Manny Pacquiao vs Jessie Vargas: 5 reasons to watch

2) Taking Stephen A. Smith to task

In a move that on the surface can only be described as infuriating, Top Rank opted to add shameless sycophant Stephen A. Smith to the Manny Pacquiao-Jessie Vargas broadcast as a color commentator. For boxing fans, the memory of Smith’s disgraceful, fawning feature on Floyd Mayweather Jr., which got a criminal amount of airtime compared to Outside the Lines‘s exceptional documentary on Mayweather’s history of domestic violence, makes this sting even more.

Clearly, adding Smith to the broadcast was meant to provoke, which is a sad indictment of the fight he’s been tasked to call. Smith, though, is justifiably nervous about his first true foray into boxing, because the majority of those paying for this card are going to be genuine fans, most of whom know more about the sport than Smith.

There are plenty of reasons to despise Stephen A. Smith on an emotional level. He’s obnoxious, shouts like a toddler and has a strange desire to start personal beefs with certain athletes. That said, he’s knowledgable (about certain sports), capable of arguing intelligently, articulate and charismatic. So, let’s put Stephen A. Smith under a rigorous boxing microscope and watch this fight in order to judge him on the substance of his contributions to the broadcast.

Remember, though, this is a man who tweeted this just prior to Mayweather-Pacquiao:

Breathtaking ignorance, indeed. Look, maybe Smith will surprise and provide some insightful commentary; should he do so, I will be the first to acknowledge it. His track-record, however, is not encouraging. Boxing fans will not stand for a hollow Mayweather-Pacquiao II hype man — a sort of Watson Twins of the broadcast booth. So, do your homework, Stephen A. Your exam is on Saturday.