Fox boxing broadcast team brings differing perspectives

Sometimes Brian Kenny, Joe Goossen and Lennox Lewis will joke on Fox boxing broadcasts. Sometimes they’ll argue.

So long as they educate and inform.

“Nobody agrees about everything,” said Goossen, who also doubles as a trainer. “I like that. To have everybody on the same page without anybody questioning anybody’s commentary, I don’t think is fair to the fans. When you are challenged, sometimes it makes you think really hard about explaining your point of view. … I think it’s a plus.”

The three are back in Las Vegas to call the Keith Thurman-Mario Barrios card Saturday at Michelob Ultra Arena — and showcase their chemistry on Premier Boxing Champions’ pay-per-view broadcast on Fox.

Kenny is a veteran blow-by-blow announcer and the point man, tasked with detailing the action. Goossen and Lewis, one of history’s great heavyweight champions, serve as color commentators and use their unique perspectives to analyze the action.

Their collective experiences and insight usually make for balanced broadcasts that combine insight and analysis with humor and playful arguments.

“You don’t work on chemistry,” Kenny said. “It’s part of the human dynamic.”

As a trainer, Goossen sees fights one way, while Lewis, as a former fighter, sees things another way. Their presence provides viewers different angles from which they can watch the fight, and they can opine around Kenny, who has two decades of experience as a boxing broadcaster.

“Everybody really knows what they’re doing and really knows each other’s roles,” Lewis said. “It’s just playing off each other, knowing each other’s value and exposing it in a very positive way.”

Kenny wasn’t a trainer or fighter. But he used to train recreationally at the late Cus D’Amato’s Catskill Boxing Club, where Mike Tyson used to hone his skills. The recreational experience coupled with his broadcasting experience gives Kenny the confidence to challenge Goossen and Lewis on air.

If he disagrees with a point they make, he’ll say so, often making for more pointed and refined conversation.

“They like being, not just challenged, but I was listening to them and I would follow up,” said Kenny, who also calls fights for DAZN. “I think it just happened naturally. It’s part of our personalities.”

Goossen and Lewis don’t seem to mind, either.

“That’s good for the broadcast,” Goossen said. “As a viewer, that would kind of put me to sleep just everybody agreeing with each other. I like the fact that there’s a lot of give and take between Brian, Lennox and myself.”

Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.