ao link
Max Boxing
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Snapchat
Insta
Search

Top Rank ring announcer Lupe Contreras

Bill Tibbs talks with the voice of Top Rank, Lupe Contreras

Share on WhatsappTwitterFacebook
Lupe C
Lupe C

He steps into the ring on a regular basis with some of boxing’s very best but always leaves looking as dapper as he did at first bell. He has a face for television and a voice for radio and in his role as one of boxing’s very best announcers he combines both. In this episode of ‘Chatting with the Champ’, Maxboxing caught up with Top Rank Boxing’s outstanding ring announcer Lupe Contreras.

 

With GQ looks and a smooth-as-silk baritone voice, all dressed in a Bond-esque tuxedo, the man in the centre of the ring for some of boxing’s biggest bouts, is a familiar face to fight fans the world over. And, he is considered by many to be the very best at what he does.

 

The affable, well-spoken native of Reynosa, Mexico took a few moments to chat from his home in Houston, Texas about his role as the main man on the mic for ESPN and Top Rank Boxing.

 

Bill Tibbs: Hi Lupe, thanks for taking a few minutes to chat. How are things?

 

Lupe Contreras: No problem Bill; happy to do it. I’m doing good, thank you.

 

BT: You were born in Mexico?

 

LC: Yes, I was. I moved to Houston, Texas with my family just before my 5th birthday.

 

BT: You are known for having one of the smoothest deliveries in transitioning from Spanish to English. Did you speak English at home? You speak both languages perfectly and you switch back and forth so smoothly.

LC: Well at home I spoke English to my brother, but I would speak Spanish to my parents and grandparents. Sometimes when you grow up in the U.S. you tend to get away from your Spanish. But, then you tend to go back, and kind of re-connect with your culture, and the language, when you get older. And, I certainly did when I started in boxing. But, yeah, I had a lot of practice in English and Spanish at home as we would flip back and forth between the two.

BT: When did you know you wanted to do something in voice work or broadcasting of some kind?

LC: I initially worked in radio, starting at a young age; I was about 19. I worked in radio for 10 years, but I didn’t want to do that for a career, long term. It is a very cut-throat business and you simply have to chase the jobs and go where the job sends you. I didn’t want to be living in some place I had to because the job dedicated that I live there. I always said a lot of radio people are like carnival people with pleasant voices. It is a transient business and I didn’t want that for my life.

 

BT: So, you decide to step away from radio and what is next? How do you eventually end up in a ring announcing fighters?

 

LC: Well, I worked in a variety of jobs when I left radio and many of them, when you look back, help you along the way, in different ways to prepare you for something you end up doing later. I was working out at a Muay Tai gym and the owner was doing some shows. They were actually called NHB back then, No Holds Barred, this was pre-UFC era. He asked me if I would like to be the ring announcer and I said, ‘Sure, why not?’. I did it and it went well. The shows were actually very good and very professional. But, as many people have said, sometimes you don’t find the sport, the sport finds you.

 

BT: Did that lead to working in boxing?

 

LC: Well, shortly after that I saw an advertisement for a ring announcer for the new Sunday afternoon, Univision boxing series that Top Rank Boxing was doing, and they were holding a contest to look for a ring announcer. You had to be able to speak both English and Spanish and I thought I would take a shot at it; Why not? So, in front of some PR people from Top Rank I got up there and did my bit and ended up winning the contest. And, it started with that and it went from there.

 

BT: That’s great. Did they give you any direction or guidelines as to what they were looking for?

 

LC: Not really, it was kind of baptism by fire. They told me to have a little saying made up, like a ‘let’s get ready to rumble’ type of thing. And, they said we had to be able to speak both English and Spanish. And, they were going to give us a name and a record of a fighter to introduce. But it wasn’t a lot of direction, you were kind of your own out there. Oh yeah, right before I was going on, I said to the producer, ‘Do you have any advice?’ He replied, ‘Yeah, don’t f*** this up’. (laughs).

 

BT: You’ve worked some great sites that have crowds that are really ready to explode. Like a Terence Crawford fight in Nebraska or a Jose Ramirez fight in the Fresno area. Those crowds must be fun.

 

LC: For sure. Some places are revved up and excited the moment they walk in the building and you just have to build them up and let them go at the right time. Those crowds are passionate about their hometown fighter and can’t wait to explode when they enter the ring. I think my job is to build them up throughout the night and watch how they react to certain things. Sometimes you have worked a city before and you know the crowds and what works and what will really add to the night in terms of my role to build excitement.

