As soon as professional boxing became interesting to a wide range of viewers, Vladimir Gendlin became his first famous commentator. His accurate explanations with knowledge of the intricacies of the battle, even carried people far from this harsh sport. The ability to interest, clearly and interestingly describe the situation in the ring is a feature of voice accompaniment from the genius of comments.
Childhood and youth
In the past, an athlete, Vladimir Ilyich Gendlin hails from Moscow. The future boxer was born in May 1936. Parents of little Volodya were actors. Endless tours and travels have become commonplace for this family. The constant change of schools did not have the best effect on academic performance, but Vladimir Gendlin didn’t even slip to the two. In his youth, he became interested in sports.
After school, the young man continued his education at the university’s mechmath in Saratov. Having successfully studied for 4 years, in the last year I decided to change my occupation. As a result, the study was over.
Boxer and Commentator Career
Young Vladimir Gendlin went into amateur boxing, where he spent 51 fights. Throughout his career, there has been only one loss. Gennady received the title of master of sports in boxing. After leaving sports, he trained teens in Kislovodsk. At the same time he is fond of journalism, he mastered this profession. Gendlin’s broadcasts about sports were first broadcast on provincial channels, but he was soon noticed by producers from Moscow.
Gendlin did not think of building a career as a television reporter, much less a commentator. A case brought him into the profession. In 1993, Vladimir Ilyich was organizing the boxing match Glenn McCrory - Alfred Cole in Moscow. They invited Vladimir Maslachenko to accompany the battle. The former goalkeeper of the USSR national football team was not strong in the intricacies of boxing fights and honestly admitted this to Gendlin, offering to comment on the fight together. Subsequently, television producers appreciated the talent of Vladimir Ilyich and offered a job on NTV.
All-Russian popularity to the talented TV presenter was brought by the famous "Gendlin's Big Ring". He led it on one of the central television channels - NTV. The emergence of a new ambitious company of television people with fresh ideas contributed to the popularization of sports on television. Until that time, no one was able to draw the attention of a wide audience to professional boxing in Russia. The circumstances helped. The broadcasting time of the channel began at 16:00 and lasted until midnight. However, this did not stop Gendlin from convincing the producers of the channel to find a place for his broadcasts in the broadcast network.
Trial episodes of the "Big Ring" talked about new world boxing champions from post-Soviet countries: Russians Yuri Arbachakova and Kyrgyz Orzubek Nazarov. Then there were series dedicated to famous fighters: Sergey Artemyev, Kobozev, Pestryaev and others. Vladimir Ilyich Gendlin was in a hurry to share with the whole country the successes of compatriots in the American rings. Some have a tragic fate. So, Sergey Kobozev died under tragic circumstances, Sergey Artemyev received serious injuries in the ring. Vladimir Gendlin helped Artemyev survive by paying for his treatment in the United States.
Childhood dream
Gendlin prepared the pilot issues of programs with great interest, but did not even think about the profession of a commentator. But he admitted that he experienced a certain envy in relation to football commentators Maslachenko, Orlov, Periturin. According to him, Soviet and Russian boxing was not lucky with commentators, and he dreamed of mastering this profession from childhood. At that time, there were no people who knew and thoroughly understood the intricacies of this sports craft.
On the evening air on NTV in the 90s, the television program “The Night of the Knockouts” with Gendlin's comments was released. It collected the best boxing fights of those years. Viewers still remember the exact professional explanations of Vladimir Ilyich for fights. These boxing shows were among the most watched in the early 90s.
New hobby
At the same time, Gendlin leads the first professional boxing club Red Stars. It included 26 fighters. Coached by Vladimir Alexandrovich Lavrov. Gendlin’s fighters were the first of the Russian boxers to participate in professional fights abroad. And Vladimir Ilyich himself masters the profession of manager in the United States. At the same time, the idea arises of returning his favorite sport to television, creating a program about professional boxing. Club Red Stars lasted 2.5 years. His natives are famous athletes in the homeland and in the USA. Gendlin gained invaluable experience as a promoter during the club’s operation. He realized that big boxing is not only a sport, but also a business.
In 1995, a former athlete founds and leads the Boxing Union of Russia. On television, he writes a series of television programs "This whole boxing." Gendlin never regretted his work on NTV.
Work in the USA
In the mid-90s, Gendlin managed to take out many promising young boxers overseas. Vladimir Ilyich was the first to understand that for victories it is necessary to plunge into the world of big sport, feel its trends, learn new rules and laws. American businessmen began to invest in talented boxers from the Gendlin club. Significant for Vladimir was his acquaintance with the great promoters of the United States Bob Arum and Don King. On their example, the newly-minted director of the boxing club studied how to build a business in big sports, and how to create boxing news himself.
He admits that Mike Tyson’s manager Bill Keyton has encouraged him to create the Big Ring show. The American promoter showed how world-class shows are created, how to organize a PR company, how to make money from this. Gendlin learned a lot from him. Thanks to Bill, he met with the outstanding boxer of the twentieth century, Mike Tyson.
Awards
In 2003, his professional activity was appreciated by presenting the main award for television people - TEFI. The main and unconditional contender for the award was considered football commentator Viktor Gusev. At this time, the World Cup in Japan was held. It was the central sporting event of the year. No one expected that a boxing commentator would receive a television prize in the football year. But it happened. For the first time in his television career, Vladimir Gendlin received a prestigious television award. The judges noted the cycle of documentaries of Gendlin about outstanding boxers. Awarded to the great commentator Vladimir Pozner.
