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11/27/2008 Archived Entry: "Thomas Treiber Unplugged!"
Thomas Treiber Unplugged!
Thankful ring announcer reflects bodybuilding, MMA, boxing and the highs and lows of his rising career
By Juan C. Ayllon
THOMAS Treiber is an upbeat, up and coming boxing ring announcer who, over the course of little more than 10 years, is making his mark on the sport. Baby faced at roughly 5’ 9”, he has an infectious smile, striking blue eyes, neatly coifed hair combed to one side, and a pleasant but professional demeanor that suggests he’s truly having fun honing his career in the rugged sport of boxing.
He was born and raised in Hammond, Indiana, the son of Thomas and Maria Treiber. He grew up with a sister, Elizabeth, who “was one year older.” His father was a steelworker at a place that “changed names quite a few times,” as Treiber put it. It was called LPV Steel, located in East Chicago, Indiana, when his father worked there.
Unfortunately, his father passed away when Thomas Jr. was 11 years old. In the aftermath, Maria had to work two to three jobs to support Thomas and his sister, Elizabeth, who was one year older than Thomas.
Asked if Tony Zale, the “Man of Steel” from Gary, Indiana who’d fought three epic battles with Rocky Graziano, and won the World Middleweight Title from him in their third bout, had influenced him, Treiber said, “Not really – he was way before my time, but I know he was one of the best fighters of his era.”
He had another hero closer to home.
“My mom did a great job of raising me and my sister after my father passed away,” says Treiber.
In junior high, he played soccer, basketball and ran track. He graduated from George Rogers Clark High School in Hammond, Indiana in 1991 where he got into bodybuilding.
“When I was in high school, I started working out at a gym. My freshman year of high school, I joined a local gym. A friend and I started going to the gym and I just had no interest in organized sports. My goal became to compete in a bodybuilding contest.”
Thomas Treiber, 1992 Teenage Mr. Illinois
Treiber achieved his goal: “In fact, I was the 1992 Teenage Mr. Illinois. I have the pictures and the trophies to prove it! I wasn’t the biggest guy, but had very good genetics for getting extremely cut and lean. I was 19 years old when I competed, and I won my weight class—I was in the middleweight weight class, and then in bodybuilding, you have the overall where they have the lightweight, middleweight and heavyweight go against each other. And I ended up beating both the lightweight and heavyweight and getting the overall title.
“I only competed in that one contest and really never had an interest in competing again,” says Treiber. “I think my interest started gravitating toward my announcing and getting into broadcasting.”
Treiber attended Columbia College in Chicago for broadcasting and then attended another school called the Illinois School for Broadcasting.
“I didn’t graduate from Columbia, but I did graduate from the Illinois Center for Broadcasting,” he says, “Which is a one-year professional degree—it’s a career college.”
On how he got started:
“I made my ring announcing debut my senior year of high school in 1991,” Treiber says. “How I became involved in ring announcing is – are you familiar with Marty Jakubowski? He’s from Whiting, Indiana, and he was fighting professionally, and he and I went to high school together. I also went to high school with his brother, Eric.
During my senior year of high school, I knew that I wanted to get involved in broadcasting—you know, radio, TV, something. And Marty introduced me to his promoter, which at the time was Fred Burns. So, Fred Burns out of Indianapolis said, ‘Okay kid, you know I’ll give you a tryout,’ you know, I’ll give you a chance to do a show.'
My first fight was at the Hammond Civic Center in 1991, and believe it or not, you know who fought at that show? [Former National Football League Jets all-star] Mark Gastineau! Remember that when he fought for a little bit? I’m not 100 percent sure if it was my first or second show, to be honest with you. I want to say it was my first show, but it was right there when I first started doing ring announcing because I remember I was really excited to hear he was on the card, ‘cause I knew him from the Jets when he was a football player.
From there, I started working for some other promoters: I did the Golden Gloves in Chicago, and just started working for different promoters from the Midwest.
My big opportunity came about four years after making my debut in 1995, when I got hired to do my first nationally televised event. That was televised on ESPN2 and that was when they were calling it ‘The Deuce’ – ‘ESPN the Deuce.’ That was in Brystol, Tennessee. I think the main event was Mark ‘The Shark’ Carrier. I’m not a hundred percent sure, but I’m pretty sure, because he was pretty much on all those shows and, reason being, the promoter was a gentleman by the name of Larry Carrier, and Larry Carrier also owned the Brystol Raceway, where you’ve got the racetrack, a very wealthy man. He’s since passed away, but back in 1995, he owned the Brystol International Raceway and see he had a contract for the NASCAR with ESPN, and with his son, Mark, being a professional boxer, he had the pull to get ESPN to cover his boxing events (because he was promoting on the side).