 

BT: It is an interesting role, several times a night, for a couple of minutes, every eye in the room is on you. That’s a lot of pressure.

 

LC: It is, but that is where the preparation is critical. And, make no mistake, you have to keep in mind that the people are there to see the fighters. That is why they showed up that night. So, while I’m a part of directing the crowd in a way, and building the excitement, I never lose sight of the fact that the fighters are the main attraction and to keep the focus on them at all times.

 

BT: Did you ever have that moment where you have the little bubble over your head that says, ‘Oh my goodness, how did I get here? I can’t believe this is happening’. (Laughs).

 

LC: (Laughs). Of course. I mean, as a boxing fan growing up, and being Mexican, I loved Julio Caesar Chavez; he was so popular. As I got older my favorite fighter became Evander Holyfield. The guy was never in a bad fight. All his fights were exciting. So, jump ahead years later and I am looking across the ring introducing Evander Holyfield in one of his bouts. And, I get the opportunity to introduce Julio Caesar Chavez. Those moments aren’t lost on me; very exciting.

 

BT: Or, some of the great arenas you have worked in – Madison Square Garden and places like that; Iconic sports arenas.

 

LC: Exactly, if you walk down the halls in the lower levels of some of these arenas, like Madison Square Garden or Staples Centre, and you see the sports and entertainment figures that have performed there over the years and here I am now announcing in there, it is very exciting. You can really feel the weight of the venue – they are iconic places.

 

BT: MMA and the UFC is huge. When it was starting do you think perhaps it lit a fuse that boxing shows had to step up their game a bit in terms of the production? Using the UFC as an example, they really bring an exciting show.

 

LC: Well, I have worked both sides of the street - both boxing and MMA shows. And, competition is always good for any industry. Speaking for Top Rank they have such a great production team that does a fantastic job on social media getting the fighters and clips and everything out there to keep the fight fan interested and coming back. In the old days, if you remember, if you were watching a fight, and if there was an early KO you’d have a lot of dead time that they were trying to fill. That isn’t the case these days. The crowd is entertained all night between fights; great video clips, music, a light show. We have Mark Shunock working the crowd between fights and he is great at that; getting the crowd pumped and involved. Top Rank shows are a lot of fun, a lot of energy and a very exciting event for the crowd. If you have ever seen them setting up for a show, the lighting rig looks like something you’d see for the biggest concert you could go to. But it all comes back to the fighters that is the reason we are there.

 

BT: And, focusing on the fighters, Top Rank really has some great fighters on their roster.

 

LC: They really do, you could go down the list. Terence Crawford is considered by some as the very best in the game. Of course, the incredible Vasyl Lomachenko. You have talents like Shakur Stevenson. Jose Ramirez has become a huge star and just seems to get better every fight. Of course, Teofimo Lopez is such a huge, exciting talent. And, I will say, I don’t know if people realize just how difficult it is to become a major star in the sport. You can, at the top level of other sports, be average and still make millions and have a career. You can’t be average in boxing and make millions. You have to be marketable, entertaining, and highly skilled. I have so much respect for these guys.

 

BT: Well, it’s hard to believe it’s been 20 years you’ve been doing this. And, I speak for a lot of people when I say I think you are absolutely one of the very best at what you do; you are a huge part of an exciting night at the fights.

 

LC: Well, thank you Bill, I appreciate that.

 

BT: Great chat Lupe. Thank you.

 

LC: Thanks Bill, anytime.

 

 

Share on WhatsappTwitterFacebook

SecondsOut Weekly Newsletter

YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Snapchat
Insta
© 2000 - 2018 Knockout Entertainment Ltd & MaxBoxing.com
(function (document, window) { var c = document.createElement("script"); c.type = "text/javascript"; c.async = !0; c.id = "CleverNTLoader49067"; c.setAttribute("data-target",window.name); c.setAttribute("data-callback","put-your-callback-macro-here"); c.src = "//clevernt.com/scripts/565df2e089764bf79d00a9d4c6731a71.min.js?20210312=" + Math.floor((new Date).getTime()); var a = !1; try { a = parent.document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0] || document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; } catch (e) { a = !1; } a || ( a = document.getElementsByTagName("head")[0] || document.getElementsByTagName("body")[0]); a.parentNode.insertBefore(c, a); })(document, window);