If you watched ESPN on Thursday nights in the early 1980s, you knew Randy Gordon.

The Brooklyn native was a signature voice of analysis on the fledgling network's "Top Rank Boxing" shows, working alongside blow-by-blow man Sal Marchiano on shows that featured future champions, top contenders and cult heroes like Kenny "Bang Bang" Bogner and Terrence Alli.

He was also a stalwart in print magazines -- including a stint at The Ring as a colleague of Bert Sugar and lead editorial positions at Boxing Illustrated, World Boxing, International Boxing and Big Book of Boxing -- and subsequently spent seven years as chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission.

"What's worse these days in boxing journalism is that every fan -- regardless of journalistic talent -- can be a boxing writer," he said. "They watch a boxing match or get an idea, head to their computer and then write about it. Some of it is unreadable. Of course, the Internet also gives many men and women with writing skills that same opportunity. I wish the Internet was around when I was editor-in-chief of The Ring. It would have made things a whole lot easier."

Still busy at 64, Gordon is a certified personal trainer at a New York fitness center and spends his Friday nights behind a microphone while co-piloting a SiriusXM radio show -- "Friday Night at the Fights" -- with former two-time heavyweight title challenger Gerry Cooney.

We caught up with him to discuss his show, the state of the sport and to get his picks on a few upcoming big fights.

First of all, what gym have you been working out in? When you were on ESPN, you, well, didn't look like a big-time athlete. Now, you've got some major guns. What changed?

I have always been a pretty fit little guy. I am a certified personal trainer and am employed by Lifetime Fitness, a 150,000-square-foot facility in Syosset, N.Y. I also train at the Westbury Boxing Gym in Westbury, Long Island. I not only have clients whom I train, but I work out myself at least one hour a day, seven days per week. One of the reasons I turned to boxing after high school is that boxing is meant for the little guy as well as the big guy. I always wanted to play pro baseball or pro football, but I fell around a foot short and a hundred pounds light. So I started boxing. I fell in love with boxing and stayed in it, never dreaming I'd wind up living the life every fight fan dreams of.

Speaking of ESPN, you were there in the early days of their fight coverage. When you watch the Friday night broadcasts these days, what do you think? Are they as good as when the shows began?

ESPN has certainly come a long way since the days of Top Rank Boxing. We did exciting club shows back in the beginning, but rarely a big fight, rarely a title fight. Nowadays, I must DVR the shows every Friday because I am in the SiriusXM studios for "Friday Night at the Fights" and don't get home until the ESPN show is ending. As I walk in, my fabulous boxing widow, Roni, hands me a cup of coffee, we sit down on the couch together and watch the DVR'd fights on ESPN.

What were some of the memorable moments from the Top Rank days on ESPN? Does any one fight, or one fighter, stand out in your recollections?

Names like Frank Fletcher, Dwight Braxton, Bobby Czyz, Rocky Lockridge, Johnny Bumphus, Terrence Alli, James Broad, Livingstone Bramble, Bruce "The Mouse" Strauss, Billy Collins Jr., Kenny "Bang Bang" Bogner, Tony Ayala and Dick Eklund jump right out at me. I think of Ice World in Totowa, N.J. There was an unforgettable fight in Detroit between John LoCicero and Caveman Lee in 1981. A dual title fight I called with Sal Marchiano -- I loved his "...8-9-10, goodnight, sweet prince" call on knockouts -- for ESPN in Panama City, Panama, in December 1981, will be featured in my upcoming book, Glove Affair. What a night that was! There will also be an explosive chapter in the book about my days with ESPN and an incident which shaped my career.