Boxing

MICHAEL BUFFER has been the iconic voice of boxing for more than four decades – but he hates hearing himself on the microphone.The legendary ring announcer – who was rightly inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2019 – began his legendary career all the way back in 1982.
Michael Buffer has been the voice of boxing for over 40 yearsCredit: Bongarts – Getty
The 78-year-old has called some of the biggest fights in the history of the sportCredit: Getty
But the American has never been a fan of hearing himself announce fightsCredit: THE TIMES
Buffer has called some of the biggest fights of that time, introducing the likes of Sugar Ray Leonard, Evander Holyfield, Floyd Mayweather, Anthony Joshua and Canelo Alvarez.
Introducing some of the biggest names in the sport is well and truly second nature to the American, as it should be after 40-odd years in the business.
But he never imagined eventually taking to the gig – which his brother Bruce performs for the UFC – like a duck to water after his first few outings.
He told The Telegraph: “I was dreadful to begin with forty years ago. I mean really dreadful.”
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Buffer – who has become just as big as some of the fighters he’s announced down the years – still remembers the pit he had in his stomach the first time he began introducing fighters.
He recalled: “The very first time I did it man, oh my god my guts were churning. I was like, ‘What am I doing here?'”
Despite his early jitters, Buffer’s talent shone through – so much so that he was scooped by up Top Rank Chief Operation Officer Brad Jacobs in 1983.
The rest, as the old and often said saying goes, is history.
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Michael Buffer never expected to have a Hall of Fame career when he began announcingCredit: GETTY
He said: “Brad Jacobs, who’s one of the top executives with Bob Arum’s Top Rank right now, was the guy that hired me.
“And it was at the urging of the entertainment director at the Playboy Hotel in Atlantic City that he did that.
“Nobody knew me, I’d never done anything, I kind of like bluffed my way into getting the job.
“But I had always been a fan of boxing [he first watched Rocky Marciano and Jersey Joe Walcott on a black and white TV in 1951] and I idolised Floyd Patterson.
“Then Muhammad Ali and have always loved the sport.
“In the early 80s I was working as a model at the time and I had a headshot so I sent letters to the Atlantic City casinos and hotels that were having all the fights.
“Literally an hour drive away from me and got a response and they got my foot in the door with the promoter.
“I suppose the rest is history.”
Buffer’s career – which has also included cameo appearances on The Simpsons and South Park – has been made even more remarkable by the fact he survived throat cancer.
Michael Buffer’s stardom even saw him written into an episode of The SimpsonsCredit: FOX
He said: “I forget about that stuff and just hearing you go down the list I’m like oh yeah, I did that. It’s almost unbelievable.
“Not bad for a kid who messed around at school and was the class clown. Really! It’s been a pretty amazing life.”
Buffer has cast his eye and lent his voice to thousands of fights in his 41-year career, so you could forgive him for forgetting one or two bouts.
One fight, however, which will forever live in his memory is George Foreman’s stunning tenth-round knockout of Michael Moorer in 1994, which saw Big George create history by becoming the oldest heavyweight champion in boxing history.
He said: “Foreman’s losing every minute of every round and in the 10th round he lands that one-two between the gloves and then follows it up with another one-two and knocks him cold.
“The moment was so unbelievable, because usually when you have a knockdown – you’ve been there so many times – it’s that spontaneous instant roar of excitement.
“In this case it was a spontaneous fraction of a second gasp… and then disbelief.
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“My lips were quivering, I had tears in my eyes. I could barely speak to make the announcement.
“I was just so emotionally blown away with the heartbreak and the thrill of seeing this old guy win that fight, and that’s happened many times.” More

AMIR KHAN awkwardly dipped away from his live interview to let Mike Tyson pass as he feared the boxing legend “might punch him”. Khan was speaking to talkSPORT out in Saudi Arabia ahead of the highly-anticipated fight between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou this weekend.
Amir Khan was forced to move out of the way of Mike Tyson during a live interviewCredit: TALKSPORT
Khan spotted the former champ and instantly backed awayCredit: TALKSPORT
Tyson walked on through as Khan waited to restart his interviewCredit: TALKSPORT
While being interviewed about the upcoming bout, Khan was forced to move out of the way for Iron Mike and his posse as they barged through the common area at the press conference.
