Jim Lampley Goes Down The Memory Lane of HBO Boxing

Lampley was recently in conversation with Mike Schopp and The Bulldog for WGR SportsRadio550, where he reminisced about his time with HBO Boxing and its iconic crew.

“We had great expert commentators. At the beginning, it was (Sugar) Ray Leonard, and then eventually Ray Leonardwas followed by George Foreman, and then George Foreman was ultimately followed by Emanuel Steward, and then Roy Jones,” he said. “And every one of them, slightly different from the predecessor, but brought something meaningful.”

Lampley was not wrong; from its inception in the early 1970s to the late 2010s, HBO World Championship Boxing was more than just a sports television series —it was a cultural institution of sorts. And it shaped the way Americans (and the world at large) saw, understood, and experienced boxing.

The series also had its own iconic roster of commentators, each with their own unique styles and quirks. Larry Merchant was the first notable name who, from his entry into the series in 1978, gained fame and considerable notoriety for his blunt and often philosophical commentary. Meanwhile, Leonard, Foreman, and Lampley, who came in during the 1980s (Foreman in the 90s), were well known for their polished styles and eloquence. And these were merely a few, among many others.

In fact, New York Daily News writer Bob Raceman even wrote that Lampley, Merchant, and Foreman were the greatest three-person team in the history of sports broadcasting.

Lampley, on the other hand, certainly loved the fanfare that followed.

“I always love to be complimented. Anybody who says they don’t is lying. And I love the fact that you feel as though you may have gathered some boxing information and awareness from me, because that was what I was all about,” he said. “Trying to explain the sport and set up the drama and stories that people like Larry, George, Roy, and Emanuel could then elaborate further on.”

“Personal Element of The Sport”

When it comes to boxing, it is the heavily personal element of the sport and the larger-than-life personas that arise from it that make it appealing for Lampley. Talking to Awful Announcing, he opened up about what makes the sport special for him.

“It’s the personal element of the sport. It is the most fundamentally confrontational sport. You go into a ring half-naked, in the eyes of the world, face off against another man, and try to show who’s best. There’s something so elementally compelling about all that it has a unique appeal,” he said.

“Personalities come off the page a great deal more in boxing, partially because they have to. It is an entrepreneurial sport where if you are not involved in promoting your own identity and your own career, you don’t maximize.”