In 2009, Vladimir Gendlin repeated his success. The award ceremony was held in St. Petersburg. Vladimir Ilyich did not get the award - he was on a business trip abroad. The Academy Award was awarded for commenting on the battle of Roy Jones - Joe Calzaghe. In this fight, the great athlete Roy Jones lost to his opponent by points.
Nowadays, Vladimir Gendlin is considered the founder of live broadcasting of professional boxing on television in Russia. Previously, the popularity of a particular sport has never depended on the commentator.
In 2007, a boxing expert decides to leave television, arguing that there are no world-class athletes in the country who would like to interview. However, he later makes documentaries about Russian boxers Kosta Dzyu, Sergey Kobozev, Oleg Maskaev, Sergey Artemyev.
Sons
The children of Vladimir Gendlin (Dmitry and Vladimir) followed in the footsteps of his father. They became television people, helped him create television shows. The eldest son Vladimir is a former boxer. He currently works as a columnist for several Kommersant publications.
The youngest son Dmitry Gendlin suddenly died in 2009. The man graduated from the Film Academy in New York and helped his father create the program "Big Ring", became its director. It was a completely new vision of sports in the post-Soviet space.
The lessons of Vladimir Ilyich
Commentator Gendlin advises his young colleagues not to put themselves in the first place during the battle. The viewer must, first of all, enjoy the sight. The commentator is called upon to explain some purely professional points and shut up, giving way to athletes.
Idols Commentators
Gendlin considered his friend Vladimir Maslachenko to be a master of his craft and a great professional. Vladimir Ilyich admitted that he does not really like football, but if Maslachenko commented on the match, he was interested to watch the competition. He believes that Maslachenko was popular due to his many years of experience and knowledge.
Favorite Athletes
People from Gendlin’s inner circle believe that he also had his sympathies. So, the commentator admired the fights of the Mexican athletes Morales and Barrera, considered them the best boxers of the ring of the beginning of the 21st century.
But at the same time, he does not consider it necessary to get close to boxers outside the ring. The only athlete to whom he empathized from the very beginning of his career was Orzubek Nazarov. Later, the favorites of Vladimir Ilyich became the Klitschko brothers. The commentator developed friendly relations with them.
Secrets of Success
Gendlin sincerely does not understand the reason for the viewer's love. He believes that it is important to be a professional, to understand the intricacies and nuances of your profession, to be able to convey to the viewer the most important things. His main credo: not to stop the fan from enjoying the fight, because the spectacle speaks for itself. Assessment of the battle should be sharp and concise, only in essence. It is also necessary to take into account that the audience is not an expert, therefore it is necessary to speak about the nuances of the match in a language they understand. Gendlin does not watch boxing before the broadcast; he prefers to share his first impressions of the competition with the viewer. It is important to attend the battles in person to convey their atmosphere. The silence of the studio is not the best environment for enjoying the fight.
Together with his commentator, the audience visited the world's best sports arenas: MGM, Blue Horison, Madison Square Garden. Thanks to Gendlin, the audience learned to distinguish between a jab and an uppercut.
At 82, he did not lose his love of life and capacity for work. Gendlin often communicates with the press, gives his assessments of modern boxing and a new generation of athletes. Specialized publications queue up for forecasts for upcoming fights. The authority of Vladimir Ilyich in this sport is undeniable.
Work in Ukraine
In the early 2000s, boxing commentator Vladimir Gendlin began working on Ukrainian television. The battles accompanied by him broke all the records for the views. Vladimir Ilyich singled out the Klitschko brothers from the general cohort of boxers of that time. He, as a professional in the boxing world, was interested in observing the development of his brothers' sports career. Gendlin said that our boxing has long lacked fighters who could resist the American boxers. And such athletes were found. In 2008, Gendlin ceases cooperation with the channel.
Retirement
A few years ago, Vladimir Ilyich left television, explaining this by a change in the policy of the NTV channel and tiredness from endless filming, flights, and performances. Referring to old age, he decided not to continue his television career, devoting himself to his family, leaving young boxing news coverage.
His schedule was really tight: rise at 3 a.m., recording, editing. Fights often take place in the United States local time. For us it is a deep night or early morning. But the commentator should already be in the studio. He could be seconded at any time to another continent to record a duel. This is a big burden for an elderly organism. I must say that Vladimir Gendlin always kept himself in great shape, was distinguished by good health.
He is still interested in his beloved boxing, in the know about all the latest events in the world of sports. His numerous interviews with an assessment of the skill of an athlete and predictions for the upcoming match can be found in almost every print publication.
Nowadays, Gendlin Vladimir is an iconic figure not only for Russian boxing, but for all Russian journalism. The style of his reporting is recognizable to every sports fan. He is distinguished by laconicism, restraint, professional accuracy of the assessment of what is happening in the ring. Vibrant and figurative language are characteristic features of his commentary manner.
Journalists rightly call him the Russian voice of boxing. They say that with his accompaniment you can sell any, even not the most spectacular duel. Commentator, boxer and journalist Vladimir Gendlin, whose biography is not as famous as his accomplishments in the profession, wrote a new page in the history of Russian sports and television.