Jim Lampley is entering the ring again. His ring – a place the award-winning announcer called home for more than 30 years until HBO Boxing turned off the lights in 2018.
The Emmy winner, 76, is scheduled to call a boxing card featuring Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez on Friday in Times Square. It’ll be the first time in more than six years viewers will hear the smooth-toned, distinctive voice on the blow-by-blow call.
“I had dispensed with the notion that anybody was ever going to ask me to call fights again,’’ Lampley told USA TODAY Sports. “So it’s thrilling. It really is.’’
Fred Sternburg, a publicist inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, said he thinks Lampley might become the oldest announcer to handle blow-by-blow duties.
“If it’s a fact, it scares me,’’ said Lampley, who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2015. “But being scared is often good.’’
So says the announcer who covered 14 Olympics and called legendary boxing matches such as Buster Douglas’ shocking knockout victory over Mike Tyson in 1990 and George Foreman winning the heavyweight title at age 45 with a knockout of then 26-year-old Michael Moorer in 1994.
Now it’ll be Garcia vs. Rolando “Rolly’’ Romero, Haney vs. Jose Carlos Ramirez and Lopez vs. Arnold Barboza Jr. Lampley has had to prepare while promoting his recently released memoir – “It Happened! A Uniquely Lucky Life In Sports Television,’’ – and also welcoming a 12th grandchild into his blended family.
And now, a new chapter unfolds in New York.
“You don’t expect at my age to become the busiest man on the planet,’’ Lampley said, “but I kind of feel as though I am at this particular time.’’
How did Jim Lampley boxing return unfold?
On Feb. 1, Lampley was at the David Benavidez-David Morrell Jr. fight when members of the media found him. They called his attention to a post on X from Turki Al-Sheikh, the Saudi who’s become arguably the most powerful figure in boxing.
“I would like to have and invite Mr. Jim Lampley on the live broadcast of one of our upcoming cards,’’ the post read.
They were words Lampley had been waiting to hear since HBO shuttered its boxing division.
“It was a change in his life that he maybe still hasn’t entirely gotten over,’’ said Lampley’s wife, Debra, who of HBO’s Boxing closing down added, “It was dark days. They still had his contract, so he couldn’t work anyplace else.’’
When HBO bought out Lampley’s contract in 2020, the offers he thought would come never did.
So Lampley, who lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, taught a class in media for five semesters at his alma mater, North Carolina. Then, in 2023, he joined PPV.com, for whom he has co-hosted a live viewer chat during pay-per-view fights and also interviewed boxers. He was visible again.
Then came Al-Sheikh’s post. Followed by a meeting with the Saudi power broker.
“I shook his hand, I looked him in the eye,’’ Lampley said. “I have a personal relationship now and a friendship with Turki Al-Sheikh.’’
Perhaps a friendship that could lead to more announcing work for Lampley?
“Let’s do one and see what Turki thinks about it,’’ Lampley said. “It’s all up to him. … I’m not going to jump the gun or take any step ahead beyond where he wants to be. And all I know for certain about where he wants to be is let’s do this. So let’s do this and not get ahead of ourselves.’’
Jim Lampley, John Grisham and a book tour
On April 24, best-selling author John Grisham appeared with Lampley at a book signing event in Chapel Hill to help promote Lampley’s book.
“If you had told me a year ago, oh, you’ll be promoting your own book and John Grisham will be your co-host at a bookstore, I would’ve thought, this is insane,’’ Lampley said. “What are we talking about here? And we sold a hundred books, which is a pretty good haul.’’
Soon Lampley and his wife will be traveling to California to continue promoting the book. But first comes fight night.
“Am I going to be underprepared? I sort of feel like that might possibly be the case,’’ Lampley said. “I felt under-prepared for every one of the hundreds of fights that I called in my career leading up to this point. And I will feel the same way again next Friday night.
“In a way that’s good because it leaves you open to the spontaneous discovery of whatever happens in front of you in the fight, and you never know for sure.’’
Garcia, the featured fighter on the boxing card Friday night, is among those excited about Lampley’s return.
‘That’s one of the biggest things I think boxing was missing,” Garcia said. ‘A great voice, great commentator, and he tells the story good while you’re fighting. … I mean, he’s the best in the game. So for him to come back is huge. Shout out Turki for that.”
Ryan Garcia vs. Rolly Romero