Some talkSPORT news from Ian Darke who has tweeted that he is doing a couple of boxing commentaries for them

Good spot from you.

He says he'll be doing Fury v Chisora (22nd November) and Saunders v Eubank Jr (29th November).

I'm trying to think when Ian Darke last appeared as a commentator on talkSPORT. He used to do a bit of football and boxing but that was some time ago now.

Forgive me that should've been 29th November for both.

Well spotted Shaun, for the record the tweet in question reads:


For those who didn't know, talkSPORT were planning to do commentary on the Tyson Fury v Derek Chisora II fight when it was originally scheduled for Saturday 26th July before it was called off. The planned commentary team the first time around was Dave Farrar and Steve Collins, with Colin Murray due to present with Gareth A Davies. It'll be interesting to see if Steve is called upon again to work with Ian this time around, I note that his son Steve Collins Jr is fighting on the undercard so he'll definitely be at the ExCel Arena on the night but might be a bit busy!

Both Darke and Farrar are football commentators for BT Sport, so I'm wondering if this had an impact on their availability. Farrar does a lot of European league commentaries for BT Sport so I wonder if he's already committed to covering a match on Saturday 29th November, but then again Darke is clearly the bigger name and more experienced commentator on the biggest of fights - having been the lead boxing voice on BBC Radio and then Sky Sports for many years. As you probably know, Darke and Darren Fletcher are rotated from match to match as BT Sport's Premier League commentator and they have a live game on Saturday 29th November, West Bromwich Albion v Arsenal, which I presume Fletcher will be commentating on. Although that said I'm sure Darke would be able to get from the Hawthorns to the ExCel Arena in London between 3-8pm-ish. I'm not sure if Gareth A Davies will be available to work on their coverage though, given that there is a UFC event on the night which he would usually cover for BT Sport, although as it is takes place in Japan he might not travel/be needed for a studio team.

talkSPORT also have a live Premier League commentary on Saturday 29th November, Sunderland v Chelsea at 5.30pm, so it'll be interesting to see how they'll manage that along with the boxing. When pondering whether they'd pick up the rescheduled Fury v Chisora II fight on that night I thought they'd just slot it in to the 9pm-midnight slot in place of The Season Ticket with Danny Kelly with Call Collymore broadcast as normal, as bell time for the main event is likely to be around 10pm, but with them doing commentary on the main undercard bout, Billy Joe Saunders v Chris Eubank Jr, it might be a tight squeeze to stick to the usual schedule and so the post-match phone-in might have to be curtailed to allow for some build-up prior to that fight.

While there wasn't the conflict with Saturday afternoon/teatime football in the summer, in terms of the boxing offering talkSPORT seem to have done well out of the postponement - this card as a whole looks a lot stronger than I remember the original one in July being, with as well as Saunders v Eubank Jr being on the undercard Frankie Gavin is also fighting. So if one of the top two fights is called off late in the day they might be able to cover his British Welterweight title fight prior to the main event.


A few years ago, Swansea Steve posted this very informative post detailing talkSPORT's boxing coverage at the turn of the century.

Unless I've missed it, there is no mention of Ian Darke doing any commentary work in that post - with people like Graham Beecroft, Colonel Bob Sheridan, Jim Rosenthal and the late Reg Gutteridge being called upon instead.

Of course, most/all of the fights talkSPORT covered would have been live on Sky Sports or Sky Box Office and as mentioned Darke was Sky's boxing commentator for most of the 1990s and 2000s, so presumably would have been the UK TV commentator for most/all of those fights. I don't think talkSPORT covered the only big fight I can remember from that period not to be televised by Sky, Lennox Lewis v Hasim Rahman I, which was on BBC One.

Ian Darke was involved in talkSPORT in the very early days of the station after it was relaunched from being Talk Radio - he was one of the rotating co-hosts on the Sports Breakfast before talkSPORT settled upon the regular pairing of Alan Brazil and Mike Parry in early 2000, but given Steve's recollections it wouldn't surprise me if actually he has never been involved in the station's live boxing coverage until now. He may have done the odd football commentary for them though.