And he hired me for five shows...and it was through those shows that I made some connections, one of which was with Top Rank. And then I had the opportunity to do some shows with Top Rank in late 95, 96. In fact, in 1996, I did a show in Albuquerque for Top Rank. That was with Floyd Mayweather, David Diaz, and Erik Morell – they were all like in their second professional fight. It was right after the Olympics and the main event that night was Johnny Tapia.
I remember clear as day, Juan: I remember going to the locker room and there’s Floyd, and there’s David and Erik Morell and little did I know that all three of them would become world champions! And David remembers, too! He remembers that I ring announced that fight. ‘Cause when you’re a fighter – I don’t know if you’ve ever fought, I didn’t – but you remember things; it’s your first and second fight: You remember the referee and who he was, you remember the ring announcer, you just remember those kinds of things.
And I think, if I’m not mistaken, that was the first time they fought on ESPN as well. I don’t think any of those guys had been on ESPN yet.
On a low moment in his career:
(Laughs). It’s funny you asked that because now you’ve set yourself up for something I didn’t mention.
I told you I had that five fight deal with ESPN in 1995. Well, in my second or third broadcast, my second or third time on National TV, I was announcing a decision, and I left my note card with the fighters’ names on it on the table outside the ring.
Now, this is live, on ESPN2, in Johnson City, Tennessee, and I get my cue to announce the decision. I’m in the ring, I’ve got my microphone – and that’s all I’ve got is my microphone. And I found out what the time was from the time keeper, and then I’m getting my cue. Now, I’m announcing the decision and I didn’t realize it until I went to announce his name that I didn’t have my card.
So, when I’m announcing it, I’m like, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, here’s the official time: Two minutes and 22 seconds of round number three…” and now I’m realizing that now I don’t have my card. I’m like, “The winner by technical knockout…” and I don’t know the guy’s name! I’m like, “Your winner by technical knockout, here’s – what’s your name?’ And when I said ‘What’s your name,’ it kind of got picked up on the microphone, okay? And the whole crowd starts laughing.
Dude, this is live on ESPN2 – live! And the fighter’s name was Chavez Francisco, and all he said was, ‘Chavez’, and I say, ‘Chavez!’ So that happened live on ESPN2, and the next day, they opened up Sports Center with that clip of me going, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, your winner by technical knockout, here’s—what’s your name?’ That’s how they started Sports Center, making fun of me!
This thing ended up on the David Letterman Show. It was Marv Albert. He used to go on the David Letterman Show and show his favorite sports bloopers. He shows my sports blooper on David Letterman. It was on Good Morning, America, it was on all the different sports channels throughout the country with the newscasters; Mark Giangreco had it on his ‘Sports Shorts’… It’s on a ‘Best Sports Bloopers’ tape, and I’ve got the tape now; I’ve bought it.
I thought my career was over. It was 1995, here I am, 21 years old, 22, and I make this mistake on national TV. I was embarrassed. I thought no one would ever hire me again, and I got a call from Larry Carrier, the gentleman I told you about who owned the Brystol International Raceway. And he called me up and he said in a deep Southern accent, ‘Thomas, hey look, I just want you to know that it’s all right, don’t worry about it, you’ll do our next show, and you’re a good announcer, and don’t let this get you down.’ And I always remember him calling me and telling me that.
It’s one of those things that’s a learning experience because I can assure you I have never left my note card ringside ever again. Okay? Because of that exposure, it was amazing how many people started knowing my face, but they didn’t even know where they knew it from! They were like, ‘Yeah, I’ve seen you before.’ People couldn’t put two and two together and remember that I was the guy who made that funny blooper.
On one of his more memorable experiences:
Well, let me tell you first of all that in 1997 – and I don’t know if you know this – but for two years from 1997 to 1999, I ended up getting a contract with a company called ‘America Presents.’ Dan Goosen from ‘Goosen Tutor’ – at the time, he and a partner, Matt Findley, formed a company in 1997 called ‘America Presents.’ And they had a contract with Fox Sports Net. That was my first big break because I ended up getting a contract with them that made me their exclusive ring announcer.
So for two years from 1997 to 1999, I ring announced every week pretty much throughout the country, and that’s when Fox Sports.net was brand new. That was when Chicago Sports Channel became Fox Sports.net. And when Fox Sports bought out all these regional channels and they became Fox Sports.net-Detroit, Fox Sports West, Fox Sports.net East, the boxing show they were airing nationally on all these different Fox Sports.nets, was the boxing show I was ring announcing. It was incredible exposure.
