Inside the squared circle
You may not know Michael Buffer’s name, but you surely know his voice and his signature line: “Let’s get ready to rumble!!!!”
The voice of boxing for decades, we caught up with the legendary ring announcer at Friday night’s annual Fight Night charity gala, and had to ask: What would announcing the upcoming inauguration be like?
“I’d be there in a heartbeat,” Buffer said. “But you’d have to do it boxing style: “Barack ‘Barry’ Oooobaaaaamaaaaa!”
Ever helpful, he even suggested an alternative nickname: Barack “The Kid” Obama.
Buffer told us he’s recently scaled back his workload, doing only 30 to 35 bouts per year. “I decided a few years back to do fewer and make more money,” he said. “Just charge more.”
Ahh, the American dream.
Buffer’s been a fixture at Fight Night, which raises funds for Fight for Children, the charity founded by local investor Joe Robert. And as usual, the organization trotted out its usual complement of boxing legends — Joe Frazier, Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini, Buster Douglas, Gerry Cooney, Michael Spinks and Jake LaMotta among them. This year, football hall of famer Dick Butkus made an appearance in the ring, as did baseball hall of famer Brooks Robinson.
Spotted in the crowd were a who’s who of Washington men, including Elijah Dukes and Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals, Nats Manager Manny Acta, Nats President Stan Kasten, former Fannie Mae head Franklin Raines, AOL Founder Jim Kimsey, former Veterans’ Affairs secretary and Republican National Committee Chairman Jim Nicholson, Mayor Adrian Fenty and former mayor Anthony Williams.
Photo: Carrie Devorah
