LAS VEGAS — When Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin step inside the ring Saturday night for their highly-anticipated middleweight championship rematch, boxing fans watching at home might experience a bit of deja vu. From a sold-out T-Mobile Arena, to the glimmering title belts, much of what viewers see will likely be the same as it was when Alvarez and Golovkin first met in 2017.
But one thing about Saturday night’s megafight will be very different. Unlike last time, famed ring announcer Michael Buffer will not be on hand to introduce the principals.
For the better part of the past three decades, Buffer has been a fixture on HBO boxing broadcasts. His trademarked, pre-fight catchphrase — “Let’s get ready to rumble!” — has induced thunderous cheers in venues around the world.
“One of the things I really love about my job is enthusiasm,” Buffer said. “When I say, ‘Let’s get ready to rumble,’ when I hear that noise come back at me, I know I’m doing my job right and I really enjoy that.”
Buffer has never been HBO’s official ring announcer, though. He worked as an independent contractor for promoters whose bouts were broadcast on the network.
And now, the legendary emcee has signed on exclusively with a broadcast platform — the newly launched streaming outlet, DAZN. That means his days on HBO are done.
“A lot of people assumed for all those years that I was the official announcer for HBO because I had done almost all their fights,” Buffer said.
He added: “I worked on all of them independently. I just stayed that way for all these years.”
Buffer credits promoter Bob Arum with handing him his big break in 1983. Arum offered Buffer a gig as the announcer for his cards on ESPN. But the promoter says Buffer wasn’t exactly a finished product.
“He was so [expletive] bad,” Arum said.
Buffer put in six months of hard work, Arum said, and was on his way to becoming a boxing icon.
“The contrast between that first event, and the polished guy that he became, was absolutely amazing,” Arum said.
The 73-year-old ring announcer — who was inducted into boxing’s Hall of Fame in 2012 — will be spending more time overseas, thanks to this new deal. DAZN will air a number fights put on by Matchroom Boxing, a major promoter in the United Kingdom.
Buffer’s experience in 2017 announcing the Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko heavyweight championship bout before a crowd of 90,000 in London’s Wembley Stadium ranks among his career favorites.
“Joshua’s entrance was the most spectacular I’ve ever seen,” Buffer said. “Just thinking about it, just saying it right now, the hair on my arms is standing up.”
Buffer will be back at Wembley Stadium next weekend, where he will work Joshua’s heavyweight title showdown with Alexander Povetkin. But on Saturday night, he will be sorely missed by boxing fans who have grown accustomed to his presence for the big events.
“I’ll be there in heart and spirit,” Buffer said. “I’ll just become a fan. I’ve been doing this for a long time. My wife and I will sit back and hopefully enjoy the fight, regardless of which way it goes.”
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