The former British fighter politely backed up to let him through before explaining that boxing royalty like Tyson has to be respected.
He said: “Hey listen, when Mike Tyson’s walking through, you don’t want to stand in front of Mike Tyson.
“He might punch you! When you’ve got Mike Tyson walking through you, I’m like, ‘Mate, let him go.’
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“Because you don’t wanna get hit by him. You don’t wanna be in his way basically.”
Tyson is in Riyadh as a mentor to Ngannou for Saturday night’s heavyweight crossover clash, but has insisted he is not his trainer despite multiple videos of the pair working together.
The 57-year-old has been impressed with the former UFC fighter and even hailed the Cameroon-born star’s power.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, he said: “He has what it takes to knock out anything and anybody.”
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But it won’t be an easy fight for Ngannou who is making his boxing debut against The Gypsy King.
Fury remains undefeated, but is aware that his next opponent is still dangerous despite being new to boxing.
He even claimed he is more dangerous than Oleksandr Usyk in an interview with ESPN.
Fury explained: “Francis is a bigger man, stronger, more powerful and has knockout capability.
“Usyk, he doesn’t really do much damage to people he hits.”
Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou face off in Saudi Arabia on SaturdayCredit: Getty
Mike Tyson has been helping Ngannou prepare for the fightCredit: AFP More

ANDRE WARD was not your typical boxing superstar.For much of his career the unbeatable American shied away from the limelight.
Andre Ward celebrates winning a world title in a second weight classCredit: Getty
Ward, 39, poses with Michael B. Jordan at the Creed premiere
Ward starred in the hit Hollywood movieCredit: Creed
He just let his boxing do the talking.
The last American man to win an Olympic gold in boxing, Ward then embarked on a 32-0 professional career that would see him become world champion in two weight divisions, always accepting the toughest fights on offer… and always winning.
Ward, now 39, then surprisingly hung up his gloves aged just 33 in 2017.
He has since done punditry work for ESPN and even starred in two Creed movies alongside Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone.
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Towards the latter end of his career, the San Francisco-born star felt it was time to tell his story.
With Ward, there is so much more than meets the eye.
The former super middleweight and light heavyweight king grew up in Oakland with his father, Frank.
His mother was scarcely around in those days, suffering with a drug addiction.
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Ward poses with his belts in the ringCredit: Getty
The San-Francisco born star twice defeated Sergey KovalevCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Andre Ward, , My first belt!! 96′ Silver Gloves!! Been doing this a long time. #BabySOGCredit: Instagram / @andresogward
Ward endured tough childhood with both his parents suffering from drug problemsCredit: Instagram / @andresogward
Ward was taken in by boxing coach Virgil Hunter and set on course to be a championCredit: Instagram / @andresogward
Ward had his first baby with now-wife Tiffiney when he was just 16Credit: Rex
Aged 12, Ward discovered his father’s own demon – that he was addicted to heroine.
“Man, when you first start to get wind of it, it’s still kind of discombobulating and confusing,” Ward told The Athletic earlier this year.
“All I knew was that the drugs could take my parents away.”
At nine-years-old, Frank had taken Ward to Virgil Hunter’s boxing gym alongside his brother Jonathan.
When Ward’s father went for treatment as he battled his addiction, it was Hunter and his wife Millie who took him in.
Speaking to Andscape in 2016, Ward said: “Dad lost the house when he went to get treatment when I was 11 or 12. That’s when Virgil took me in. He lived with his wife nearby.”
At 13, Ward’s anger at his situation saw him fall into habits that could have jeopardised his future.
Then I ended up giving in to those same generational curses — using drugs, drinking, not caring about boxingAndre Ward
He told The Athletic: “You don’t have the empathy to understand that it’s an addiction; you just know that, ‘I’m tired of this happening, and it’s causing this type of friction in my house.’
“It just birthed a lot of rebellion in me, man, and a lot of anger and frustration that I didn’t know how to deal with.
“Then I ended up giving in to those same generational curses — using drugs, drinking, not caring about boxing, totally neglecting my gift and thinking that I wanted to be on a street corner.”
Ward found out his then-girlfriend, now wife, Tiffiney was pregnant at the age of just 16.
