Ousted ESPN star makes TV return two years after | Sports News

Max Kellerman, the previous ESPN star, is set to make a much-anticipated comeback to tv later this yr as half of Netflix’s broadcast group for the Canelo Alvarez-Terence Crawford battle on September 13.

The well-liked host has been unemployed since his departure from the sports activities leisure behemoth in 2023, however he has now secured a new place almost two years later. At a press convention for the most important unified Super Middleweight championship showdown, Kellerman was all smiles as UFC president Dana White introduced him as a member of the published group.

This information comes as Jake Paul criticized Crawford and Alvarez for eating collectively forward of their high-profile bout later this yr. Meanwhile, ‘First Take’ host Stephen A. Smith had an awkward response when Kellerman, his former coworker, was talked about on ESPN.

Kellerman’s return to boxing brings his profession full circle. He started because the host of ‘Max on Boxing’ on New York‘s public entry channel as a teenager and served as an analyst on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights.

Now, at 51, the sports activities TV character is back doing what he loves. It has been confirmed that he shall be half of the Netflix broadcast group for the Alvarez vs. Crawford battle in simply a few months.

The upcoming mega-fight, promoted by TKO and supported by Saudi official and leisure mogul Turki Alalshikh, was the speak of Sunday’s press convention the place Kellerman hailed the Canelo-Crawford bout as a “perfect storm,” expressing gratitude for Alalshikh’s ardour for boxing.

“I know you guys are excited about this fight. But I don’t think you understand what a big deal it is. This is a perfect storm,” Kellerman informed the enthusiastic New York viewers.

“First of all, [Saudi Arabia General Entertainment Authority chairman] Turki Alalshikh, we’re lucky he happens to be a boxing fan. None of this happens if he doesn’t happen to be a boxing fan. If he doesn’t happen to be a boxing fan, none of us are here.

“[WWE President] Nick Khan, the best within the business. Dana White is the best fight sports activities promoter of my lifetime. And it is his first-ever boxing promotion. So that is who’s behind what you are gonna see.”

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Kellerman wrapped up his remarks by sharing his excitement about being involved, sparking speculation about whether this event marks a full-time return to television for the beloved broadcaster.

One of the most memorable moments in Kellerman’s career occurred in 2021 when he left ‘First Take’ after reported tensions with Smith over their on-air chemistry.

In 2023, the forthright ESPN personality confessed: “I heard some of it. I’d take full duty for that. It was completely my fault and the rationale it was my fault is as a result of I did not like working with him,” he admitted. “It’s simply that rattling easy. I did not prefer it.

“I thought the show was stale. I thought that we had flatlined when it came to the public at large. I didn’t want to go from No. 1 to No. 2. when Skip [Bayless] left. I wasn’t having that. That s— wasn’t gonna happen.”