Jim Lampley on Hosting the Super Bowl, Calling Tyson's Fights, and His Friendship with O.J.
The Michael Shermer Show
Michael Shermer
4.3 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 20 September 2025
⏱️ 82 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Jim Lampley's story is a 50-year travelog of an unlikely career that catalogs the evolution of sports television—from his emergence as the first sideline reporter, through hosting and covering 14 Olympics, to working with all major sports networks.
In this episode, Lampley reflects on his experiences in boxing, the evolution of the sport, and the genius of athletes like Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. The conversation also explores the unpredictability of life and how chance events shape our paths, the importance of mentorship, and the impact of performance-enhancing drugs.
Lampley offers insights into the current state of journalism, emphasizing the importance of truth and objectivity amidst the challenges posed by social media and economic incentives. He also reflects on the complex legacy of O.J. Simpson and shares anecdotes about some of his other friends, including the beloved actor (and avid golfer) Jack Nicholson.
Jim Lampley is a Hall of Fame sportscaster with 50 years of on-site experience at numerous live sports events, including the Super Bowl, Wimbledon, and 14 Olympics. For 30 years, he was the face and voice of HBO World Championship Boxing, calling some of the sport's most iconic fights—including bouts featuring Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, George Foreman, and Floyd Mayweather. A three-time Emmy winner and International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee, his new book is It Happened!
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're listening to The Michael Shermer Show. |
| 0:15.9 | All right, everybody, it's Michael Shermer. |
| 0:17.9 | It's time for another episode of the Michael Shermer show. |
| 0:19.7 | You're not going to believe my guest today is the great Jim Lampley, |
| 0:23.0 | Hall of Fame Sportscaster with 50 years of on-site experience at numerous live sporting events |
| 0:28.9 | that include college and NFL football, ABC's wide world of sports, inside NBA and NLB locker rooms, |
| 0:36.9 | Wimbledon, Rider Cup, PGA Golf, and 14 Olympics. For 30 years, |
| 0:42.3 | he was the face and voice of HBO's World Championship boxing, including anecdotes and |
| 0:48.3 | interactions with the most famous fighters of his era, such as Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Sugar Ray Leonard, and George Orman, who gave him |
| 0:56.2 | the title of his memoir, which we'll get to in just a second, and the biggest lineup boxing matches |
| 1:01.3 | of all time, including the billion-dollar bout between Floyd, Mayweather, and Manny Peckio, |
| 1:07.1 | which was, I guess, probably still the largest gross income in the history of pay-per-view sports. |
| 1:11.7 | Here is his memoir. It happened. |
| 1:15.2 | A uniquely lucky life in sports television. |
| 1:18.1 | Jim, nice to see you. |
| 1:18.9 | What is that ring? |
| 1:20.0 | That looks like a Super Bowl ring. |
| 1:24.0 | So probably the big one. The big one is the International Boxing Hall of Fame ring. |
| 1:33.1 | In 2015, I was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastod in New York. |
| 1:41.4 | Nice. |
| 1:41.8 | Sometimes people on the street or in the grocery store will mistake it for a Super Bowl ring. |
| 1:48.0 | Right. |
... |
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