Photo: Billie Weiss / Getty Images
David Diamante’s love for boxing is radiant and that is surely why when the man with the endless hair addresses the public from the ring to present the fights, he gets the fans excited and share that passion.
“The fight starts now!”. With this phrase, Diamante ignites the fans before the big boxing fights as very few ring announcers have been able to do.
“ I’m obviously a big fan of this sport from day one; I didn’t get into boxing for money; I did it for love”, assured Diamante in a chat with Real America News during the weekend of the fight between Canelo Álvarez and Dmitry Bivol in Las Vegas.
Born in Baltimore in 1971, Diamante grew up a fan of Sugar Ray Leonard. It was the legendary fighter who strongly influenced the announcer’s life.
“I did a lot money as a DJ and I was doing well, but I love boxing a lot, I even practiced boxing, so I wanted to stay involved with the sport”, explained Diamante about his career. “Sometimes you have very good ring announcers, but they do other things and for me the number one passion is boxing, it always has been and hopefully that is projected to the fans.”
Below is the chat in English with Diamante, who said that he will consider using his header shout in Spanish, something he has already done at events in Mexico: “The fight starts now!”.
David Diamante grew up admiring Sugar Ray Leonard: “He had balls!”
“I love Sugar Ray Leonard, because first of all I lived in the area near him when I was a kid. And this man had the speed, the power, the precision; he could box, he could fight, he did different things, he faced everyone. He had balls!… He had a very strong heart”, he recalled about one of his idols.
Diamante mentions the classics Johnny Addle and Ed Derian as the ring announcers who most influenced him and in fact the man of 38 years old, when he introduces the fighters in the ring, he repeats their surnames as the classics of the profession.
Serrano vs. Taylor, a special night for Diamante
And about legends who passed through Madison Square Garden in its golden age, David Diamante was the presenter in the mythical arena for this megafight 30 in April between the Puerto Rican Amanda Serrano and the Irish Katie Taylor, a memorable battle.
“I’m going to tell you that that fight really was something special. We were very lucky with an amazing night and what I loved was all the solidarity of the fighters that came together: Laila Ali, Christy Martin, Cris Cyborg, Claressa Shields, Mikaela Mayer , Seniesa Estrada… All these fighters were there to support their fellow boxers”, commented Diamante.
“It was one of the best atmospheres I’ve been in, it was very special. I have had to be in very big and special fights, but that was very special. It was almost as if in addition to a competition, it was a celebration”.
The famous presenter admires the Mexican boxing culture
David Diamante, who in addition to presenting fights for more than years, has in his biography with appearances in movies and TV shows, surrendered to the greats of Mexican boxing and Aztec boxing in general.
“There are many, too many to be able to name them . Of course you have the greats like (Julio César) Chávez, (Salvador) Sánchez, Chiquita (González), Finito (López)… many greats from the past… (Marco Antonio) Barrera. They are many. But a lot of times it’s the local fighters, the ones who aren’t in the spotlight.”
And he elaborated: “When you go to the local gyms in Mexico and they are fighting, you see the local fights because there is such a boxing culture there . There is a lot of respect for fighters and you see so much heart in these guys. It is more the culture, and that is why the world appreciates the Mexican fighters, I appreciate the Mexican fighters and the fans because they know what they are seeing , they know, they’re smart, and it makes a big difference when fans really know what they’re looking at.”
Diamante hasn’t cut her hair in a while 34 years
In addition to the recorded phrases and his passion in the ring, Diamante is characterized by his impressive hair, which is so long that when he lets his hair down it reaches his height of the ankles.
When asked about it, he explained that he hasn’t cut his hair since 1988, that is, since 34 years.
“It’s a long story, but basically I haven’t cut it since 1988. It’s a promise, it was a change I made in my life, that I said I wasn’t going to cut my hair and I haven’t”, said.
Why such a promise? Diamante said that will be a topic for another interview.
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