Avila Perspective, Chap. 311: Jim Lampley Adds Class to the Benavidez-Morrell Rumble

Avila Perspective, Chap. 311: Jim Lampley Adds Class to the Benavidez-Morrell Rumble

Boxing is the oldest sport.

For at least the last 100 years or so, a person with a microphone sitting ringside as an observer has spewed details in machine gun fashion to a radio or television audience of hand-to-hand combat taking place in a boxing ring.

There have been many excellent orators of the sweet science, too many to name, but one who stands out is Jim Lampley. He is the Cicero of boxing journalism.

Through showers of blood, saliva and sometimes body parts, Lampley gave oratory of boxing matches taking place from the days of Sugar Ray Leonard to the emergence of women’s boxing.

Lampley and his merry men of boxing journalism return to Las Vegas for the light heavyweight clash between David Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) and David Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) on Saturday Feb. 1, at T-Mobile Arena. PPV.Com will stream the fight card among other media outlets.

“People want to see the stars. They want to see the biggest stars,” says Lampley (pictured on the right with Morrell) about today’s boxing platforms. “We’ve gone from mass distribution to point to point distribution…it’s a product of the current digital world and how that operates.”

No other journalist rivals Lampley when it comes to prizefighting. No other can match the style and grace he describes a sport that brings unexpected intensity and sometimes shocking results.

Think Juan Manuel Marquez knocking out the great Manny Pacquiao in their fourth and final meeting in 2012.

Boxing’s Voice

Lampley has few rivals in broadcast journalism unless you compare other sports like baseball where the late Dodger announcer Vin Scully carved his legend. Or perhaps Chick Hearn the originator of pop culture basketball terminology like “it’s in the refrigerator.”

Boxing has Lampley and since his childhood, the sport has captivated his interest. He recalls after his father passed away his mother sat him in front of a small television set at age six to watch Sugar Ray Robinson fight Carl “Bobo” Olson in their second fight. Boxing was his babysitter.

“I’ve had boxing in my heart and in my head ever since,” Lampley said.

During his youth, after his widowed mother moved their family to Miami, Florida, the young Lampley saved car washing and lawn-mowing money to buy a ticket to watch Cassius Clay versus Sonny Liston.

“My mother took me and dropped me off with my individual ticket to go in and watch the fight. That was the night I saw my very first prize fight,” described Lampley about one of the most important boxing events that took place in 1964. “So, boxing has always been big in my background and in my sports fan experience.”

Eventually Lampley worked with ABC Sports covering college football, Wide World of Sports, and Olympic coverage. The only sport he did not cover in 13 years was boxing because Howard Cosell had a vice grip hold on boxing coverage for ABC. But when new leadership arrived it was decided to insert Lampley to cover boxing as a means of punishment.

“He immediately sized up that I was culturally allergic to boxing,” said Lampley of the new ABC leadership. “He assumed that I would be such a bad fit in boxing that it would bring an end to my broadcasting career and kick me out of his division.”

Ironically the event Lampley was forced to cover was Mike Tyson against Jesse Ferguson in Troy, New York on February 1986.

“This was an astonishing opportunity,” Lampley said. “Maybe this was meant to be,”

After a year or two more with ABC, Lampley moved to CBS and HBO to be part of their boxing programming and blazed a course for that program and himself as the preeminent voice of boxing broadcasting.

From Duran to Mayweather

Among those epic fights HBO covered featured Roberto Duran, Boom Boom Mancini, Marvin Halger, Roy Jones Jr., Oscar De La Hoya, Lennox Lewis, James Toney, Bernard Hopkins and Floyd Mayweather to name some.

When it was announced that new ownership for HBO decided to cancel its boxing programming, the boxing world was aghast.

“It was painful, sad, I was bereft,” said Lampley of the last HBO boxing card at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. “We had no idea why the brand new owners at HBO, a bunch of cell phone salesmen from Dallas, did not see boxing as an important part of the franchise.”

That night on Dec. 8, 2018, women’s boxing was featured for the first and only time on HBO. Lampley was aided by Max Kellerman and Roy Jones Jr. It was a cold night as usual at the outdoor arena known for its gladiator-like results such as the two bloody clashes between Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez. (Photo insert: Lampley’s last HBO hurrah; photo by Al Applerose)

Among the women who fought that evening were Cecilia Braekhus and Claressa Shields. Ironically, seven months earlier, Braekhus fought Kali Reis at the same venue. Reis would go on to earn an Emmy nomination for an HBO series for her portrayal in the True Detective series.

Six years ago was HBO and Lampley’s final bow together.

“Still to this day I have no idea why they thought that was better for the long term,” Lampley said of HBO’s boxing abortion.

PPV.COM        

Though HBO Championship Boxing no longer exists, Lampley’s undisputed talent for describing the art of boxing has brought him back. Now he represents PPV.COM an outfit wise enough to recognize the appeal of boxing’s greatest broadcast journalist from 1988 to December 2018. They reeled him back and with a new format that includes texting with fans during the actual fights.

“I help introduce the audience to the new communication phenomenon which I’m involved,” said Lampley who is partnered with journalist Dan Canobbio and Chris Algieri for this event. “It puts me back in touch with all my old friends in the media room where I spend the whole week leading up to the fight.”

Lampley recalls his first broadcast with PPV.COM 15 months ago already saw debates regarding undefeated David Benavidez possibly accepting a challenge from David Morrell.

“As style fights go, its potentially a great one,” said Lampley. “Its two punchers with legitimate punching power in an extremely fan friendly fight. The winner is regarded as logical upcoming opponent for Canelo Alvarez the number one money attraction in the world.”

On Saturday night when Benavidez and Morrell lead a talented fight card, be sure to select PPV.COM as your choice to listen to Lampley’s undeniable talent for describing boxing action.

Take advantage boxing fans.

One last note, Lampley’s book “It Happened” will be coming soon on April 15.

Fights to Watch

Sat. PPV.COM 3 p.m. David Benavidez (29-0) vs David Morrell (11-0); Brandon Figueroa (25-1-1) vs Stephen Fulton (22-1); Isaac Cruz (26-3-1) vs Angel Fierro (23-2-2).

Sun. DAZN 4:30 p.m. Claressa Shields (15-0) vs Danielle Perkins (5-0).

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE