Harold Lederman passes away at 79

By Barry Holbrook

Former HBO unofficial ringside scorer and International Boxing Hall of Famer Harold Lederman passed away on Saturday at age 79 from cancer at the hospice care center in New York City, New York, according to ESPN.

Lederman was widely known by the viewers of HBO in watching their boxing telecasts, working with them from 1986 until recently when the network stopped broadcasting the sport. Lederman stayed to the very end with HBO when they stopped showing boxing. Lederman scored over 1000 fights during his time with HBO, and worked with Jim Lampley and Larry Merchant among others.

Harold Lederman made boxing interesting for fans

Lederman made it interesting for a lot of fans with his scoring, and analysis of the action in between rounds. He also gave previews of fights for HBO on Youtube, and that was insightful for the fans. Lederman was never bashful about giving his opinions of fighters, even if wasn’t what some boxing fans wanted to hear. Lederman told like it is.

Lederman worked as boxing judge in the 1960s.

For fans that become accustomed to watching boxing on HBO in hearing Lederman’s round by round scoring and analysis of the action, it’s not the same in watching fights on other networks without being able to hear his thoughts on the action. For this writer, Lederman was one of the best things about the broadcasts on HBO. Being able to hear him chime on what was going on in round. Promoters would often mention Lederman’s scoring of the fights to help reinforce their thoughts on their fighters deserving wins. Lederman was so well respected that his unofficial scorecards for HBO were validated by the promoters, and used to help strengthen their position when arguing that their fighters should have won or deserved the wins.

Jim Lampley pays his respects to Lederman

“As deeply saddened as I am by his passing, I am equally deeply joyful that he made it to the final bell on Dec. 8,” Jim Lampley of HBO said to ESPN.com. “Nothing was more important to the legacy of HBO Boxing, so in that we can all take solace. Now his scorecard is complete.”

Lederman was part of a great team with HBO when they had Lampley, Merchant, Emanuel Stewart and George Foreman.

Lederman will be missed by fans

It’s sad news that Lederman is no longer with us. He was such a great personality, and insightful with his vast knowledge of the game. He made boxing interesting to watch on HBO. It was fun to listen to Lederman sum up his thoughts on fights. He was always so enthusiastic. That’s what this writer liked about Harold. He was always so upbeat.