MC Jimmy Lennon Junior, who learnt the trade from his late father, is used to introducing big names in big, big fights. Over the course of his long career, Lennon has introduced superstars such as Mike Tyson, Julio Cesar Chavez, Manny Pacquiao, and Floyd Mayweather.
And Lennon will be the man on the microphone as Mayweather and Conor McGregor get ready to trade leather in their hugely hyped August 26 fight. Lennon, who is as much a fight fan as the rest of us, spoke recently with Sky Sports – who will of course televise the fight in the UK via their Box Office platform – and he said that he is totally unsure of what to expect once the bell rings inside The T-Mobile Arena later this month.
Lennon is certain of one thing, though: a monstrous global audience will be tuning in to see the fight.
“I think the world is tuning in to this event. I also can’t wait to introduce the fighters, sit down and see what happens,” Lennon Jr. said. “I talk to so many people and they keep running through the scenario of what will happen. I think round one is very telling so I am looking forward to getting out of the ring and sitting and watching it. It’s like no event, it’s so special and maybe a billion will see it. Mayweather-Pacquiao was very big. Tyson-Lewis was very big, Julio Cesar Chavez-Greg Haugen had a crowd of 135,000 so that was special, and all the Tyson fights were special. You never knew with Tyson what was going to happen and really I don’t know what is going to happen in this one.”
Lennon, who adds a touch of class to any boxing match he introduces, might be right about the vast number that will pay to see Mayweather-McGregor, but will this “Super Fight” deliver the way the other great fights introduced by Lennon – Michael Buffer’s sole rival – did? Tyson may have been unpredictable, in the later years of his career especially, but fans still knew they’d get a fight and more than likely a KO when Tyson was in action.
With Mayweather-McGregor, we have no guarantee of either. But it will definitely be big, for good or for bad. Might the expected billion witness a farce on August 26?