MC

[announcerphil]

Hi all, I'm new to the forums, although I use boxrec.com quite a lot. I am a licensed MC, and have been since April this year. At the end of last year I set myself the 5 year objective of ring announcing at a world title fight, looked a long shot at the time, as I had never ring announced!!! I'm gradually making my way up, MCing loads of thai boxing, cage fighting, and now also professional boxing. I've announced at a couple of Wayne Carmichael's shows in Halifax and Huddersfield and also last night at the Irish Centre in Leeds for Derek Roche. If anyone can help me in any way towards my quest please give me a shout. I have a website with more info at http://www.philseymour.co.uk and I can be followed on twitter at @announcerphil It would be great to get a few people behind me!!! Cheers, Phil

[damianhucker1]

Hi all, I'm new to the forums, although I use boxrec.com quite a lot. I am a licensed MC, and have been since April this year. At the end of last year I set myself the 5 year objective of ring announcing at a world title fight, looked a long shot at the time, as I had never ring announced!!! I'm gradually making my way up, MCing loads of thai boxing, cage fighting, and now also professional boxing. I've announced at a couple of Wayne Carmichael's shows in Halifax and Huddersfield and also last night at the Irish Centre in Leeds for Derek Roche. If anyone can help me in any way towards my quest please give me a shout. I have a website with more info at http://www.philseymour.co.uk and I can be followed on twitter at @announcerphil It would be great to get a few people behind me!!! Cheers, Phil

A necessay cog in a boxing show but a position that will in the most part be overlooked , I hope you achieve your goals .

[announcerphil]

Thanks Damian! I know what you mean, but also a poor MC can really bring a show down, whereas a good one can improve the whole evening overall. Being a boxing fan too helps me I think.

[Gazmac81]

Good luck mate

no one really stans out in Britain appart for the Legend John Mcdonnell and Michael Pass is good

the other guys Gary Logan ( who i like due to fact hes ex boxer ) and the guy from Kev and Bev / Grangehill fame isnt that great

Thanks Damian! I know what you mean, but also a poor MC can really bring a show down, whereas a good one can improve the whole evening overall. Being a boxing fan too helps me I think.

[stujones]

Good luck, can I ask how do you get a licence for it? What do you have to do to obtain the licence? Some kind of presentation?

[announcerphil]

Cheers Gaz, my opinions are similar to your, John McDonald is the man in the UK. Stu, I had to go up before the local council of the Board, they asked me to read a few things, asked about my history, what I'd done previously and that kind of thing. They also asked me some questions about what I would do in certain situations. I'm lucky in as much as I've been a stadium announcer in rugby league for quite a few years, and still am, so I'm pretty comfortable on a microphone, and don't really panic. I think they were just looking for people with cool heads and clear voices.

[damianhucker1]

Thanks Damian! I know what you mean, but also a poor MC can really bring a show down, whereas a good one can improve the whole evening overall. Being a boxing fan too helps me I think.

Fully agree matey ,and to clarify when i said it was maybe overlooked i didnt mean as in it wasnt an improtant role just that maybe the fans themselves dont notice unless someones really poor , do the job correctly and in the main the fans will not say much , does that make sense ?

Ive had an mc on one of my white collar shows in the past who was shockingly bad , makes it harder for the crowd to get behind the fighters as theres a lack of excitement in the voice of the mc .

Hope everything goes well for you .

[oliverfennell]

Thanks Damian! I know what you mean, but also a poor MC can really bring a show down, whereas a good one can improve the whole evening overall. Being a boxing fan too helps me I think.

Funny how the country's biggest promoter uses the country's dullest ring announcer. Stands there shaking like a cold dog and then reads off prompter notes with all the charisma, enthusiasm and drama of a schoolboy reciting verbal lines.

As for John McDonald, he is much better, but sometimes announces all bar the fighter details like it's a speed-racing contest.

[announcerphil]

One of the reasons I have started doing what I'm doing is that Michael Buffer and Jimmy Lennon Jnr get booked for all of the big fights. Why? It must be because people think the UK hasn't got good enough ring announcers. I'm still very much learning my trade, and I hope to improve as I go. In defence of some MCs, it's not an easy job, and the likes of Michael Buffer do make it look very easy. Like you, it does annoy me when you watch a great fight, then the announcer puts very little or no effort in announcing the winner.

[oliverfennell]

One of the reasons I have started doing what I'm doing is that Michael Buffer and Jimmy Lennon Jnr get booked for all of the big fights. Why? It must be because people think the UK hasn't got good enough ring announcers. I'm still very much learning my trade, and I hope to improve as I go. In defence of some MCs, it's not an easy job, and the likes of Michael Buffer do make it look very easy. Like you, it does annoy me when you watch a great fight, then the announcer puts very little or no effort in announcing the winner.

I don't think it's so much that this or other countries don't have good enough announcers. Even if they do, it's just that Lennon and Buffer are internationally known. "Brands", almost. Thus they give a promotion anywhere in the world a "big fight feel". They even go to non-English-speaking countries like Germany, Mexico and Japan, where much of the audience won't even understand them! And even when the fights are not broadcast on any English-language TV. So they're more to add to the look and feel of a show than anything.

But anyway, I completely agree it's not an easy job. You know what they say - most people's biggest fear is public speaking! So in that sense I don't wish to sound too harsh on Mark Burdess, but the point is that surely Mr Warren can appoint someone who IS good at it.

For the record, Michael Pass is the best British announcer IMO.

[plymouthskinhead]

John McDonald is the best bar none in my opinion but I say that because he is a personal friend of mine! I think he adds class and distinction to it but he is also an all round nice guy. Plus I also served with his son on HMS Chatham too, as well as coached him.

