Los Angeles – New York City (October 31, 2014) This Sunday, November 2nd, boxing’s legendary Hall of Fame ring announcer, MICHAEL BUFFER will be 70 years old.
Buffer and his trademark phrase “Let’s Get Ready To Rumble” are still going as strong as ever and this year has been one of the busiest in his three and a half decade career. The months of November and December will see Buffer in the ring almost every week right up to the year-end holiday season. “It’s been an unbelievable year but the next seven weeks have been booked with some great fights and on some weekends I had to pass on two and even three other offers,” says Buffer as big fights in Germany, Australia, Denmark and the UK put their requests in too late. Buffer’s international schedule has had him working in Russia five times, China four times, the UK four times, three in Germany and a couple of trips to Monaco.
His announcing duties through all these years haven’t just been in the boxing ring. He had a five-year run with professional wrestling and has been on the field for dozens of NFL games including playoffs and championship games. The same for the NBA, NHL and MLB for Finals, Stanley Cups and World Series games. Buffer has appeared in movies, TV shows, national commercials and numerous guest appearances on the talk show circuit including nine times on the Tonight Show. His favorite time on the Tonight Show was when Jay Leno helped him surprise his (then) girlfriend and (now) wife, Christine with a marriage proposal as part of a skit.
Buffer’s appearance belies his new septuagenarian status as he still wears a size 42 suit and weighs in at around 180 pounds. “I don’t take the waist in as much as I did thirty years ago though,” he says. The former model still takes pride in his sartorial look; “All the traveling can take a toll on one’s health if one doesn’t diet properly so I try to take it easy with the airplane meals and late night snacks. Most hotels have gyms today so Christine and I will hit the treadmill or, weather permitting, go for a brisk walk.”
Now, at 70 years of age, having survived a three-year stint in the army during the Vietnam War era years ago and recently in 2008 a bout with throat cancer, does the premiere ring announcer see retirement in his future? “Probably not too soon” he says, “I love what I do and when I see some of these fighters like Gennady Golovkin, for example, achieving stardom or watching a legend like BHop make history, it makes me want to stick around a little longer because the fan in me still loves being in center ring then sitting at ringside to watch the action.”