He described the situation as being “kids with kids” – but was inspired by Tiffiney’s resolve.
Just weeks after winning the Under-19 National Championship in August 2002, Ward’s life was turned upside down once again.
Frank had died of a heart attack.
Ward celebrates his Olympic gold medalCredit: Getty Images – Getty
The Team USA star made a poignant gesture after his winCredit: Reuters
Left devastated, Ward later explained: “I was angry at God. The main person in my life was gone. The worst-case scenario in my world happened. My dad was gone. No warning.
“I wanted to stay numb in this completely surreal way. So I just began spiralling out of control in a way I know a lot of people never come back from.”
Ward’s faith eventually got him back on track, with Hunter telling him: “I don’t know who you rolling with, but I know this, God’s got his hand on you, son. You ain’t gonna get away with anything.”
Having had his second child with Tiffiney aged 18, Ward represented Team USA at Athens 2004, winning Olympic gold by beating Belarus’ Magomed Aripgadjiev in the final.
AN OAKLAND CHAMPION
He launched his professional career later that year with a win over Chris Molina at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Ward won his first super middleweight title in his 16th fight, beating Jerson Ravelo in 2008.
He then earned the WBA’s super middleweight title for a victory over Mikkel Kessler the following year, made all the more special by doing it at Oracle Arena in Oakland.
In the final of the Super Six World Boxing Classic in 2011, Ward cemented his status as the best in the world with a victory over Brit Carl Froch.
Ward opted to move up to light heavyweight in 2016, comfortably out-pointing Alexander Brand to win the vacant WBO title.
He followed up his triumph over Brand with two epic victories over Sergey Kovalev, adding IBF and WBA titles to his collection.
And then he shocked the world by calling it a day.
I didn’t plan on all of these different things happening, but I did plan on life after boxingAndre Ward
Ward, now a happy father-of-four, told Sports Spectrum earlier this year: “More or less, you miss it. It’s something I’d done for 23 straight years and then was abruptly over with.
“As for why I stopped, I hear a lot about the hits, but it’s not necessarily the hits… of course I want to be in good health for my family, my wife, but also for the state of the game.
“We don’t have a lot of good endings in the sport, and I’ve been very cognizant and aware of that. I wanted to be a guy who didn’t fall into that category.”
By the time he retired, Ward had already played the part of Danny “Stuntman” Wheeler in the hit-film Creed.
He later reprised his role for the sequel – while until earlier this year he was on ESPN’s main roster of boxing pundits.
And Ward admits move onto the big, and little, screen was never a long-term ambition.
‘YOU MISS IT’
He added: “I didn’t plan on all of these different things happening, but I did plan on life after boxin-g.
“I had been broadcasting, and I’d been working on some things because I had the end in mind even during the journey. Internally, boxing was always something that I did, but I never wanted to make it who I was, because I knew the end would come some day.
“A lot of guys don’t think about that, and that’s when you see a lot of depression and stuff. It catches them off guard that it’s over, so I wanted to prepare.”
On how his Creed role came together, Ward revealed: “Ryan Coogler is, in my opinion, the hottest director in the game right now, and he’s a friend of mine from the Bay Area.
“We had heard about each other around the time Creed was in pre-production. At first, we had mutual friends but didn’t know each other, and we finally connected, and he said, ‘Listen, bro, I got a role for you.’
“I told him, ‘I don’t even act,’ but he said, ‘I got a role for you.’ So I read the script, and I said, ‘Man, I’m on board.’
“That segued into doing the sequel, coming back as Danny ‘Stuntman’ Wheeler, and the new director, Steven Caple Jr., is a good friend of Ryan’s, so it was a perfect transition. I can’t forget about Michael B. Jordan, either, because he was awesome in helping it come together.”
Ward’s incredible life has now been turned into a new Showtime documentary, ‘S.O.G.: The Book of Ward’, produced by LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s Uninterrupted.
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“Sometimes, I laugh at all this,” Ward told Sports Illustrated.
“It’s wild. I’m 39. I’m not even 40 yet.”
Ward is friends with fellow Bay Area hero Steph CurryCredit: 2016 NBAE
He has gone on to thrive outside of the ringCredit: AFP or licensors More