Jimmy Lennon Jr.

Last updated
Lennon introducing Carl Froch during the Super Six World Boxing Classic at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki in November 2010. Jimmy Lennon, Jr.jpg
Lennon introducing Carl Froch during the Super Six World Boxing Classic at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki in November 2010.

Jimmy Lennon Jr. (born August 5, 1958) [1] is an American boxing ring announcer who is employed primarily by Showtime and Fox Sports as ring announcer for their Showtime Championship Boxing and Premier Boxing Champions, also by Bob Arum's Top Rank on ESPN events. Lennon was also employed by Fox Sports when it previously had rights to professional boxing and was the ring announcer for Don King Promotions' fights that aired on various networks. He is best known for his catchphrase, "It's showtime!" [2] but the catchphrase is not spoken during Fox's fight coverage.

Contents

Announcing career

Born in Santa Monica, California, Lennon has been a ring announcer for over 25 years, during which he has been at the microphone for some historic fights, including Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield, Winky Wright vs. Félix Trinidad and Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao. [2] He followed in the footsteps of his father Jimmy Lennon who was a ring announcer as well. He also announced MMA fight cards for Strikeforce, both the regular MMA shows which aired on CBS and Showtime and Strikeforce's SHO XC shows which aired on Showtime. He formerly announced fights for the now-defunct Elite XC mixed martial arts promotion, and also for the K-1 promotion in Japan.

He occasionally subbed for Michael Buffer on HBO World Championship Boxing and even Buffer subbed for Lennon on Showtime Championship Boxing.

Lennon began doing ring introductions with PBC promotions in January 2019. [3]

Lennon, much like his father, speaks Spanish and makes an effort to pronounce all fighters' names correctly. [4]

Lennon has also done work for EA Sports, having been the ring announcer for its Knockout Kings series of boxing video games and its EA Sports MMA game within Strikeforce rules.

Movies

He has appeared as himself in several movies, most notably Hot Shots! , I Spy and Creed III . [5]

Honors

Lennon has been inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame. He was also selected as an inductee into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2013. [1] [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>HBO World Championship Boxing</i> American TV sports series (1973–2018)

HBO World Championship Boxing is an American sports television series on premium television network HBO. It premiered on January 22, 1973, with a fight that saw George Foreman defeat Joe Frazier in Kingston, Jamaica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Buffer</span> American ring announcer

Michael Buffer is an American ring announcer for boxing, professional wrestling, and National Football League events. Pioneering a distinct announcing style in which he rolls certain letters and adds other inflections to a fighter’s name, and known for his trademarked catchphrase: "Let's get ready to rumble!", he was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Shamrock</span> American mixed martial artist

Frank Shamrock is an American former professional mixed martial artist. Shamrock was the first to hold the UFC Middleweight Championship and retired as an undefeated champion. Shamrock was the No. 1 ranked pound for pound UFC fighter in the world during his reign as the UFC Middleweight Champion. Shamrock has won numerous titles in other martial arts organizations, including the interim King of Pancrase title, the WEC Light Heavyweight Championship and the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship. Shamrock is regarded as one of the first complete mixed martial artists, having adapted his game from a ground-focused style of fighting to a more well-rounded and versatile style. He is a seventh degree black belt in submission fighting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robbie Lawler</span> American mixed martial artist (born 1982)

Robert Glenn Lawler is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed between 2001 and 2023. He is a former UFC Welterweight Champion, former EliteXC Middleweight Champion, and has formerly competed in Strikeforce, PRIDE, and the IFL. Nicknamed "Ruthless", he is known for his aggressive fighting style, and was considered a fan favorite. Three of Lawler's title bouts, against Johny Hendricks, Rory MacDonald, and Carlos Condit earned numerous awards for the Fight of the Year in their respective years.

Bruce Anthony Buffer is an American professional mixed martial arts ring announcer and the official octagon announcer for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events, introduced on broadcasts as the "Veteran Voice of the Octagon". Buffer's catchphrase is "It's time!", which he announces before the main event of a UFC card. He is the half brother of boxing and professional wrestling ring announcer Michael Buffer, and is the President and CEO of their company, The Buffer Partnership. Buffer holds a black belt in Tang Soo Do and has fought as a kickboxer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Lennon</span>

Jimmy Lennon Sr. was a ring announcer for boxing and professional wrestling matches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strikeforce (mixed martial arts)</span> Defunct promoter based in California

Strikeforce was an American mixed martial arts and kickboxing organization based in San Jose, California that operated from 1985 to 2013. It was headed by CEO Scott Coker.

