| David A. Diamante | |
|---|---|
 Diamante in 2021 | |
| Born | (1971-11-08) November 8, 1971 (age 53) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Occupation | Ring announcer |
| Known for | The fight starts now! |
| Website | www |
David Diamante (born November 8, 1971) is an American ring announcer. A popular ring announcer with DAZN, Diamante has been coined "The Voice of Boxing" by BBC Sport. He is widely known for his trademarked catchphrase "The fight starts now!", his long locks, and his distinctive announcing style in which he repeats each fighter's last name.
Career
Boxing
Diamante began announcing boxing matches in New York City for USA Metro Boxing and the New York Golden Gloves. His first fight was in the basement of the Church Street Boxing Gym in Lower Manhattan.
Diamante volunteered for several years in the New York boxing community announcing fights for USA Boxing Metro and the New York Golden Gloves.
He has since gone on to announce a variety of events on HBO, Showtime, ESPN, DAZN, Fox Sports, NBC, CBS, and Sky Sports.
In 2018, Diamante signed an exclusive deal with Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Boxing with broadcasts appearing on DAZN and Sky Sports. In the summer of 2020 and in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Diamante served as the official announcer for Matchroom's Fight Camp series, which took place in the back garden of Matchroom Boxing's UK headquarters and the childhood home of Eddie Hearn.
MMA
Diamante has announced various MMA and Muay Thai events, including the first legally sanctioned MMA show in New York City in May 2013.
Basketball
In 2012, Diamante was selected by Jay-Z and Nets management to become the official voice of the renamed NBA franchise, the Brooklyn Nets. He announced the final season for the Nets in New Jersey in 2011–2012 before following the team on their move to Brooklyn.
Announcing style
Diamante has chosen to repeat the fighter's surnames in the tradition of former ring announcers such as M. Mark Beiro and Setrha Ejdaharian. The practice of repeating fighter surnames began before the advent of advanced sound systems and was done so that fans on different sides of the arena could hear the athletes names.
Other activities
Diamante is also the owner of a cigar lounge in Brooklyn, New York.
Honors
Diamante has been recognized as the 2015 Ring Announcer of the Year by Ring 8, The Veteran's Boxing Association of New York.
Filmography and TV records
Films
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Night of Henna | Bartender in Club |
| 2007 | The Irish Ropes | Himself |
| 2014 | Hardy | Himself |
| 2015 | Southpaw | Ring Announcer |
| 2016 | Back In The Day | Himself/Ring Announcer |
| 2019 | Ringside | Madison Square Garden Announcer (Voice) |
| 2023 | Creed III | Himself/Ring Announcer |
Television
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2008-2013 | ESPN Friday Night Fights | Himself/Ring Announcer |
| 2011 | HBO Boxing | Himself/Ring Announcer |
| 2011-2012 | HBO Boxing After Dark | Himself/Ring Announcer |
| 2014 | Park Bench with Steve Buscemi | Himself |
| 2018 | Gotti: Godfather and Son | Himself |
Mini-series documentary
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2018 | The Voice |
| 2018 | Black Ink Crew |
| 2018 | The 'Lights |
References
- Willis, George (18 October 2019). "Boxing world 'broken' after Patrick Day's tragic death". New York Post.
- Mary Pilon,"Nets Announcer Shows Flair and Hair". The New York Times. December 19, 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- @bbcwssport (22 Aug 2020). "The voice of boxing @daviddiamante" (Tweet). Retrieved 2020-08-29 – via Twitter.
- Gardner, Ralph Jr. (2015-04-14). "Lord of the Ring and King of the Court". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
- Yi, David (14 April 2011). "HBO World Championship Boxing announcer David Diamante calls floor-grazing dreadlocks 'spiritual'". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
- Robert Mladinich,"Ring Announcer David Diamante: Vive le difference". tss.ib.tv. February 15, 2007. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- ^ "New York State Boxing Hall of Fame Induction Dinner Quotes and Pictures". boxing247.com. Archived from the original on 25 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- ^ Peck, Joshua (2019-12-07). "David Diamante: Why does boxing announcer REPEAT surnames? Reason revealed". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
- Kohan, Rafi (2 February 2012). "David Diamante Interview on Cigars and the Nets". GQ. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
- David Yi,"HBO World Championship Boxing announcer David Diamante calls floor-grazing dreadlocks 'spiritual'". nydailynews.com. April 14, 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- Ralph Gardner Jr.,"Lord of the Ring and King of the Court". wsj.com. April 13, 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- Danny Flexen,"Andy Ruiz vs Anthony Joshua 2 KEYS TO VICTORY by David Diamante". secondsout.com. September 6, 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- Bob Trieger,"Record Turnout For New York State Boxing Hall Of Fame Induction Dinner". boxing247.com. April 30, 2019. Archived from the original on 26 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- "Backyard boxing: How Eddie Hearn is bringing fights home ... literally". ESPN.com. 2020-07-28. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
- "Ted Cheeseman beats Sam Eggington in Fight Camp barnburner". sportingnews.com. 2 August 2020. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
- Blend, David (18 May 2013). "Termination at Terminal 5". Thrillist. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
- Pilon, Mary (2011-12-19). "Nets Announcer Shows Flair and Hair". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
- Marantz, Andrew (30 April 2013). "The Voice of the Nets". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
- Bryan Fonseca,"He said, "Brooklyn Ball!!"". netsdaily.com. August 14, 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- Ellington, Blake (2016-01-27). "NBA PA announcers are your team's secret 6th men". SBNation.com. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
- "David Diamante Explains Why He Says Surnames Twice". YouTube. 29 November 2018. Archived from the original on 2021-01-12.
- Blowing Smoke with Boxing's Big Voice interview in GQ magazine
- "Ring Announcer of the Year" (PDF). ringtv.com. Retrieved 19 June 2020.