Even though we were only doing two to three a month, with all the replays of the broadcast – I mean, I was on every week. That was what really made my career take a big jump, so to speak.
And it was through ‘America Presents’ and that exposure that I ended up making my HBO debut in [1998]. In [1998], I ring announced the Sugar Shane Mosley - Demetrio Ceballos fight, and that was a huge opportunity. I never thought I’d be ring announcing on HBO. That was definitely one of the biggest moments early in my career.
Then I also had the opportunity in 1997, 1998 to do fights on USA Tuesday Night Fights, and did Bernard Hopkins fights on there, a lot of world champions, David Reid, Shane Mosley—he did a fight on Tuesday Night Fights, Danny Romero. A lot of high profile fighters were on shows that I did.
That said, the Botha-Ettienne fight stands out the most: The New Orleans Arena, 18,000 people, it just was one of those defining moments of my career. I’d always dreamed of being in Jimmy Lennon’s shoes. And when the lights dropped and the spotlight hit me, and I got to say, “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s Showtime!” And all the lights went on, 18,000 people are cheering. I mean, dude, it’s a rush like you wouldn’t believe. I mean, it’s just world-wide audience, Showtime, former heavyweight champion of the world, Fracoise Botha, and I got to fill in for Jimmy Lennon. What happened was he wasn’t available, and they called me like two days before, and I was on a plane to New Orleans, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe I’m getting this opportunity!’
On working with Sean O’Grady on Tuesday Night Fights:
I don’t know Sean O’Grady real well, but we said ‘hi’…I had the pleasure of working with him. Even when I was at the end of my Fox Sports.net contract, he came on and became our reporter because when they cancelled Tuesday Night Fights – and I believe it was about 1999 – and Fox Sports.net, they brought him onto our broadcast team. So, then it was me as ring announcer, Barry Thompkins doing the play-by-play, Rich Marotta was doing the blow-by-blow, and then they had Sean O’Grady to do the interviews in the ring, interviews in the locker rooms, and things like that. So at that time, we started traveling together.
But when I did the Tuesday Night Fight shows, I didn’t see him too much other than at ringside. But Sean’s a really nice guy. Do you know him?
On working with boxing announcer Al Bernstein:
I know Al real well. Me and Al have worked together ‘cause aside from doing the ring announcing – I’m not sure if you know, but I’m also a blow-by-blow announcer, that’s something I started doing a couple years ago – and I had the pleasure of working with Al on some Fox Sports.net broadcasts. I do the blow-by-blow [and] he does the color. And if you go on my website, you can actually see some video footage of us working together.
On becoming a ring announcer for Dominic Pesoli's ‘8 Count Productions’ in Chicago:
I was with America Presents and we were doing the Fox show in 97-98, Dominic was co-promoting some shows with America Presents at the casino in Elgin. I’ve known Dominic, believe it or not, since about 1994, 95. I’ve known Dominic for about 14 years. I used to work the door at a restaurant in Chicago, and Dominic was just a regular customer. At the time, he had not promoted yet, and I was already ring announcing. It must have been 1995 because I had just done my ESPN show, and I told Dominic something like, “Hey, man, I just ring announced a boxing event on TV on ESPN. ‘Good for you,’ he’s like ‘I’m going to promote some shows and I’ll have you do my ring announcing.’ I said, ‘So, great!’
And I ring announced his first show at the Park West Theatre. It was a charity, I think ‘Kids Fight Cancer’ benefit charity is what it was. And Danny Bonaduce fought Jon Kelly, the former NBC newscaster.
JA: And didn’t Dominic train Kelly?
TT: He may have. I’m not sure. But that was his first event that he promoted, and this is like 95, I guess. So, I did that show for him, but I ended up moving to Las Vegas in 96, and I lived in Las Vegas from 1996 to 2002. And when Dominic started promoting his professional cards, I was already under contract and traveling with America Presents…and he really needed a local guy that he could use. That’s how Ken Fletcher became his ring announcer. Now, had I not moved, I would have been his guy years and years ago. So, what ended up happening is I moved back from Las Vegas about five years ago and called up Dominic. I said, ‘Hey, look, I’m available if you need me,’ and he said, ‘I’m loyal to my ring announcer; I’ve got Ken Fletcher, but if anything happens, I’ll give you a call.’
JA: And then Fletcher became a judge, which precluded additional outside jobs.
TT: He became a judge, had to retire from ring announcing, and just a little under two years ago, I got a call and Dominic hired me to become his new ring announcer.
