HBO's Lampley out of bounds on Pacquiao knockout call

• HBO's Lampley compared Pacquiao loss to a tsunami

Boxing can inspire over-the-top comments from the sport's broadcasters.

But HBO's Jim Lampley was clearly out-of-bounds on Juan Manuel Marquez's sixth-round knockout of Manny Pacquiao on Saturday night.

Lampley's call: "The tsunami that hit the Philippines was just replicated by Marquez."

Except, of course, it wasn't.

The Philippines has often been ravaged by tsunamis, or typhoons, including a storm called Typhoon Bopha that left more than 900 people missing Sunday.

Lampley, in a statement, told USA TODAY Sports on Sunday that "last night's comment was in no way intended to belittle or dismiss the grave severity of the typhoon's effects or the humanity of the victims. We all know the difference between a boxing match and an event of cataclysmic human suffering. To anyone who was discomfited by the metaphorical comparison I offer my sincere and heartfelt apology. No disrespect was in any way intended."

Lampley, however, wasn't the only one to compare Pacquiao's loss to a killer storm. So did a spokesman for New Bataan township, ravaged by Typhoon Bopha.

About Pacquiao's loss, spokesman Marlon Esperanza told The Associated Press, "People were really dismayed. It was like they were hit by another typhoon."