Elite Xtreme Combat, also known as EliteXC, was a United States-based mixed martial arts (MMA) organization owned and operated by ProElite. It was founded as a partnership between Showtime Networks and ProElite and officially announced on December 14, 2006. It was headquartered in Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mauro Ranallo</span> Canadian sports commentator

Mauro Domenico Ranallo is a Canadian sports announcer, commentator and mental health advocate. He is currently signed as a play-by-play announcer with MMA organization Bellator, and also performs play-by-play duties for boxing broadcaster Showtime. He is also known for his time with WWE on the NXT and SmackDown brands. He has experience in Canadian football, ice hockey, professional wrestling, boxing, kickboxing, and mixed martial arts events.

A ring announcer is an in-ring employee or contractor for a boxing, professional wrestling or mixed martial arts event or promotion, who introduces the competitors to the audience.

ProElite, Inc. is an American entertainment and media company involved in the promotion of mixed martial arts (MMA).

Showtime Championship Boxing is a television boxing program that aired on Showtime. Debuting in March 1986, it was broadcast live on the first Saturday of every month. Showtime Championship Boxing, which was very similar to HBO World Championship Boxing, featured Mauro Ranallo on play-by-play, Al Bernstein as the color analyst, Jimmy Lennon as ring announcers, and Jim Gray as reporter.

Karl James Noons is a retired American professional mixed martial artist, as well as a former professional boxer and kickboxer. Noons competed for UFC, Strikeforce, DREAM and EliteXC. He is the former EliteXC Lightweight Champion and runner up for the StrikeForce title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kimbo Slice</span> Bahamian mixed martial artist (1974–2016)

Kevin Ferguson, better known as Kimbo Slice, was a Bahamian mixed martial artist, professional boxer, and actor. Originally a bare-knuckle boxer, he became noted for his role in mutual combat street fight videos which were spread online, leading Rolling Stone to call him "The King of the Web Brawlers".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz</span> Strikeforce mixed martial arts event in 2009

Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz was a mixed martial arts event held by Strikeforce on April 11, 2009 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. It was the first event promoted by Strikeforce after their acquisition of assets from the defunct EliteXC promotion through its parent company ProElite. It aired on the Showtime cable network and online through Strikeforce All Access. Gus Johnson, Mauro Ranallo and Pat Miletich were commentating during the broadcast and Jimmy Lennon Jr. was the ring announcer. The official attendance was announced to be 14,409. The event drew an estimated 364,000 viewers on Showtime.

CBS has occasionally broadcast boxing events; its first broadcast occurred in 1948. The network's most recent broadcasts of the sport have fallen under Al Haymon's Premier Boxing Champions banner, and its most recent primetime broadcasts have been produced by sister pay television channel Showtime.

<i>EA Sports MMA</i> 2010 video game

EA Sports MMA is a 2010 sports video game which was developed by EA Tiburon and published by EA Sports. It was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on October 19, 2010, in North America and October 22, 2010, everywhere else. Online services have been shut down since April 13, 2012 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal</span> Strikeforce mixed martial arts event in 2011

Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal was a mixed martial arts event held by Strikeforce. The event took place on December 17, 2011 at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, California, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Antonacci</span> American boxing ring announcer

Joe Antonacci (ring announcer) (born August 9, 1960 in Ridgewood, New Jersey) is a noted boxing ring announcer and emcee famous for his televised boxing ring appearances in a tuxedo on ESPN's Friday Night Fights, NBC Sports Network, CBS Sports, Fox Sports, HBO, Showtime, and GoFightLive.TV. Nicknamed 'Generous Joe', he donates all of his ring earnings to assist injured and retired amateur and professional boxers in need, to overcome their disabilities incurred as a result of bouts in the ring, and to amateur boxing organizations. Antonacci also serves as a ring announcer for mixed martial arts fights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Diamante</span> American ring announcer

David Diamante is an American ring announcer. A popular ring announcer with DAZN, Diamante has been coined "The Voice of Boxing" by BBC Sport. He is widely known for his trademarked catchphrase "The fight starts now!", his long locks, and his distinctive announcing style in which he repeats each fighter’s last name.

References

  1. 1 2 "Jimmy Lennon Jr". International Boxing Hall of Fame. 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-01-11. Retrieved 2008-06-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ↑ "Jimmy Lennon Jr. To Introduce DeGale and Eubank Jr. Clash". February 2019.
  4. ↑ Levinson, Scott (2013-04-10). "Jimmy Lennon Jr. is the greatest ring announcer in the world". ProBoxing-Fans.com. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
  5. ↑ Jimmy Lennon Jr
  6. ↑ Mitch Abramson (January 13, 2013). "Jimmy Lennon Jr. Finally Gets His Day in The Sun". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.