MOVE over Michael Buffer, there’s a new announcer in town.
The legendary Buffer, famed for his ‘let’s get ready to rumble’ call to arms, now has competition in the form of fellow American David Diamante.
Who is David Diamante?
A NATIVE of Brooklyn, New York, Diamante will be a familiar face to boxing fans on both sides of the pond.
He has been ring announcer, sports announcer, TV host and actor for over fifteen years and has worked across the disciplines of professional boxing, MMA and Muay Thai.
Currently he is the official announcer for Matchroom Boxing and will be in New York for Anthony Joshua’s title showdown with Andy Ruiz Jr.
Along with a role as himself in the film Southpaw, Diamente has also appeared in flicks including Counterpunch, Out of the Ring, Ringside, and Hardy.
Famed for his long dreadlocks and imposing height, the 47-year-old old announcer is a former gentleman’s club DJ and motorcycle enthusiast.
He has his own line of hand-rolled cigars having opened Diamante’s Brooklyn Cigar Lounge in 2009.
Why does he repeat surnames?
YOU may have noticed that Diamante says the name of each boxer twice when announcing them to the crowd.
For example, he will introduce Anthony Joshua with an emphatic ‘ANTHONY JOSHUA!’, before pausing until the noise has subsided and then add another quieter ‘Joshua’.
This practice began in his days at smaller venues, where the announcer wanted to make sure the whole crowd heard the name of each competitor – even those at the back.
Diamante explained to GMS: “Growing up I loved it when guys did it. My two favourite announcers were Mark Bureau and Ed Derian and they didn’t do the huge fights, but they were great announcers.
“They would always repeat the surnames and I always loved that as a kid.
“It was one of those things – I grew up watching the fights and loving the fights. Hearing that with the music just sounds right to me.
“[Saying the names twice] originally started many, many years ago. Back in the day some of the of the speaker systems weren’t that great and guys would call out the name once and then do it [again to a different part of the arena], so guys can hear it on the other side”.
