Manny Pacquiao was robbed on Saturday night when he lost his title to Jeff Horn by unanimous decision, and Hall of Fame boxing analyst Al Berstein was among the many people who were outraged. But before the fight even got started, Bernstein was upset about something else.
Stephen A. Smith seems to have that effect on people, doesn’t he?
Smith criticized Horn on Saturday for not fighting many worthy opponents, and he described Randall Bailey and Ali Funeka as “no names.” That infuriated Bernstein, who unloaded on Smith in a lengthy Facebook post.
I seldom criticize sportscasting colleagues. BUT I cringe when announcers who don’t really follow boxing denigrate fighters for no reason. Perhaps before Stephen A. Smith said that Horn opponents Randall Bailey and Ali Funeka “give new meaning to the term no names” he might have done 5 minutes of research and realized that Bailey only 5 years ago was a world champion and as recently as 6 yrs ago Funeka fought twice for a world title. Are they household names to all sports or boxing fans…no. Were they aging fighters that Horn could build his name with…yes. BUT within the sport they are not no names. it is awful to read their names and a few others in a mocking tone and suggest they’re some kind of bums. These two men had excellent careers. I doubt if he would pick an aging NBA player who isn’t a superstar and call him a no name even though casual NBA fans might not know who that 2nd string power forward might be. When asked “what do you have on Jeff Horn?” Smith said, “gotta admit I don’t have much on this dude.” Really? How could you admit that on National TV when you are being paid to cover this “dude.” Then he denigrated Horn’s opponents without knowing anything about THEM. And, again, I’m not saying Horn has faced super tough competition, but don’t sit there with your co-host and laugh and mock their names, after you have admitted you didn’t even do any homework on one of the fighters who is in the main event, let alone his opponents. When I have covered other sports beyond boxing I make it my business to NOT overreach and make statements based on no knowledge. Instead I actually prepare, so that I can stay in my lane, be factual, and do the job I’m being paid for. When I covered major league baseball or the NBA on Sportscenter when I was at ESPN I didn’t offer unfounded opinions on players who I did not cover on a regular basis. I stuck to the facts and any insights I gathered from players or others who covered the sport regularly. If Smith is going to keep doing these boxing shows, I suggest he and whoever sits and co-hosts with him do the same. Sorry for this tirade, but this is more than a little distressing to me. Boxers deserve respect and accuracy when they are reported on.
Plenty of people felt that Smith was in over his head with ESPN’s coverage of the Pacquiao-Horn fight. Fortunately for him, Twitter caught fire with outrage over the judges’ decision and Smith’s analysis flew under the radar.
Berstein, who calls fights for Showtime, worked as a boxing analyst for ESPN from 1980-2003. He knows a thing or two about which fighters are “no names” and which aren’t.
