In the 37 years he has called boxing on television, Al Bernstein, by his own count, has worked almost 3,000 bouts. The vast majority of them (about 2,500) were for ESPN, where he worked 24 years as either an analyst or blow-by-blow broadcaster. He has also served as a boxing broadcaster at two Summer Olympics for NBC.
Since parting with ESPN in 2003, he has been a staple as an analyst for Showtime. On Saturday night, he’ll be at ringside for the cable network when DeSoto’s Errol Spence defends his IBF welterweight title against Lamont Peterson.
His work has earned him a place in the International Boxing Hall of Fame alongside the likes of fellow broadcasters Howard Cosell and Jim Lampley.
A former newspaper man in suburban Chicago, he’s 67.
He recently went through an interview with SportsDay's Barry Horn.
Horn: What do you remember about working your first fight for ESPN back in 1980?
Bernstein: It was Jamie Olatunde vs. David Bradley (in a light heavyweight bout). I still remember how exhilarated I was after the show ended. I really felt like my life might take a new and exciting direction.
Horn: What do look for when watching a fight from ringside?
Bernstein: As an analyst you are trying to not only help the viewer understand what they just saw, but how it might foreshadow what they will see in the match.
Horn: Any advice for what viewers should be watching for other than the obvious?
Bernstein: Make sure you really pay attention to both fighters. It is easy for a fan or even a broadcaster to become more fixated on one fighter. That skews your view of the fight.
Horn: How would you rate Errol Spence among all active 147-pounders?
Bernstein: I think his journey has just begun. Kell Brook was really the first quality fighter he has beaten. So as he continues to take on hard challenges like Lamont Peterson, wins would keep moving him up the ladder.
Horn: Is there a boxer you’ve seen with whom you might compare Spence?
Bernstein: Though they are from different weight divisions and different eras, there is a lot of (middleweight) Marvin Hagler (also a lefthander) in Spence. They both provide relentless pressure that slowly wears their opponent down.
Horn: What is the one question sure to be asked when you meet boxing fans?
Bernstein: That question often has something to do with boxing’s most prominent name at the time. It was Tyson questions for a long time. Then most questions were geared to Floyd Mayweather. But through it all, probably the another question that gets asked is, “What is the best fight you ever announced?” That would be the 2005 first fight for the lightweight title between Chico Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo. It was brilliantly fought and wildly entertaining.
(Note: Corrales, who was knocked down twice in the 10th round, came back with such vengeance before the bell that he won by TKO in what was deemed the “fight of the year” by most boxing media outlets.)
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