Legendary HBO Broadcaster Lampley Back On Triller Holyfield Card

On Saturday night in Hollywood, FL, it won’t just be former Undisputed Heavyweight Champ Evander Holyfield returning inside the ropes after a lengthy layoff. No, Hall of Fame boxing play by play man, Jim Lampley, will call his first significant fight card since HBO ceased their 40+ year boxing run in 2018.

Lampley gave some comments on Tuesday to Boxingscene.com about resuming his boxing broadcast career to call the 58 year old Holyfield’s return against former UFC Light Heavyweight champ, Vitor Belfort,

Holyfield, Lampley Regain Main-Event Status, 2021 Style https://t.co/uJGiNOLCAx pic.twitter.com/xTAnl7r2EY

— BoxingScene.com (@boxingscene) September 7, 2021

“I have zero idea what this fight looks like in the ring and why – will begin to learn Friday,” he told Boxing Scene. “I just want to go to ringside somewhere and learn whether I can still see fights.

“Have to favor the heavyweight, but we’ll see…..

“It goes without saying that regardless of condition and age, fighting Holyfield is an entirely different equation than fighting De La Hoya. Not really sure whether it is easier or tougher, but after having put in preparation work, it makes sense for Belfort to get paid.  

 Evander, I assume, is never totally out of shape – too vain for that. Tyson ‘beat’ Jones, so go ahead and try to set up Holy-Tyson III.”

As we wrote previously, the 72 year old Lampley signed off the massively popular HBO premium cable Boxing in November of 2018 and had sat out waiting for the next boxing opportunity. Triller hired him earlier in the year to begin by working the Teofimo Lopez-George Kambosos fight originally set for early June. That fight was delayed and then postponed indefinitely due to Lopez testing positive for Covid 19.

Now Lampley, who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2015 and who called the Holyfield-Riddick Bowe epic trilogy of fights in the 1990s, is slated to called another one of his bouts.

This time it’s an eight, two minute round battle that may devolve more into sad diminishing of skills from the nearly 59 year old former champ.

Nonetheless, Lampley, who will work with former WBC Welterweight champ Shawn Porter as the analyst, will be back Saturday at the Hard Rock Casino north of Miami and will, at least for a night, take us “down memory lane” with Holyfield.