David Diamante

David Diamante (born November 8, 1971) is an American ring announcer.[2] A popular ring announcer with DAZN, Diamante has been coined "The Voice of Boxing" by BBC Sport.[3] He is widely known for his trademarked catchphrase "The fight starts now!", his long dreadlocks, and his distinctive announcing style in which he repeats each fighter’s last name.[4][5]

David A. Diamante
Born (1971-11-08) November 8, 1971
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
CitizenshipUnited States
OccupationRing announcer[1]
Known forThe fight starts now!
Websitewww.daviddiamante.com

Career

Boxing

Diamante began announcing boxing matches in New York City for USA Metro Boxing and the New York Golden Gloves.[6][7] His first fight was in the basement of the Church Street Boxing Gym in Lower Manhattan.[8]

Diamante volunteered for several years in the New York boxing community announcing fights for USA Boxing Metro and the New York Golden Gloves.[7]

He has since gone on to announce a variety of events on HBO, Showtime, ESPN, DAZN, Fox Sports, NBC, CBS, and Sky Sports.[9][10][11]

In 2018, Diamante signed an exclusive deal with Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Boxing with broadcasts appearing on DAZN and Sky Sports.[12][13] In the summer of 2020 and in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Diamante served as the official announcer for Matchroom's Fight Camp series, which took place in the back garden of Matchroom Boxing's UK headquarters and the childhood home of Eddie Hearn.[14][15]

MMA

Diamante has announced various MMA and Muay Thai events, including the first legally sanctioned MMA show in New York City in May 2013.[16]

Basketball

In 2012, Diamante was selected by Jay-Z and Nets management to become the official voice of the re-named NBA franchise, the Brooklyn Nets.[17][18] He announced the final season for the Nets in New Jersey in 2011-2012 before following the team on their move to Brooklyn.[19][20]

Announcing style

Diamante has chosen to repeat the fighter's surnames in the tradition of former ring announcers such as Mark Bureau and Ed Derian. The practice of repeating fighter surnames began before the advent of advanced sound systems and was done so that fans on different sides of the arena could hear the athletes names.[21][8]

Other activities

Diamante is also the owner of a cigar lounge in Brooklyn, New York. [22]

Honors

Diamante has been recognized as the 2015 Ring Announcer of the Year by Ring 8, The Veteran's Boxing Association of New York.[23]

Filmography and TV records

Films
Year Title Role
2005 Night of Henna Bartender in Club
2007 The Irish Ropes Himself
2014 Hardy Himself
2015 Southpaw Ring Announcer
2016 Back In The Day Himself/Ring Announcer
2019 Ringside Madison Square Garden Announcer (Voice)

Television
Year Title Role
2008-2013 ESPN Friday Night Fights Himself/Ring Announcer
2011 HBO Boxing Himself/Ring Announcer
2011-2012 HBO Boxing After Dark Himself/Ring Announcer
2014 Park Bench with Steve Buscemi Himself
2018 Gotti: Godfather and Son Himself

Mini-series documentary
Year Title
2018 The Voice
2018 Black Ink Crew
2018 The 'Lights

References
  1. Willis, George (18 October 2019). "Boxing world 'broken' after Patrick Day's tragic death". New York Post.
  2. Mary Pilon,"Nets Announcer Shows Flair and Hair". nytimes.com. December 19, 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  3. @bbcwssport (22 Aug 2020). "The voice of boxing @daviddiamante" (Tweet). Retrieved 2020-08-29 – via Twitter.
  4. Jr, Ralph Gardner (2015-04-14). "Lord of the Ring and King of the Court". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  5. Yi, David. "HBO World Championship Boxing announcer David Diamante calls floor-grazing dreadlocks 'spiritual'". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
  6. Robert Mladinich,"Ring Announcer David Diamante: Vive le difference". tss.ib.tv. February 15, 2007. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  7. "New York State Boxing Hall of Fame Induction Dinner Quotes and Pictures". boxing247.com. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  8. Peck, Joshua (2019-12-07). "David Diamante: Why does boxing announcer REPEAT surnames? Reason revealed". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  9. Kohan, Rafi. "David Diamante Interview on Cigars and the Nets". GQ. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  10. David Yi,"HBO World Championship Boxing announcer David Diamante calls floor-grazing dreadlocks 'spiritual'". nydailynews.com. April 14, 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  11. Ralph Gardner Jr.,"Lord of the Ring and King of the Court". wsj.com. April 13, 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  12. Danny Flexen,"Andy Ruiz vs Anthony Joshua 2 KEYS TO VICTORY by David Diamante". secondsout.com. September 6, 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  13. Bob Trieger,"Record Turnout For New York State Boxing Hall Of Fame Induction Dinner". boxing247.com. April 30, 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  14. "Backyard boxing: How Eddie Hearn is bringing fights home ... literally". ESPN.com. 2020-07-28. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  15. "Ted Cheeseman beats Sam Eggington in Fight Camp barnburner". sportingnews.com. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  16. Blend, David. "Termination at Terminal 5". Thrillist. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  17. Pilon, Mary (2011-12-19). "Nets Announcer Shows Flair and Hair". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  18. Marantz, Andrew. "The Voice of the Nets". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  19. Bryan Fonseca,"He said, "Brooklyn Ball!!"". netsdaily.com. August 14, 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  20. Ellington, Blake (2016-01-27). "NBA PA announcers are your team's secret 6th men". SBNation.com. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  21. "David Diamante Explains Why He Says Surnames Twice".
  22. Blowing Smoke with Boxing's Big Voice interview in GQ magazine
  23. "Ring Announcer of the Year" (PDF). ringtv.com. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
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