Longtime SHOWTIME Sports announcers Barry Tompkins and Steve Farhood were elected into the 2017 class of the International Boxing Hall of Fame as first-time nominees, it was announced on Tuesday.
Tompkins and Farhood earned induction in the Observer category, which recognizes outstanding achievements of print and media journalists, publishers, writers, historians, photographers and artists. They join a 2017 class headlined by boxing greats Evander Holyfield, Marco Antonio Barrera and Johnny Tapia.
In the non-participant category is world-renowned ring announcer, the late Jimmy Lennon, Sr., who will posthumously join his son, the all-time SHOWTIME Sports ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr., in the Hall. The induction ceremony will take place during International Boxing Hall of Fame Weekend in Canastota, N.Y., June 8-11, when Farhood and Tompkins will join fellow SHOWTIME Sports Hall of Famers Al Bernstein (2012) and Lennon, Jr. (2013) in Canastota.
Tompkins and Farhood are the one-two punch behind the prospect-orientated SHOWTIME Sports series ShoBox: The New Generation, for which Tompkins calls the blow-by-blow action and Farhood serves as expert analyst alongside former world champion Raul Marquez. Tompkins and Farhood, who have both been in the boxing business for decades, are also the voice of SHOWTIME BOXING on SHO EXTREME.
“Steve and Barry are pillars of the SHOWTIME boxing announce team,” said Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports. “Both men are as dedicated and committed to the sport and to their craft as anyone in television. Moreover, they are supportive colleagues and dear friends to many of us in boxing. On behalf of all of us at SHOWTIME, congratulations on this great and well-deserved honor.”
The recognition by the International Boxing Hall of Fame is the result of a career’s worth of hard work and accomplishments for Tompkins and Farhood.
Before joining SHOWTIME in 2012, Tompkins was the No. 1 voice of boxing at NBC (1974-1979), HBO (1979-88), ESPN (1988-1996) and FOX Sports (1996-2011). He has called hundreds of boxing matches, including more than 200 world title fights; among them legendary battles Aaron Pryor-Alexis Arguello I — his personal favorite — Sugar Ray Leonard-Marvin Hagler, Mike Tyson-Trevor Berbick and countless others.
Tompkins, who has deservedly earned a reputation as one of boxing’s ‘good guys’, is in the midst of a career spanning 40 years. In addition to boxing, his countless credits include play-by-play commentary of the Super Bowl, the NCAA Final Four, eight Olympic Games, tennis majors and more.
Farhood has been involved in boxing for 38 years, during which he’s become universally respected for his integrity, honesty and expertise. In his distinguished career, he has served as announcer, writer, researcher and author. A former editor-in-chief of The Ring and KO magazines, Farhood has been the voice of ShoBox since its inception in 2001. Farhood is the “ironman” of the acclaimed series, having served all but one of 228 ShoBox telecasts.
A regular contributor to SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® and Premier Boxing Champions telecasts, Farhood is a four-category winner of awards by the Boxing Writers Association of America (Taub Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism, Fleischer Award for Excellence in Print Journalism, Good Guy Award and Walker Award for Long and Meritorious Service).