Good luck with your quest, I hope you do well for yourself.

[oliverfennell]

John McDonald is the best bar none in my opinion but I say that because he is a personal friend of mine! I think he adds class and distinction to it but he is also an all round nice guy. Plus I also served with his son on HMS Chatham too, as well as coached him.

Good luck with your quest, I hope you do well for yourself.

He is good, but tell him not to rush when announcing the stats, weights, judges, refs, stewards, etc. He gives the fighter's names and titles due importance but the iother parts are important too.

[plymouthskinhead]

John McDonald is the best bar none in my opinion but I say that because he is a personal friend of mine! I think he adds class and distinction to it but he is also an all round nice guy. Plus I also served with his son on HMS Chatham too, as well as coached him.

Good luck with your quest, I hope you do well for yourself.

He is good, but tell him not to rush when announcing the stats, weights, judges, refs, stewards, etc. He gives the fighter's names and titles due importance but the iother parts are important too.

I'll have a word...

[Howfs89]

Plus I also served with his son on HMS Chatham too.

I knew i had seen your face when i checked out your shop thread....It was the Shipmates Series which made me sign on for the mob!!

[plymouthskinhead]

Plus I also served with his son on HMS Chatham too.

I knew i had seen your face when i checked out your shop thread....It was the Shipmates Series which made me sign on for the mob!!

Damn and blast! I've been rumbled!! Hahahahahaha!! DD DD I'm going to be adding more stock to the shop too when we get the next delivery in. Feel free to buy a t-shirt as well!

Are you still serving? I went outside last November, medical discharge with arthritis in my knees and thumbs. :( 31 years man and boy!

[Howfs89]

Plus I also served with his son on HMS Chatham too.

I knew i had seen your face when i checked out your shop thread....It was the Shipmates Series which made me sign on for the mob!!

Damn and blast! I've been rumbled!! Hahahahahaha!! DD DD I'm going to be adding more stock to the shop too when we get the next delivery in. Feel free to buy a t-shirt as well!

Are you still serving? I went outside last November, medical discharge with arthritis in my knees and thumbs. :( 31 years man and boy!

Lmao!!! Mate i bought the dvd of the series 2 years ago, i sighned up and guess what, im still waiting (just broke my leg which hasn't helped), the waiting times are ridiculas at present, i remember you had served a long time on the series, shame about the knees, you loved it by all acounts?? Good luck with the shop and i will keep checking stock and buy if i like summat

You've got one fan anyway hahaha

[plymouthskinhead]

I knew i had seen your face when i checked out your shop thread....It was the Shipmates Series which made me sign on for the mob!!

Damn and blast! I've been rumbled!! Hahahahahaha!! DD DD I'm going to be adding more stock to the shop too when we get the next delivery in. Feel free to buy a t-shirt as well!

Are you still serving? I went outside last November, medical discharge with arthritis in my knees and thumbs. :( 31 years man and boy!

Lmao!!! Mate i bought the dvd of the series 2 years ago, i sighned up and guess what, im still waiting (just broke my leg which hasn't helped), the waiting times are ridiculas at present, i remember you had served a long time on the series, shame about the knees, you loved it by all acounts?? Good luck with the shop and i will keep checking stock and buy if i like summat

You've got one fan anyway hahaha

Cheers!

[announcerphil]

Thanks all for your comments, I like John McDonald, never met him, but I think he's the best in the UK by a country mile right now, and I have heard he's a nice bloke. Heard very similar about Michael Pass, everyone speaks highly of him, but I'm not such a fan of his work, I think he's one you either love or hate.

[robster]

The best of luck with your quest Phil, but I agree with oliverfennel, Buffer & Lennon are international brands and that is why they are used in europe and the UK, when Buffer is on, you know that it's a big fight.

The promoters seem to use their own guys, Mcdonald Matchroom, Pass Hatton, Burdis Warren, Logan Maloney. It seems to be a closed shop and I really think that they would have to do something really terrible to be sacked.

There is the guy who has been advertising for weeks in Boxing News and I see he got a Eurosport show the other week but he was nothing special, just shouted a lot.

I put a thread on some time ago http://boxrec.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=135586 I see this guy Craig Stephen do lots of non tv shows in Scotland and he's also done a few tv shows, he is first class and boxing is a small world so I'm sure most of the promoters know of him. Billy Nelson seems to rate him!!

There's also a guy in the midlands who I've seen on a few Hattontv shows, Noel Innes. He sounds pretty good aswell and I'm sure the promoters know of him too, he's much better than Burdis.

As I said mate, good luck with your quest but there are good mc's out there that aren't doing tv all the time. Also, I like Michael Pass, he's not over the top and is always consistant. You don't hear him stumbling or screwing up like some of the others.

[damianhucker1]

when i eventually go pro id like to take my current mc , Lee Froch on my white colar shows go pro with me , he would have gone pro as a fighter himself but failed his medical due to something with his eyes .

[announcerphil]

Robster, believe me, I know what you mean about it being a closed shop!! That said, I am now getting bookings to MC pro-boxing, albeit small hall, but it is a great start, and somewhere I can cut my teeth as a boxing MC. As you'll see, if you go on my website, I set my objective at 5 years, and I'm not a year into it yet, so plenty of time yet. It would be nice if some of the bigger promoters would try other announcers from time to time, you never know if the next Buffer or Lennon is out there and just not getting the work!

[standing8]

I've been to a couple of shows where phil has been the MC for the evening,In my opinion He's very good!

All the best mate

[announcerphil]

standing8, thanks for that, kind words. I appreciate all comments, good or bad. The bbbofc guys have been pretty good to me regarding advice and tips to improve what I do, they're really decent blokes.