BBC Radio Wales

Simon Davies hosting with Rob Phillips, Iwan Roberts and Nico Classen in the BBC studios somewhere in Brussels

Cardiff Blues v Scarlets (LV=Cup) - Andy Moore (updates)
Ospreys v Newport-Gwent Dragons (LV= Cup) - Nick Webb (updates)

BBC Bristol

Jonathan Ford (studio host)

Nottingham v Bristol (RFU Championship) - Andy Champion and Mark Hoskins (1548MW / Bristol & Bath DAB / Online)

BBC Radio Wales

Wales v Fiji (Dove Mens International) - Rick O'Shea hosted from the Millennium stadium with commentary from Nick Webb, Adrian Hadley and Garin Jenkins, with Bethan Clement on pitchside reporting duty (SE FM & SSE Wales DAB / SW FM & SW Wales DAB / MW / Digital TV / Online)
England v South Africa - Andrew Titheridge (once again, Rick announced him as 'the fantastically named...')
Wales Rally GB - Victoria Turner

BBC Radio Cymru

Wales v Fiji (Dove Mens International) - Eleri Siôn hosted from the Millennium stadium, with commentary from Cennydd Davies, Alun Lewis and Robert Jones. Catrin Heledd was on pitchside reporting duty.
Wales Rally GB - Lori Morgan

After turning his hand to archery at the 2012 Olympics, Jonathan Agnew will have a go at equestrian commentary for BBC Radio 5 Live at the 2016 Games.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/equestrian/30115483

BBC Radio Wales

Wales v New Zealand (Dove Men's RU friendly)(1730GMT KO) - Rick O'Shea hosted with commentary from Nick Webb, Garin Jenkins and Phil Bennett. Bethan Clement was on pitchside duty (All frequencies / Online)

BBC Radio Cymru

Wales v New Zealand (Dove Men's RU friendly)(1730GMT KO) - Eleri Siôn hosted with commentary from Cennydd Davies, Emyr Lewis and Dafydd Jones, with Catrin Heledd on pitchside stuff

BBC 5 Live

Wales v New Zealand (Dove Men's RU friendly)(1730GMT KO) - Chris Jones (0-20) Alistair Eykyn (20-40) and Robert Jones

Tony Bellew v Nathan Cleverly (WBO Intercontinental cruiserweight title a the Liverpool Echo Arena)

BBC Radio Wales - Steffan Garrero (studio host) along with Gary Lockett, with Gareth Rhys Owen doing the pre-fight interviews. Commentary from 5 Live's Mike Costello, Richie Woodhall and Darren Barker.

BBC Bristol

Jon Ford (studio host)

Bristol v Rotherham Titans (RFU Championship) - Damian Derrick and Andy Short (1548MW / Bristol & Bath DAB / Online)

talkSPORT have announced their team for their coverage of Tyson Fury v Dereck Chisora and Billy Joe Saunders v Chris Eubank Jr this Saturday. Colin Murray will be presenting from the ExCel Arena in London (not sure if he'll be joined by an additional pundit). Ian Darke, Richie Woodhall and Steve Collins will be the commentary team for both fights. Fight Night Live is schedule to run between 9pm-midnight.

BBC Radio Wales

Catrin Heledd hosting from Cardiff Arms Park (her words)

Cardiff Blues v Treviso (Guiness Pro12) - Nick Webb and Adrian Hadley (All frequencies / Online)

BBC Radio Wales

Wales v South Africa (Dove Men's RU test) - Rick O'Shea hosted from the Millennium with commentary from Nick Webb, Garin Jenkins and Phil Bennett (North FM & NE Wales DAB / MW / Digital TV/ Online) with Bethan Clement doing pitchside stuff

BBC Radio Cymru

Wales v South Africa (Dove Men's RU test) - Eleri Siôn hosted from the Millennium stadium, with commentary from Cennydd Davies, Brynmor Williams and Deiniol Jones, with Catrin Heledd doing pitchside stuff (commentary everywhere/how bar SW Wales FM)

BBC Five Live Sports Xtra

(on air from 1315-1640)

England v Australia (RU test from Twickenham) - Mark Pougatch (host) commentary from Iain Robertson, Matt Dawson and Paul Grayson
Wales v Australia - Chris Jones and Robert Jones (updates)

In the NHL, the Anaheim Ducks were at home to the Chicago Blackhawks. Steve Carrroll commentated, and Dan Wood summarised for KLAA. There was no post-game show because the team headed off to San Jose after the match for tonight's match.

