Why do yall hate on Max Kellerman?

I just stare at the thing...I'm fucking entranced by it.

 

QUALITY Post, DOUB....



REED:cheer:

 

agREED...

Max was INCREDIBLE During the FNF Studio Segments...That's What he was MEANT to Do...HBO Should Give Max Some 10-15 Minute Segments (No Looooooooonger than the Face-Offs Typically R), Where he can VOICE His Opinions on Any Particular Facet of Boxing that he So Chooses...



REED:hammert:

 

Larry Is Anything BUT an Ambassador for the Sport he Commentates Though...No Matter WHAT a Commentator's Opinion is, U Should Always Get the Impression that he @ Least LIKES the Sport he's Spouting Off about...Larry RARELY Gives Off that Impression...

He Comes Across as a Guy who'd Rather B Doing Anything OTHER than Watching the Bout Being Fought Right In Front of Him....



REED:mj:

 

A girl I know worked with Max for a number of years and said he's a doll, that he and Brian Kenney were both quality people, very friendly and down to Earth...

What I don't like about Kellerman is his bias and the fact that agendas, whether HBO's or his own, permeate his work with that network...

 

ray::hammert:

The guy is a born hater and bullshit monger.

 

Irish, you have a superb title by the way :kidcool:

 

I can certainly see that, and understand why people might not like Larry for it.

Because I like him, I guess it doesn't bother me as much, PLUS - I might be wrong but it just seems part of his schtick, I get the sense he does genuinely like and appreciate boxing.

The ironic thing is I don't usually like negative nancy's, and I do generally like enthusiasm.

 

Weird, I'm actually bothered by his obsession to draw a historical parallel every time something major happens. His inability to capture the moment for what it is leads to nonsense like last Saturday, though the entire broadcast team as a whole hit near-career lows.

That said. I prefer him to Larry by... not even sure there's a term wide enough to describe the gap between the two. Larry had his day but long ago needed to call it a career.

 

He does force it at times, I'll give you that.

 

I like him but sometimes he seems like he's following orders from HBO. He should be a Maverick like Merchant and say/ask whatever the fuck he wants.

 

He doesnt have the pull for that. Lampley cant even get away with that. Thats something unique to Merchant.

 

He's not bad as far as those schmucks go. At least he's actually interested in boxing.

 

True

Merchant is FOUL and has been for decades literally...

Lampley is better than Steve Albert or Joe Tessitore... that tells you all that needs to be known about where I think he stands. He is a shill, a cheerleader... A blow-by-blow man should be objective, call the action.

Bob Papa is a vastly more professional broadcaster than Lampley.

I'd much rather hear a guy like Don Dunphy call a fight. There's no agenda, there's no rooting. He gives little bits of information about each man during the fight and just tells you what is happening, not what he WISHES was happening. I've never heard a single Dunphy broadcast where one could tell if he had a rooting interest. THAT is what the job should be.

 

I sympathise with you CDogg, because he does get frustrating.

However, in the end I take a softer approach to judging Lampley. I do believe hes under considerable pressure to push HBOs agendas, including house fighters, and thats a factor.

He has shown an ability to be critical at times...people often accused him of pro-MAB bias when calling the bouts with Morales, but he was riding Barrera pretty hard the night of his rematch with Pacquiao (he was the only one on Barrera's case that night, and was totally correct to be so).

 

I guess.

But I think for the most part he is not only biased but he is also poor in terms of calling the action. Take MAB/Morales II, for example... every five seconds it was "BIG RIGHT HAND FROM MORALES!!!" for shots that were being blocked over and over

 

Now that is a fairer criticism.

I gotta say, I do like some pretty unpopular callers...Lampley, Sheridan, Merchant, Atlas.

 

I have NO TIME for Atlas. He's an idiot.

Merchant is badass as is Lampley. Sheridan is irritating.

All are MUCH better than Harry Carpenter and Reg Gutteridge though. Being a Brit I had to put him with their commentary for years!

 

"I'm so excited I could watch these guys fight for days."

-Merchant prior to calling Chavez/Taylor I

 

I wouldn't be a good commentator but I would be excellent in the studio.


That's it...I'm contacting HBO.....

 

Of all of the guys up there calling fights, whether it's analysts, blow-by-blow, post-fight interviewers (Grey), I identify most with Merchant. Why?

Because like me, he's genuinely frustrated by the state of affairs in boxing. And possibly because he's at the end of his career and isn't afraid to buck the system, he's not afraid to be candid about it in ways his younger peers refuse to.

