They call it a “Hollywood ending” when the conclusion of a story is just a little too good to be believable.
On August 19, Ring announcer Tom Treiber will cap off an incredible 2011 season of ESPN Friday Night Fights – one that saw him become a regular on the show, appearing 15 times in total – with an appearance in the season finale in his hometown of Hammond, Indiana.
“What are the odds that I would cap off my most successful year as a ring announcer, on the show’s season finale, in the city I was raised, Hammond, Indiana, of all places?” laughs the 38-year-old Treiber, who still resides in the nearby Chicago area. “It’s kind of hard to believe.”
Hard to believe as it may be, Treiber will indeed be the ring announcer that Friday night at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond when Hitz Boxing in association with Banner Promotions presents “Fight Night at the Horseshoe”, featuring former world champion David Diaz against younger, faster Hank Lundy and up-and-coming Demetrius Andrade taking on the always-troublesome veteran Grady Brewer.
So, how does a self-professed former casual boxing fan become a well-respected ring announcer known for his professionalism and passion for the sport?
“I started ring announcing senior year of high school,” he explains. “There were a couple of guys I went to school with who were bothers and they were boxers and one of them was Marty Jakubowski. What happened was I had emceed our school talent show and I was interested in getting into broadcasting and I knew Marty was a pro boxer. Marty introduced me to a promoter out of Indianapolis named Fred Berns. At the time, Fred was doing several shows a year at the Hammond Civic Center and he gave me a shot. It was just luck that I went to school with Marty Jakubowski.”
That was 20 years ago. Treiber has gone on to appear on several television networks, travelling the world one show at a time, meeting boxing fans and gaining respect in his field. “It’s not like punching a clock every day. It doesn’t work that way in this business, but I love it. I love travelling. I’ve been all over the world and all over the states. Being a ring announcer has enabled me to do something I love and see the world.
Treiber says his big break came in 1997.
“The thing that put me on the map was in 1997 when I contracted to be the exclusive ring announcer for Fox Sports Net with America Presents. It was for the series Fight Time on Fox. That was my first real big break. People started to recognize me. I was very young and very green but that opportunity is what helped me develop a lot of the relationships I have today with a lot of the people I’m working for now.”
And working he is, nearly every weekend. If not as a ring announcer, then at one of the other broadcast jobs at which he is very talented. “When you work in broadcasting, you wear many hats. I’ve done play-by-play for boxing. I’ve been an on-air personality in radio. I’ve also been a pit reporter for boat racing on Spike, done professional wrestling ring announcing and commentating. I also ring announce for MMA events. I was even on an episode of Keeping up with the Kardashians as a ring announcer.
The secret, says Treiber, to top-level ring announcing is doing the work before the fights. “I typically leave the day before a televised event. Most promoters request I emcee the weigh-in. I truly believe preparation is the key to being a successful ring announcer and at the weigh-in, that’s where I do my show prep. That’s where you get the correct pronunciations. Make sure all my i’s are dotted. Speak with fighters and get their hometowns. I really try to pay attention to detail. I’m a perfectionist.”
Treiber says he’s still surprised by the breakthrough he’s made this year. “Being in this business for as many years as I have, you develop relationships and it seems like a lot of the seeds I planted throughout the years have started to blossom. This past year has made me feel like the twenty years I have in are really starting to pay off. It’s a really great feeling to finish what has been a terrific year for me working with ESPN and to announce the finale in the city I grew up in. I’m hoping to see a lot of familiar faces. I know I’ve gotten a lot of comments on Facebook and messages from people saying they’ll come to the show. It’s a great opportunity for people who live in this area and see a great show and be part of a live national audience.”
Local boy jumps right out of high school, catches a break, works hard, perseveres through the lean years and ends up seeing the world as one of the top performers in his field. And at the end of his runaway breakthrough year, he ends up right back where he started, doing what he loves in front of friends and family on national television.
Too Hollywood. No one is ever going to believe it.
Tickets for Andrade vs. Brewer and Diaz vs. Lundy are available at www.fanfueled.com or www.thevenue-chicago.com and are priced at $90 ringside, $40 Orchestra (main level), $30 Mezzanine (balcony). The Horseshoe Casino is located at 777 Casino Center Drive in Hammond, Indiana.
