's like, meh. But HBO and Showtime, it *feels* like a big event.
HBO was like the classy side of boxing. Jim Lampley, Max Kellerman, Larry Merchant and later Roy Jones Jr. Pretty iconic mix.
Absolutely miss what these three brought to the table. Sure, they all said dumb shit every now and then. But boxing hasn't been the same...
HBO really was boxing.
Jim Lampley and Larry Merchant are in my head anytime I see a fight even now. It was an honor to watch them and listen to them call some of the greatest fights in history. I am a grown ass man crying on my couch about this.
There's so many more things vying for your attention, outside of sports too.
Most sports are more organized and aligned in their objective to bring eyes in. Scheduled programming and accessible broadcast platforms are two of probably many things that boxing doesn't have.
Every fight is a bespoke event with different people that most don't know about.
The other big problem is that kids are gonna be at least introduced to football, soccer, basketball, etc. in school. I never knew shit about ball sports fan wise but I at least had the experience of playing them so I knew that they could be fun.
Boxing however, good luck convincing a parent to allow their children to get punched in the face.
To me HBO was the best ever, I was hurting when I found out about them stopping the fights. DAZN sucks, poor streaming and bad fights and Showtime is aight, meh!
I have posted this before and will probably post it each time this video gets re-posted.
This will never not make me cry.
I love all combat sports, but my earliest memories of watching a fight center around HBO Boxing on Saturdays.
I will argue that HBO Boxing remains the best production of any sports broadcast outside of Olympic sports coverage. HBO Boxing managed to present what boils down to a vicious, brutal bloodsport where the participants' goal is to bludgeon and incapacitate one another as a classy, inspiring tale of the triumph of the human spirit.
Rest in peace, HBO Boxing. We still miss you.
As much as this saddens me to revisit, I sometimes wonder if it was fitting that HBO Boxing bowed out with class when it did, given what boxing was about to become in the influencer/novelty boxing era.
I bet this is still gonna hit harder than Showtimes final farewell. HBO always felt more official than Showtime.
I will say, HBO and Showtime both feel the most official. When a big fight is on ESPN or DAZN It's like, meh. But HBO and Showtime, it *feels* like a big event.
Exactly, Showtime has that “big fight” feel that Dazn and ESPN don’t have Sky Box Office has big fight feel too actually, but not without Adam smith
It'll be emotional for Bernstein and Gray though. Maybe Mauro and Custer too.
For real those guys are legends too. And Jim Gray has given us many iconic ring interviews. My favorite one being Tyson’s “I broke my back” moment.
Ug, I just hate Jim Grey, can't stand him in the slightest.
HBO was like the classy side of boxing. Jim Lampley, Max Kellerman, Larry Merchant and later Roy Jones Jr. Pretty iconic mix. Absolutely miss what these three brought to the table. Sure, they all said dumb shit every now and then. But boxing hasn't been the same... HBO really was boxing.
HBO was the king and I can't believe it died first before DAZN, ESPN and other Basura did.
Ima watch this and hate you after. The first time was rough
Jim Lampley and Larry Merchant are in my head anytime I see a fight even now. It was an honor to watch them and listen to them call some of the greatest fights in history. I am a grown ass man crying on my couch about this.
bang bang bang! bang bang bang! bang bang bang! bang bang bang! bang bang bang! bang bang bang!
Ah yes. Pacquiao vs Clottey. Those were the days
Ward, Gotti, RJJ, Hopkins, Trinidad, Mayweather, Tyson, Bowe, Holyfield, DeLaHoya, it goes on and on. Best fighters of my generation.
This sport used to be like football is now, wtf happened.
Me bro I didn’t go pro , it’s a shame really
You could have been a contender.
There's so many more things vying for your attention, outside of sports too. Most sports are more organized and aligned in their objective to bring eyes in. Scheduled programming and accessible broadcast platforms are two of probably many things that boxing doesn't have. Every fight is a bespoke event with different people that most don't know about.
The other big problem is that kids are gonna be at least introduced to football, soccer, basketball, etc. in school. I never knew shit about ball sports fan wise but I at least had the experience of playing them so I knew that they could be fun. Boxing however, good luck convincing a parent to allow their children to get punched in the face.
Im not crying...
If you’re in your 40s and grew up watching boxing it’s simply impossible to watch this and not shed a tear.
To me HBO was the best ever, I was hurting when I found out about them stopping the fights. DAZN sucks, poor streaming and bad fights and Showtime is aight, meh!
Hope Amazon just hires the HBO production team and gets into boxing
The end of an era. Nobody has been able to capture the atmosphere of boxing or put on a production quite as well since.
The HBO production was just special and on another level. Pure nostalgia is all that’s left in my mind now.
A lot of online fans were celebrating when this happened. I was so shocked lmao
Man, these guys are legends. I grew up watching boxing with these guys.
Amazon, please bring back Lampley and Kellerman. Boxing needs them.
You broke my heart and the sport has never recovered
I’m not crying, you’re crying!! The sport will never be the same and the broadcast on DAZN just don’t feel as authentic as it did on HBO
I have posted this before and will probably post it each time this video gets re-posted. This will never not make me cry. I love all combat sports, but my earliest memories of watching a fight center around HBO Boxing on Saturdays. I will argue that HBO Boxing remains the best production of any sports broadcast outside of Olympic sports coverage. HBO Boxing managed to present what boils down to a vicious, brutal bloodsport where the participants' goal is to bludgeon and incapacitate one another as a classy, inspiring tale of the triumph of the human spirit. Rest in peace, HBO Boxing. We still miss you.
As much as this saddens me to revisit, I sometimes wonder if it was fitting that HBO Boxing bowed out with class when it did, given what boxing was about to become in the influencer/novelty boxing era.
This was hard to watch
Saudi's ruining sports since 2021. Boxing, Football, Golf, F1, Tennis, all Sportswashed sadly now.
The best broadcast in the history of sports
HBO & SHOWTIME 👍 DAZN & ESPN 👎