Word on the street is that Michael Buffer is the best in the business. I beg to differ. While this comparison will not reflect well on Mr. Buffer, this is not a smear piece. Buffer is a true credit to the sport and everything his admirers say about him is true. He has a Rolls Royce voice and when you hear him, it validates the fact that you are at an event. In my humble opinion, however, the top spot belongs to a different man and the margin is clear.
In the interest of full disclosure, I am a west-coast guy. When taken to fights as a little kid, Jimmy Lennon, Sr. was the go-to guy in California. He was a larger-than-life figure, one of the many legendary LA sports voice guys who are just brilliant and seem to be around FOREVER. In the second-half of the 80’s, you began to see more of his son–a youngish-looking blond guy with a voice that was a dead-ringer for his old man. He was good and he got better.
The one area where I believe he surpasses Buffer comes from his father. Before Lennon, Jr. ever climbed into a ring, his father imparted to him the nugget of wisdom that every man has the right to have his name pronounced correctly. He took it to heart. Never have you heard Lennon, Jr. flub the rendering of a name.
This sport is packed with participants with names that emanate from the Spanish language. On the west coast, perhaps it’s more so than on the east coast. In any event, Lennon, Jr. always nails it, whereas Buffer almost always botches it. He rolls his “r’s” where they don’t belong, while not rolling “r’s” when he should.
If not raised speaking Spanish, it can be hard. No one is saying you have to be Julio Iglesias, but how hard is it to say just a few names? Even if you don’t want to learn a little Spanish just to get familiar with the language, can’t you just learn the few names you have pronounce? Then you’ll know it’s not “Alvarrrrrado,” it’s just “Alvarado.” Or that it’s not pronounced “Barrrrrera,” it’s Barerrrrrra.”
An English-speaker might think, “Oh, big deal.” And it can be annoying when someone crowbars Spanish-sounding words into a stream of English, like “This weekend, I’m going to Sahn Frahnceescoh.” In everyday-life, it’s not right to correct people for misusing Spanish words. However, these men are putting their lives and health at risk for our sporting entertainment. When a maitre’d at a restaurant screws up your name, that’s one thing. In front of a live audience, it’s not right. The least the fighters can ask is to have their name pronounced properly.
The framing of decisions is another key standard in evaluating ring announcers. Lennon, jr. gets it right. First you say what kind of decision it is, unless it’s a draw. If it’s unanimous, the cards can be read any old way. If it’s a majority decision, you announce the draw score first, then the other two cards without saying who they’re in favor of. In a split, you announce it one way, then the other, before announcing the deciding card. When doing it, you don’t fall into a pattern. With Buffer, the guy who gets the winning card announced in his favor first almost never wins the decision.
Over time, Lennon, Jr. has proven to be more solid in this area. I’ve never heard him render a botched reading of the scores or do things like announce one card in someone’s favor in a majority decision. He mixes it up suspense-wise with the reading of split decisions. With Buffer, it got to a point where if I had a bet on a guy in a split decision and Buffer announced the first card in his favor, I’d just tear up the ticket. It was like in Bronx Tale when the “Mush” showed his face suddenly rooting for the same horse you had bet. It can’t win even it’s ahead by 14 lengths turning into the stretch.
With Lennon, Jr., I feel his voice is more natural. Buffer has more of an electric vibe, but it seems like he’s yucking it up a little bit, like there’s an affect on his voice. You hear him talk and it’s like what happened to the guy I just heard? I just find Lennon, Jr. less show-bizzy and more accessible. I actually find his more understated style creates more electricity in a weird way. Then again, maybe it’s weird to think Lennon, Jr. is the better announcer.
From what I’ve been hearing, I’m highly outnumbered in this area. To me, it’s an almost-unfathomable viewpoint, as Lennon, Jr. is the clear top dog when it comes to ring announcers.
