One of the most prolific voices in the boxing world belongs to Jimmy Lennon Jr. His catchphrase, “It’s Showtime,” is known throughout the world. Lennon Jr. will share the same ring with another one of boxing’s legendary voices, Michael Buffer on May 2nd on the biggest stage boxing has seen this generation when they announce Mayweather-Pacquiao. Above all else, Lennon Jr. is a fan of the sport and is excited as ever for Mayweather-Pacquiao.
“Maybe I was one of those that didn’t think it would happen,” Lennon Jr. told ThaBoxingVoice.com “ As a boxing fan, I would get disappointed because we were building it up, and it didn’t happen. I’m thrilled that it’s happening. I still think we have the two best fighters pound for pound in the sport in Mayweather and Pacquiao. We’ve had 5 years to build it up even more. This will be the biggest event the boxing world has ever seen.”
Sharing the ring with Buffer is a rarity the Showtime announcer says this isn’t the first time and quite possibly might not be the last.
“In 2002, we announced Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson in a combined HBO and Sho Pay-Per-View,” stated Lennon Jr. It was a wild event. We did it in 1993 when Chiquita Gonzalez fought Michael Carbajal. He was with Top Rank, and I was with Forum boxing. I introduced Gonzalez, and he introduced Carbajal. It’s only the big events that we do together. He’ll introduce Pacquiao and I’ll introduce Mayweather. The decision if it gets to it we’ll work that out through the scorecards.”
Lennon Jr. does feel that it’s a shame that most fans were shut out from actually going to the press conference and will likely be from attending the fight but feels watching it on television or in closed circuit is something you can tell generations about down the line.
It’s a shame that they’re going to get cut out because there is such a demand for it,” said Lennon Jr. “ It’s a shame but it is big business, and these guys got to recoup their investment that they are paying these guys. But everyone has a chance to see it. It’s an event we can tell generations from now that I was there, or I watched it on pay-per-view.”
Whether it’s late or not, Lennon Jr. feels that it’s still a great fight and one that he can’t predict.
“Maybe their boxing skills aren’t as great as it was in 2009-2010 but they are still the two best fighters in the world. I think it’s coming at a good time; it’s the biggest fight in boxing. It will break all the records. We got two great fighters, and it’s going to be close, it’s a very hard one to predict.”