Basically, there seems to be a trend in boxing these days, in which the fighters have become more and more complicit in the rip-off. As a result, much of the protest that had been reserved for promoters, at least when it comes to Merchant, has now been brought against fighters. Why shouldn't it? Especially when more and more, fighters are promoting themselves.

The bottom line is, people are fans of boxers. They're not fans of promoters. So when Merchant goes at a fighter the way he has promoters, the natural reaction by so many is to think he's an ass-hole, and why doesn't he leave that fighter alone.

Why? Because that fighter is the only one who can answer the public's questions. And Merchant does the public a disservice if he's anything but straight-forward about what he's asking.

Guys like PBF can be defensive bitches and be offended like a girl all they want because, "the bad man asked me a hard question and I don't know the answer because I sure's hell can't tell him the truth."

If you're so afraid of confrontation, and uncomfortable at the prospect of a guy like PBF being put on the defensive? You're just a bitch. That's all there is to it.

 

Merchant has apparently been at the end of his career for well over a decade, I guess.

I like 'hard' questions and Larry does ask them at times, but there is a lot to be said for a fighter passing the buck to his managment. Boxers pay managers a lot of money to guide their careers...so when you get a question like 'when are you going to fight Martinez?', a legitimate answer is what we often hear...'I'll fight anybody. Talk to my management.' I'm not sure if that's the confrontation you are referring to, though?

 

I love Atlas for one indefatigable reason...his endless stream of ever-complex metaphors.

You play FN: Champion and tell me you dont laugh your ass off ::

 

I guess I'm referring to situations in which a fighter, such as PBF, gets bent out of shape and whines like a girl when the interviewer does anything but kiss his ass and praise his performance. And to top it off, fans side with the fighter by and large, because apparently, they don't think fighters should be subjected to anything except ass kissing during post-fight interviews either.

Another reason I object to the criticism of Merchant is that it seems to be selective depending on who the fighter is who's not getting a, "fair shake." If it's a fighters these people don't particularly like, there's no criticism of Merchant and possibly praise for him. On the other hand, if it happens to be a fighter they like, then suddenly, Merchant is a horrible and miserable man who knows nothing about boxing. It's ridiculous.

 

U Had to Dig Deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep Into the Time Capsule for that 1...EARLY 1980's, Huh???...


REED:Lok:

 

Here's where your Argument STRUGGLES...It's VERY Possible to Ask "Straight Forward" Questions w/Out Being a CONDESCENDING PRICK about It, Doub...

Merchant Simply DOESN'T Care Enough to Try...



REED:limp:

 

I actually half forgot about Larry's interviews, he gives the best interviews around, without a doubt.

He asks legit questions that need to be asked, and he's not just outright antagonising for the sake of it, like that prick Jim Grey. His questions are genuine, and the sort of questions a lot of boxing fans are asking.

Kellerman is the opposite.

cdogg said it best with his impression of Kellerman

"Hey Floyd, let me ask you a hard hitting question, WHY ARE YOU SO AWESOME?!?!".

The guy is like an annoying, sycophantic teenager who happens to like boxing, not really what I'm looking for in a professional broadcaster/commentator tbh.

 

Actually, YOU'RE the 1 Being "Selective" Here...Hell, in the Sentence PRECEDING the 1 REED Highlighted, U Noted Floyd, a Fighter U've RARELY Had a Positive Thing to Say about...You've Also Shown a Disdain for "Hippity Hop" Fighters & *Surprise Surprise* Merchant DETESTS Them Likewise...

If ANYBODY "Selectively" Likes Merchant, it's YOU, Doub...



REED:kidcool:

 

But UNLIKE Grey, Merchant ABUSES his Mic Time to BELITTLE Aspects of a Fighters CULTURE...DURING Fights, @ Times...Grey's a Certified DICK as Well, but REED's NEVER Seen or Heard him Go "There", So to Speak...

By Contrast, Merchant OFTEN Flares Up @ Displays of American "Ethnicity"; Like BITCHING about Dela DARING to Enter the Ring to Mariachi, when He (Merchant) had Never Seen him Do it Previously...Or OPENLY Showing Contempt for a Vernon Forrest (1 of THE NICEST Guys Boxing's Ever Had), Entrance, Then RUBBING it in his Face After Being KO'ed by Mayorga...

Larry Merchant is an ASSHOLE...

REED:shit:

 

I must somehow be oblivous to it, as I've never noticed those things.

Are those two of examples of him "going there"?

You hear the odd opinion that Merchant is racist, but I've never known what it was based on, and thought it was probably just people overreacting and silly rumours etc.

Isn't he a big fan of some black fighters like Toney? And doesn't he generally like Mexicans too?