Showtime Gets it Right with Antonio Tarver; Lennox Lewis Out from HBO

Known either as the guy that effectively ended the career of Roy Jones, or as Mason Dixie from Rocky Balboa, Antonio Tarver is now making a name for himself as a television personality and boxing announcer for Showtime. In his brief stint thus far with the network he has proven to be an intelligent, enthusiastic and entertaining figure for their fights, and a welcome addition to televised boxing.

Of course it's no surprise that a man that headlined a major Hollywood film and famously asked of Jones, "Got any excuses tonight, Roy?" before viciously knocking him out in the second round of their rematch, is a great announcer. Still, the networks are littered with so many poor ones that Tarver's quick ascension has been a revelation.

His rise now coincides with the failure of HBO to groom Lennox Lewis as a member of their broadcast teams. The former heavyweight champion never quite seemed comfortable in the role of television personality. While he made improvements during his stint he never quite hit his stride.

A recent statement said Lewis was looking to spend more time with his fundraising efforts, but according to Dan Rafael of ESPN, sources behind the scenes said the network decided not to bring Lewis back after his contract was up. Lewis had been in the role since 2006.

Considering that HBO has stuck with Larry Merchant, who recently went on an otherworldly rant in which he said junior middleweight fighter Paul Williams should be known as "The Candy Man" with a "peppermint stick" in his right hand and "Good and Plenty" in his left (to which Jim Lampley replied, "sounds like you were up late last night" while steering the broadcast away from that direction), speaks to Lewis's failure to adapt to his role of expert analysis on the network. Even his status as the last prominent heavyweight champion could not save his gig.

With HBO always battling Showtime for boxing supremacy, usually to the detriment of all parties involved, these announcing changes have been a clear victory for Showtime. Tarver was made to have a mic in his hand and his smile across the television screen. As for the HBO team and Lewis, thankfully he gave us a great boxing career that we can remember him by instead.

Sources:

Former heavyweight champ, analyst Lennox Lewis let go by HBO - Dan Rafael

HBO and Showtime fight broadcasts