Quotes from Michael Buffer

After making my notes in the afternoon, I usually visit the fighters in their dressing rooms before they go out. I check what colour trunks they'll be wearing and sometimes the pronunciation of their names, particularly if they're from eastern Europe or Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia. I'll make sure I write those out phonetically.

The only vocal training I had was playing with a tape recorder as a kid, and you know, doing the beginning of the 'Lone Ranger' show, with a hearty hi-o silver, and just having fun, never really thinking I would be an announcer.

I always loved Evander Holyfield because people think of him as a small heavyweight, but of course from the waist up he was a pretty good-sized guy, but he just had these little skinny legs and no booty and it made him look like he was small.

I think it would be great to start a Super Bowl off with, 'The players are ready, the field is ready, let's get ready to rumble.'

I hear my voice and I cringe, I kind of hear Philadelphia in there, my hometown.

I didn't see conflict during the Vietnam War, but I did lose close friends.

It's not that I get nervous but when it's a really hot button crowd where they are really energetic I get anxious.

One of my careers just before ring announcing was that I worked as a model.

I'm supposed to be neutral when I do my job. But I'm a fan and I have my favorites.

I was very surprised to learn how many cancer survivors are out there and how they instantly rallied to my support.

Most times, I'm playing myself in films, like 'Rocky' or 'Creed.'

It's one thing to practise in front of a mirror at home, but another to do it in front of 800 people or on live TV.

When I was starting out the announcers would name everyone from the boxing board at ringside and by the time they got to the fighters they were almost an afterthought.

I do a lot of fights in the U.K., and the fans there, I have to admit probably, are the best in the world because they support their fighters.

I have nothing to complain about financially.

Every day I wake up I am thankful and every night I am very thankful that I've made a career out of the phrase 'Let's get ready to rumble!'

I looked at motor racing in America where at the Indy 500 the drivers are told 'gentlemen start your engines' and the crowd go wild because they know the race is about to start. I needed a hook and came up with 'let's get ready to rumble.'

There's nothing like a event at The Garden.

There's a lot of luck involved in getting married to the right woman.

I've done quite a few gigs for the military. Some of them had to be kept under the wire. I'm a three year Army veteran myself, and I'm always available to do stuff like that. I've even done some things for the British military, too.

The night of Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao. I woke up that morning with a very, very bad case of laryngitis and couldn't speak at all. I had no voice. And I was able, just by having chicken soup and barley and salt water, to have just enough for that one fight.

I've met kids right out of the Olympics who tell me they can't wait to be introduced by me. After a fight, fighters say, 'Being introduced by you, what a thrill.' That's probably the best compliment I can get.

I'm actually a survivor of throat cancer so I'm very, very careful with my voice.

A throat-coating tea with some honey is very soothing for my throat, so I always travel with that.