Jimmy Lennon Jr.
Jimmy Lennon Jr. (born August 5, 1958 in Santa Monica, California)[1] is an American boxing ring announcer who is employed primarily by Showtime as ring announcer for its Showtime Championship Boxing events. Lennon was also employed by Fox Sports when the Fox network had rights to professional boxing and was the ring announcer for Don King Promotions' fights that aired on various networks (including HBO, although King has largely promoted fights for Showtime since 1991). He is best known for his catchphrase, "It's show time!"[2]
Announcing career
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 announces MMA fight cards for Strikeforce, both the regular MMA shows which air on CBS and Showtime and Strikeforce's SHO XC shows which air on Showtime. He formerly announced fights for the now-defunct Elite XC mixed martial artspromotion, and also for the K-1 fight promotion in Japan.
Lennon, much like his father, speaks Spanish and makes an effort to pronounce all fighters' names correctly.
Lennon has also done work for EA Sports, having been the ring announcer for its Fight Night series of boxing video games and its EA Sports MMA game.
Movies
He has appeared as himself in several movies, most notably Hot Shots and I Spy.[3]
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][4]
References
- 1 2 "Jimmy Lennon Jr.". International Boxing Hall of Fame. 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
- 1 2 http://www.fightbeat.com/judgejake/jimmyl.php
- ↑ Jimmy Lennon Jr
- ↑ Mitch Abramson (January 13, 2013). "Jimmy Lennon Jr. Finally Gets His Day in The Sun". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved February 11, 2013.