Stephen Espinoza Lashes Out at Commentators for “Incessantly” Talking Throughout Every Walkout During Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov

The Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov super-fight is currently the center of attention for the boxing world. It is His Excellency Turki Alalshikh’s first time orchestrating a boxing fight in the United States. As usual, he has gone above and beyond to put on a good show. From an amazing location to an Eminem performance, to the broadcaster DAZN including some of the most well-known pundits in the business. However, Showtime’s Stephen Espinoza has expressed his annoyance with the commentators. 

There is no doubt that the Crawford-Madrimov fight was indeed a thrilling showdown. But in Espinoza’s opinion, the commentators did not live up to expectations during what was probably the most thrilling fight card of the recent past.

Stephen Espinoza prefers seeing over hearing

Many boxing fans have expressed that they would prefer watching the fight unfold as it is without any commentary. The Showtime president felt much the same way while watching the Riyadh Season fight card. Shortly after Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz and Jose Valenzuela were on their ring walks, Espinoza sent out a quick tweet while he watched the pundits attempt to amuse the crowd with their comments. He wrote, “Please stop talking incessantly throughout every walkout.” 

Espinoza was instrumental in establishing Showtime Boxing a dominant force in boxing match organization for many years. Thus, it makes some sense that he would point out the fundamental actions. Espinoza wanted to really watch the iconic ring walks, which was spoiled by the incessant talk of the commentators. But who were the commentators for the event? Let’s find out.   

A star-studded affair!

The broadcast team included some seasoned folks from the boxing industry like former welterweight champion Shawn Porter, who quickly made a fantastic shift into commentary after his fighting career. Sergio Mora, another former boxing champion, was also present on the commentary panel. Then there was broadcaster Kate Abdo who has worked with news giants like CNN, Sky Sports, and Fox Sports. The team also had former ESPN commentator Todd Grisham.

Chris Mannix is another known face in DAZN’s boxing broadcasts while Ade Oladipo is another well-known broadcaster with a solid commentary background and a reputation for making insightful remarks about football and boxing. To put a cherry on top, legendary announcer Michael Buffer was also present for major announcements.

Apart from that, ‘Bud’ created history as he became a four-division champion by winning Madrimov’s WBA super welterweight title. But to put it in perspective, the latter gave ‘Bud’ a tough fight and this is the first time in eight years that he has gone the full distance in a fight. Now, the Omaha native might shift his focus towards negotiating a clash with Canelo Alvarez.

Meanwhile, what do you think about Espinoza’s remarks about the commentary during the walkouts? Please share your opinions in the comments section below.