Looking for some great streaming picks? Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jimmy_Lennon&oldid=962504660, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Boxing and professional wrestling ring announcer, This page was last edited on 14 June 2020, at 12:52. His boss liked Lennon's performance so well, he hired Lennon as the regular fight announcer. Born in Santa Monica, California, Lennon has been a ring announcer for over 25 years, during which he has been at the microphone for some historic fights, including Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield, Winky Wright vs. Félix Trinidad and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao. At age 17, Lennon was planning to go to college and become an English professor, but his father Herbert Lennon became ill and died at age 44. Lennon appeared in 75 productions, including Raging Bull, Rocky III, Main Event, California Split, Tough Guys, Kid Galahad, The Munsters, and The Monkees. He was also selected as an inductee into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2013. Jimmy Lennon Sr. (April 13, 1913 – April 20, 1992) was a ring announcer for boxing and professional wrestling matches. He was an actor, known for, Ring Announcer - Second Robinson Fight and Dauthuille Fight, Title Role Performances — First Name Titles, Heart of a Champion: The Ray Mancini Story. Private funeral services were first attended by family and friends in Santa Monica, followed by a larger public open-casket service and burial. He is best known for his catchphrase: “It’s show time!” Biography. Jimmy Lennon Sr. (April 13, 1913 – April 20, 1992) was a ring announcer for boxing and professional wrestling matches. Jimmy Lennon Sr. was born on April 12, 1913 in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. He was born on August 5, 1958, in Santa Monica, California, USA. Lennon was also employed by Fox Sports when it previously had rights to professional boxing and was the ring announcer for Don King Promotions' fights that aired on various networks (including HBO, although King has largely promoted fights for Showtime since 1991). Jimmy Lennon Jr. is an American boxing ring announcer and the son of fellow Hall of Fame boxing ring announcer Jimmy Lennon. Jimmy graduated from UCLA with a psychology degree in 1981. "The Boys" stars Aya Cash and Antony Starr interview each other about Season 2's most shocking scenes and the season finale. Jimmy Lennon Sr., Actor: Rocky III. Sports Announcer. Finally Gets His Day in The Sun", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jimmy_Lennon_Jr.&oldid=980523451, Sportspeople from Santa Monica, California, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 27 September 2020, at 00:42. He is best known for his catchphrase, "It's show time! He worked at multiple jobs singing, performing, sports events, athlete, MC, patriotic, and police events in and around Los Angeles. Jimmy Lennon Jr., in fact, has become an international boxing announcer in his own right, having worked the 1990 Buster Douglas upset knockout of Mike …
He was an actor, known for Rocky III (1982), Raging Bull (1980) and Mission: Impossible (1966). This left Jimmy and his 19-year-old brother John Henry to work and support the large surviving family. He also announced MMA fight cards for Strikeforce, both the regular MMA shows which aired on CBS and Showtime and Strikeforce's SHO XC shows which aired on Showtime. After ten years of heart problems, Lennon was admitted to St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California, where he died in ER on April 20, 1992. Jimmy Lennon Sr., one of boxing's top ring announcers, died Monday at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica. He was married to Doris Link and Isabel Becker. He was 79 years old and died after suffering heart failure, said his son, Jimmy … Lennon was survived by his wife, Doris, and four children: Scott, Robin Thomas, Kim Fitzgerald and Jimmy Jr., who is also a boxing ring announcer. "[2] but the catchphrase is not spoken during Fox's fight coverage. His son Jimmy Lennon Jr. is a renowned sports announcer in his own right for championship boxing matches, plus HBO and Showtime pay TV sports specials. Lennon was also employed by Fox Sports when it previously had rights to professional boxing and was the ring announcer for Don King Promotions' fights that aired on various networks (including HBO, although King has largely promoted fights for Showtime … He formerly announced fights for the now-defunct Elite XC mixed martial artspromotion, and also for the K-1 fight promotion in Japan. Lennon first became a ring announcer in Santa Monica, California at the Ocean Park Arena, while working there as the regular singer of "The Star-Spangled Banner". [1][6], "Jimmy Lennon Jr. is the greatest ring announcer in the world", "Jimmy Lennon Jr. He has appeared as himself in several movies, most notably Hot Shots and I Spy.
Jimmy Lennon Jr. (born August 5, 1958) is an American boxing ring announcer who is employed primarily by Showtime and Fox Sports as ring announcer for their Showtime Championship Boxing and Premier Boxing Champions, also by Bob Arum's Top Rank on ESPN events. The regular ring announcer at the time was unavailable so the event coordinator asked Lennon if he would fill in as ring announcer. Jimmy Lennon Jr. (born August 5, 1958)[1] is an American boxing ring announcer who is employed primarily by Showtime and Fox Sports as ring announcer for their Showtime Championship Boxing and Premier Boxing Champions, also by Bob Arum's Top Rank on ESPN events. Lennon began doing ring introductions with PBC promotions in January 2019. [2] He followed in the footsteps of his father Jimmy Lennon who was a ring announcer as well. Jimmy Lennon Sr. was born on April 12, 1913 in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.

[3], Lennon, much like his father, speaks Spanish and makes an effort to pronounce all fighters' names correctly. At the time Lennon was wearing a tuxedo, which he also wore for his first announcing job. Almost 50 years ago, Jimmy Lennon Sr. was an Irish tenor who showed up to sing at a nightclub only to find that the evening’s program had been switched to boxing. He was the uncle of the Lennon Sisters vocal group on The Lawrence Welk Show. Lennon was the character of a Jakks Pacific action figure released in 2007, depicting his Rocky III appearance. [4]. He also served the World War II effort by becoming a commissioned civil instructor as a butcher and cook. Check out some of the IMDb editors' favorites movies and shows to round out your Watchlist. Lennon sang as a young boy in church and later formed a singing group, The Lennon Brothers, with his brothers in Venice, California. He died on April 20, 1992 in Santa Monica, California, USA. Lennon has also done work for EA Sports, having been the ring announcer for its Knockout Kings series of boxing video games and its EA Sports MMA game. [5], Lennon has been inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame.