Ringside with Carlos: Introduction
I’ve worked my fair share of sports.
Over the course of 400-plus games as a hockey play-by-play voice, multiple seasons of football and more recently various PA announcing gigs, you see and experience a lot.
None of those experiences came close to the pure competition, bright lights and animated environment of my professional boxing announcing debut in Brampton last month, on a DAZN-televised United Boxing Promotions card.
The opportunity came on luck and good fortune – I’d connected with Tyler Buxton at the exact moment he entered the market for a ring announcer – and I was nervous, frankly, in the lead-up to the Nov. 12th event.
My exposure to boxing as a kid was minimal, limited to the Fight Night series on PlayStation and occasional Friday Night Fights on television. It was only my cousin in Ottawa’s foray into amateur boxing that led me to the sport during the pandemic.
Thankfully – and through him – I had opportunities to work high-quality amateur shows at venues like the Canadian War Museum and EY Centre before venturing into the professional arena; if you can read a tense split decision with a fighter jet suspended 15 feet above your head, you can probably read one anywhere.
In the weeks before my debut with United Promotions, I devoured every fight and article I could get my hands on. Not only was I watching the way that Michael Buffer, Jimmy Lennon Jr. and co. navigated proceedings inside the ropes,
I was also immersing myself in the sport’s narrative arcs, showmanship and flow of a professional show.
Today, I think it’s fair to say – and my girlfriend would vigorously nod in agreement – that I am trending toward fanatic status.
Most weeknights are at least partially spent retracing careers through the dueling tabs of BoxRec and Youtube, and my most recent Amazon purchase was a great read (en français) on the trials and tribulations of Quebec journeyman Gaétan Hart.
From revisiting Brandon Cook’s title eliminator in far-flung Kazakhstan to the squint-and-google BoxRec entries – Dylan Rushton fought in Bermuda? – I’ve discovered the many marketable elements of boxing: Its globality, its glamour and above all its characters.
Every person I have talked to in boxing points to the present day – with its DAZN agreements, United’s upcoming casino series, and a resurgence in Ontario’s amateur scene – as a significant period of growth for the sport.
There are more shows, talented fighters and economic opportunities around boxing in Ontario today than at any point in the last decade.
My goal is to help tell the stories of those in boxing – both battling inside the ropes and seated around the ring – in a meaningful way, right here on United Boxing Promotion’s digital channels.
Stay tuned!
Ringside with Carlos is a bi-weekly column written by Carlos Verde, featuring reflections on Ontario boxing, fighter profiles and feature stories on those in the fight game. Next week, trainer Stevie Bailey settles into the interview chair for a lengthy discussion.