In rugby union, BBC Radio Leeds is this season providing commentary on Yorkshire Carnegie's league matches, but not their cup matches. The next commentary will be after Christmas.

talkSPORT

Friday 7th November

Rugby Union: LV= Cup Group Stage
Harlequins v Newport Gwent Dragons - Russell Hargreaves

Saturday 8th November

Rugby Union: Autumn International
England v New Zealand - Russell Hargreaves

Sunday 9th November

Formula 1: Brazilian Grand Prix
Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, Interlagos - Geoff Peters

Friday 14th November

Hawksbee & Jacobs from Cheltenham Racecourse

Horse Racing: The Cheltenham Open
Cheltenham Racecourse - Rupert Bell (commentary on the closing stages of selected races)

Paul and Andy were joined at the course by Andy Smart, Paddy Power, Mike Graham and Mike Parry during their annual show at The Cheltenham Open.

Rugby Union: LV= Cup Group Stage
Cardiff Blues v Scarlets - Hamish Stuart

Saturday 15th November

Rugby Union: Autumn Internationals
England v South Africa - Russell Hargreaves
Wales v Fiji - Hamish Stuart

Sunday 16th November

Rugby Union: Autumn International
Ireland v Georgia - David Brady

Rugby Union: Premiership
Leicester Tigers v Saracens - Simon Ward

Friday 21st November

Rugby Union: Premiership
Harlequins v Sale Sharks - Russell Hargreaves

Saturday 22nd November

Horse Racing: Betfair Chase
Haydock Park Racecourse - Rupert Bell

Rugby Union: Autumn International
England v Samoa - Russell Hargreaves

Sunday 23rd November

Formula 1: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Yas Marina Circuit - Geoff Peters

Wednesday 26th November

Cricket: First One-Day International
Sri Lanka v England - Jon Norman

Friday 28th November

Rugby Union: Premiership
Bath v Harlequins - Russell Hargreaves

Saturday 29th November

Cricket: Second One-Day International
Sri Lanka v England - Guy Swindells

Rugby Union: Autumn International
England v Australia - Russell Hargreaves

Horse Racing: The Hennessy Gold Cup
Newbury Racecourse - Rupert Bell

Full details of last night's boxing coverage to follow in a separate post...

Saturday 29th November - talkSPORT

Colin Murray presented talkSPORT Fight Night from ringside at ExCel London alongside Gareth A Davies from The Daily Telegraph and Steve Bunce from The Independent

Boxing: British and Commonwealth Welterweight Championship
Frankie Gavin v Bradley Skeete - Ian Darke and Richie Woodhall (10.15pm commentary)

Boxing: EBU, British and Commonwealth Middleweight Championship
Billy Joe Saunders v Chris Eubank Jr - Ian Darke, Richie Woodhall and Steve Collins (11.20pm commentary)

Boxing: EBU and British Heavyweight Championship
Dereck Chisora v Tyson Fury - Ian Darke, Richie Woodhall and Steve Collins (12.30am commentary)

Warren Haughton was talkSPORT's ringside reporter, conducting interviews with notable personalities in the crowd during their build-up and then post-fight interviews in the aftermath of the fights.

A few details to point out - talkSPORT Fight Night was initially scheduled to run between 9pm-midnight with the Billy Joe Saunders v Chris Eubank Jr fight initially pencilled in to start at around 9.30pm. However, that didn't come to pass with the undercard running over considerably.

Prior to the start of their live commentaries, they had about 75 minutes of build-up - Gareth A Davies and Steve Bunce were both involved during this segment, but weren't again after they began their live commentaries - before it was agreed at short notice that talkSPORT would carry commentary on the Frankie Gavin v Bradley Skeete fight, which as a fan of the former fighter was very welcome indeed. Due to the last minute nature of that agreement, it was just Darke and Woodhall on commentary duty for that one.

One notable aspect of talkSPORT's coverage was the refreshing lack of commercial breaks. They had a normal quarter hour break at 9.15pm, but on their return from that Colin announced that they'd be commercial-free until the start of the boxing. He was true to his word - the only commercial breaks they had from that point onwards was one just prior to the Gavin fight, one in the break between that bout and the Saunders v Eubank Jr fight and then one after that and before the main event. There were also no breaks for the news after the 9pm bulletin until their coverage had finished.

