BARRY TOMPKINS & STEVE FARHOOD REFLECT ON MOST MEMORABLE BOXING MOMENTS AHEAD OF TONIGHT’S SHOBOX AND SUNDAY’S INTERNATIONAL BOXING HALL OF FAME INDUCTION
From “The Greatest,” To Hagler-Leonard, Pryor-Arguello & More, Tompkins & Farhood Reflect On Decades Of Memories As They Join Boxing Royalty
NEW YORK (June 9, 2017) – As veteran boxing experts (barry is not an analyst) Barry Tompkins and Steve Farhood prepare for their induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame this Sunday, the ShoBox: The New Generation sportscasters reflect on their most memorable boxing moments of their distinguished careers.
On Friday, Tompkins and Farhood will call a ShoBox tripleheader (live at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME) from Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, N.Y., just down the road Canastota, where they’ll join a 2017 class headlined by boxing greats Evander Holyfield, Marco Antonio Barrera and Johnny Tapia.
Hall of Famers Al Bernstein and Jimmy Lennon Jr. will join the announce team as part of the special Hall of Fame edition of ShoBox. Lennon Jr. returns to Canastota for the posthumous induction of his father, world-renowned ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Sr.
“To be honored by the boxing community for my tenure in the sport, it really blows me away,” Tompkins said. “I pride myself on the fact that I do a lot of different sports, and I’ve never really thought of myself as just a boxing guy. I’m truly honored.”
“I’m very humbled to receive this honor,” Farhood said. “I’ve been to the Hall of Fame several times sitting in the seats, but not up there on stage. As a member of the media, you don’t think of yourself ever getting up there, but I’m very honored and surprised. This will be a different experience and one that, in my mind, validates my 39 years in one industry. It reminds me how lucky I’ve been to cover the sport I love. I’ve done it 24/7, and I’ve never been bored.”
While Tompkins and Farhood approach this weekend’s induction tied together by their current partnership on ShoBox, the close friends come from vastly different broadcasting and media backgrounds.
The award-winning Tompkins is one of the most versatile broadcasters in sports. He has served as play-by-play commentator for the Super Bowl, the Rose Bowl, the NCAA Final Four, eight Olympic Games, the Tour de France, Wimbledon, the Tennis U.S. Open, the Triple Crown, and more during his illustrious 47-year-plus career. A Bay Area native and resident, Tompkins has also called some of the biggest fights in boxing history, and earned the Boxing Writers Association’s Sam Taub Award for excellence in broadcasting among his many accomplishments. Before joining the SHOWTIME family in 2012, Tompkins was the No. 1 voice of boxing at NBC (1974-1979), HBO (1979-88), ESPN (1988-1996) and FOX Sports (1996-2011).
A backbone in the boxing community for nearly 40 years and counting, Farhood is a noted author and historian of The Sweet Science. The lifelong New Yorker served as editor-in-chief of “The Ring” and “KO” magazines for 19 years, where he chronicled historic events including Muhammad Ali’s final fight and legendary matchups like Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Roberto Duran. Farhood has been the voice of ShoBox since its inception in 2001, holding the role of “ironman” of the acclaimed series having served on all but one of 234 telecasts. Farhood was the first vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America and is a four-category winner of awards by the BWAA.
Below is a snippet of the most memorable boxing moments held by Tompkins and Farhood:
BARRY TOMPKINS: · First time interviewing Muhammad Ali at a gathering in the Bay Area in 1960s – I witnessed first-hand his otherworldly personality and the tremendous effect he had on his fans and followers. · Aaron Pryor vs. Alexis Arguello I – The magnitude of the event at the Orange Bowl in Miami was equally matched by the volatility between the fans, the tension in the arena and the brutality of the fight. · Larry Holmes vs. Gerry Cooney – The narrative of the promotion overshadowed the fight itself, particularly the contentious environment at the racially-charged the weigh-in. · Marvin Hagler vs. Sugar Ray Leonard – Being close personally with both fighters made this a unique event to cover as a broadcaster. The buildup to the event and the intensity prior to the opening bell was palpable and nearly overwhelming. · Reliving the Muhammad Ali-Joe Frasier trilogy decades later for a documentary and observing the respect and sensitivity between the champions, as well as the toll boxing had taken on both fighters.
STEVE FARHOOD: · My proudest boxing moment: Organizing and running a charity event at Gleason’s Gym a few weeks after 9-11. The event raised $50,000 for the city that I love so much. · Spending a day in Deer Lake at the longtime training camp of Muhammad Ali with “The Greatest.” He was so comfortable there, and there was so much history to soak up. · The first Pryor-Arguello fight in Miami. Fla. Still, 35 years after the fact, the best fight I’ve ever covered. Barry Tompkins served as the TV broadcaster for that fight. · The first ShoBox show at Bally’s in Atlantic City, in July 2001. Who knew we’d still be here 16 years later? · Launching “KO” magazine in 1980, and seeing it grow to the point at which it was competing evenly with the far more established “The Ring.”
All photos by Showtime
