Ringside Appreciation: HBO Judge Harold Lederman reflects on his time covering Manny Pacquiao

To anyone remotely involved or connected to the sport of boxing, the name Harold Lederman should ring a bell. For well over twenty years Lederman has been HBO’s unofficial judge on all of their telecasts, no matter how big the event. While not one to always grace the airwaves, Lederman has made a lasting impression due to his unique voice, ability to call a fight without any bias, and of course his scorecard tallies at the end of the night.


Born in the Bronx, New York, Lederman has been attached to the sport of boxing ever since he was a youth. Lederman claims to have been hooked by the first boxing event he went to and the rest seemed to be history. After completing his tenure at Columbia University he would earn a license to judge fights by the New York State Athletic Commission in 1967 and his odyssey in the sport would officially begin.


All the while maintaining his job as a pharmacist back in New York, Lederman would go on to cover, by his estimation, over a hundred world title fights across the globe. He would later be offered a spot as an expert commentator by HBO’s Ross Greenburg, eventually moving on to serve the role as the network’s ‘unofficial judge’ as years passed.


Since that fateful day in 1986, Lederman has traveled the world over while sitting ringside for some of the sport’s biggest events featuring the best fighters on the planet. It’s hard work but somebody has to do it and you get the sense in speaking with him that Lederman is beyond humble for everything he has experienced. Lederman has become more than just a staple on HBO telecasts: In many ways he is a fan favorite and any event featured on the network wouldn’t be the same without him.


In person, Lederman is as modest and easy going as they come, an obvious sign that the often crooked nature of the boxing business hasn’t rubbed off on him too much. Harold is like an open book and loves to talk about the sport of boxing and fighters in particular. When asked what his thoughts are on today’s current pound for pound stalwart, Lederman can’t specifically recall the first time that he saw Manny Pacquiao in person, but he certainly can remember the impression that was made.


“To tell the truth I don’t even remember the first time that I saw him live,” a befuddled Lederman remarked. “I do remember that I always liked him. He was just a very stylish fighter and he had a great right jab and a tremendous left hand. He moves very well inside of the ring and he has tremendous hand speed. That’s what stands out about him.”


While Pacquiao’s abilities inside of the ring are striking, Lederman is just as much impressed, if not almost a little bit in awe, of Pacquiao’s recent run not only through him competition, but up the weight class ladder as well.


“He just has an uncanny ability to move up in weight and still be effective,” says Lederman of Pacquiao, who weighed in at 106 pounds in his pro debut, nearly 40 south of the weight in which he will be scaling for his next fight, November 14th against Miguel Cotto. “The sky is the limit and you look at him and wonder if he’s going to be fighting for the Heavyweight championship at the way he’s going.”


People involved in boxing seem to cross paths with one another on many occasions, as the sport seems to also serve as somewhat of a fraternity no matter how heavy the involvement of each person. It could be understandable for a man in Lederman’s shoes to mingle a little bit with the endless cast of characters that boxing has to offer but the Orangeburg resident has instead taken a different approach as he prefers to keep his distance from almost everyone, Pacquiao included.


“I haven’t really interacted with him much to be honest,” Lederman says of the Filipino icon. “I never really hang out with the fighters too much because my job is that I have a fight to judge. I don’t want to have people think I am biased or prejudice one way or the other so I really don’t hang around them to be honest. I haven’t gotten to know Pacquiao too well but I definitely have an appreciation for everything he’s done inside the ring.”


In his day Lederman has gotten to soak up every atmosphere imaginable in the sport, from seeing rabid fans go crazy in sold out venues to experiencing the aura that only a club show can create. He claims that with Pacquiao you are always sure to get a great vibe in the building, with one fight in particular standing out.


“To be perfectly frank the Ricky Hatton fight was dynamic,” Lederman says of Pacquiao’s 2nd round destruction of the Manchester fighter at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. “My God the place was just jammed with all the Brits as well as people from the Filipino community. It was just a popular event and there’s no doubt that Manny Pacquiao can really sell tickets. He’s extremely popular in the Philippines as well as Filipino communities all over the world.”


Pacquiao’s popularity is the last thing that should be questioned when looking at the career of the humble pugilist. But despite all of the underlying drama and twisting storylines that seem to follow him, Manny has made an impression most because of his abilities inside of the squared circle, at least in the eyes of Lederman.


“The guy is very, very quick,” Harold respectfully states of the multi-division champion. “What you realize ringside, and I feel you get a real sense of it being up close, is that the guy is just a real damaging puncher. There’s no doubt about it. He can really hurt a guy.”


Hurt seems to be a fitting word, as Pacquiao has reeled off 37 knockouts in 49 professional wins against a who’s who of competition. But will that power be enough to dent the armor of Cotto, who will most likely be the biggest and strongest threat that Pacquiao will have faced in his career?


“There’s not much doubt in my mind that if he catches him right, he can knock Miguel Cotto out,” an extremely blunt Lederman predicts. “Miguel Cotto’s not the easiest guy in the world to knock out but he has been dropped and stunned by guys like [DeMarcus] ‘Chop Chop’ Corley, Ricardo Torres, and Antonio Margarito and he can definitely be hurt. Pacquiao is in his prime and he is a very strong puncher, so if he pressures him and catches him he could cause a surprise.”


Perhaps the best thing about Harold Lederman, besides his undying efforts towards staying unbiased and neutral, is the fact that he is a fan at heart. He’s been around the sport far too long and taken in too much to simply get excited over something sub par. That’s why his enthusiasm towards the Pacquiao-Cotto fight feels anything but forced and can instead be taken as heavy praise from just another ringside spectator.


“I think it’s going to be a tremendous fight. You have two guys who are in the prime of their careers with a lot on the line. They are both hall of fame worthy guys and you can’t really say what is going to happen. I just know that a lot of people are looking forward to it, and rightfully so.”

Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-22973-Miami-Boxing-Examiner~y2009m10d10-Ringside-Appreciation-HBO-Judge-Harold-Lederman-reflects-on-his-time-covering-Manny-Pacquiao