In the end, their coverage overran by a whopping 90 minutes with them finally handing over to overnight show Extra Time with Russell Hargreaves at 1.30am. Minutes after the end of the Chisora v Fury fight, Steve Collins had to rush off - as he thought his son Steve Collins Jr would be in action soon (he was on the card but due to the length of the undercard fights that did take place, his fight was initially moved to after the marquee bout but in the end didn't happen after all)! Murray, Darke and Woodhall stuck around for a short while, with interviews conducted by Haughton, until they reached the bottom of the hour which was the logical point to finish up.

All-in-all very enjoyable coverage by talkSPORT last night. I'm sure they'll be seriously considering picking up rights to a potential rematch between Saunders and Eubank Jr should one take place.

BBC 5LSX

London Irish v Gloucester (Aviva Premiership) - Ian Randall and Andy Wyman (as Radio Gloucestershire)
Newcastle Falcons v Sale Sharks (Aviva Premiership) - Ian Smith and John Pearson, with occasionally Tom Bramald (as Radio Newcastle)

BBC Bristol / Somerset

Jon Ford (studio host)

Bristol v Pontypridd (British & Irish Cup) - Andy Champion and Ben Moss (1548MW / Bristol & Bath DAB / Online)

Some international news, as ABC's David Morrow finished presenting/commentating for Grandstand over the weekend:-

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-3...at-ab/5929416?

Thanks Diff for such a comprehensive post about Talksport’s coverage of the boxing from Saturday. As you know from previous discussions we’ve had, I was a regular listener to TS when they provided regular boxing coverage in the early 2000s.

I must admit that I only listened up to the end of the Saunders v Eubank JR fight. Having sen the first Fury v Chisora fight, I didn’t think I could put myself through it again, especially at 12:30 in the morning! Sadly, it seems my fears about the fight were well founded as it sounded like a bit of a stinker and a very easy win for Fury. But, back to what I heard of the coverage.

On the whole I thought it was very good. Colin Murray is a good choice as presenter as he is clearly hugely inthusiastic about the sport which comes across to the listener. The commentary team were all experienced and it was good to hear Steve Collins again. One aspect of the coverage I didn’t like at all was the co-commentators getting involved in commentary during the rounds. I think the BBC get this right, with the action being described by the lead commentator for the whole round and the floor being given over to the co-commentators between rounds. With the analysis during rounds, I felt I was missing a lot of the action. This style of commentary works well for TV where the viewers can see what is going on and the commentary is there to enhance what they are watching, but for radio, I’m not a fan. I know it wasn’t anything significant that was being missed, but still…This is a personal view though and some may like this style of commentary. This was how TS covered fights previously, so it is clearly a style of boxing commentary the station favours.

This point aside though, I enjoyed what I heard.

BBC Bristol / Somerset

Richard Hoskin (studio host)

Montpellier Hérault v Bath (Champions Cup Pool 4) - Andrew Sheridan and Kane Palma-Newport* (95.5FM / 104.6FM / Bristol & Bath DAB / Online)
Bristol v London Scottish (British & Irish Cup) - Andy Champions and Auguy Slowik (1548MW / Online)

* eventually, he was training on the pitch up until 30 mins to KO.

BBC 5LSX

Harlequins v Leinster (Champions Cup Pool 2) (1515GMT KO) - Chris Jones (also host) and Nick Kennedy

BBC Newcastle (also via 5LSX)

Stade Français v Newcastle Falcons (Challenge Cup Pool 3) - Matt Newsum (also host), John Pearson and Dean Gray (1458MW / DAB / Online)

BBC Radio Wales

Newport-Gwent Dragons v București Wolves (Challenge Cup Pool 3) - Catrin Heledd (host) with commentary from Phil Steele and Garin Jenkins (All frequencies / Online)

There's no TV coverage of this game, so Phil has 'anointed' Garin the TMO

BBC Bristol / Somerset (also via 5LSX)

Dan Albutt (studio host)

Bath v Montpellier Hérault (Champions Cup Pool 4) - Andrew Sheridan and Nathan Catt (95.5FM / 104.6FM / Bristol & Bath DAB / Online)

London/Coventry Wasps v Castres Olympique (Champions Cup Pool 2)

BBC London - Nigel Barden (0-20) Andy Rowley (20-40) and James Cannon, with Jamie Hill doing interviews (DAB / Online / 5LSX)

This is the last game for both Wasps and BBC London at Adams Park. Wasps now head to the Ricoh Arena, BBC London aren't following them.