But, I work for about 20 different promoters – both MMA and professional wrestling. So, combined between mixed martial arts, professional wrestling shows, and professional boxing, I work for about 20 different promoters and I travel all over the country doing the ring announcing and also, like this week, I’m flying to Columbia, South Carolina and I’m doing the blow-by-blow for a FoxSports.net broadcast. On where Treiber sees boxing and MMA, whether they’re at crossroads with boxing on the decline and MMA on the sharp rise:
I think that boxing will always be around. And the talk that the sport is dying – I really don’t see that, or believe that.
But there’s no denying that mixed martial arts is just at the top of their game. And they just continue to get bigger, and bigger and bigger. I don’t have a crystal ball, but mixed martial arts has certainly surpassed from what I’ve heard and read, and even I believe professional wrestling on their Pay-Per-View buys and things of that nature. So, as far as the future goes, I mean boxing will always be there. MMA and the Ultimate Fighting Championships right now they just continue to get bigger, and bigger, and bigger. So, I don’t know! I mean, I don’t think that mixed martial arts or the UFC put boxing out of business or anything like that.
And I’m not quite sure: Do you think they attract the same fans, or do you think boxing fans are MMA fans, or do they kind of cross that line in your opinion?
JA: There’s definitely some crossover. You’ve got the regular fight fans, but you’ve also got your dedicated boxing fans. I think that the MMA appeals more to this next generation with its extreme sports and all that. It’s radical; it’s got different rules, certainly not less rules, but different rules, and it certainly appears more extreme. So it definitely appeals…
TT: You know what I think, Juan, is I think their demographic is a little different. I think the younger kids have become fans of MMA because of the cable shows that they have. Boxing has really not been able to captivate that younger demographic.
You know, my nephew is eight years old. He knows who Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock and Brock Lesnar – he knows who all these guys are, you know, these MMA fighters. He doesn’t know any boxers.
On what steps he’d take, if he could, to improve boxing, in view of all he sees:
(Long sigh). Wow. That’s a good question. I’d like to see the best fighters in each weight division fighting each other. I’m not a big fan of all the different titles that are out there. I would like to see one world champion and one person that is recognized as the best in each weight class. And, if you’re going to have other champions, like we have with the IBF, the WBC and WBA, I would like it where they all have to fight each other, and that the world champions can’t be protected by their promoters, by the networks that have the contracts with the fighters and promoters, because in my opinion, that takes away some of the best fights out there which, in return, hurts the sport, because you’re not seeing the best two fighters fighting [each other].
You know, in baseball or football, when it comes down to the World Series, you know those are the two best teams because they made it there. They made it through the tournament, playoffs or what have you and they’re there because they’re the two best teams.
In boxing, it doesn’t seem like it’s always the case. In my opinion, I think that would help the sport. I think that would attract more fans and certainly make the people who are already boxing fans that much more interested in the sport.
That’s the first thing that comes to my mind, Juan. But if you’re just talking about pure competition – and [that’s] what the sport is, two fighters fighting – I would like to see the best fighters out there fighting each other.
On what’s next for his career:
Well, I’m hoping to continue to do many televised events, and I’m hoping to continue getting a lot of exposure, and to work with some of the top promoters in the business. I’ve had the pleasure of working for Top Rank, I’ve had the pleasure of ring announcing for Main Events, Top Rank, Cedrick Kushner Promotions – who now is Gotham Boxing, I’m doing the undercards for Golden Boy Promotions, I just emceed their press conference – I think you were there, right? That’s right, you were there, yeah. And, I’m really hoping I can take my career to that next level. I really feel like I ring announce in Spanish, and there’s guys out there that ring announce in Spanish, I’m sure, but I don’t think that there’s that many out there. I consider myself to be at a high list in regards to ring announcers who have had national exposure and who could be in line to becoming the next Jimmy Lennon or Michael Buffer because those guys are not getting any younger. Michael Buffer’s in his mid-60s, I would guess. And in 10 years, I’m still going to be 40, 45 years old. I’m hoping to be one of the premiere ring announcers in the future and right now, my goal is to continue to work as often as possible.
That’s really my goal, Juan; I’m doing events every weekend, and so my goal is to be as busy as possible ring announcing.
On whether he’s single or married:
You know what? I’m single and dating. I have not walked to the altar yet. (He laughs). I’ve never been married, never been engaged. I had a girlfriend about six months ago, but I don’t really want to talk about that. So, no, I’m single and dating and trying to find a nice young lady who understands my crazy life, mi vida loca!
I’m Catholic. No kids. And [I’m] just trying to find a good woman who understands what I do and supports it. And at the same time, I would support whatever she does for a living. I am in a unique business, so to speak. Sometimes women go, ‘where are you Thursday through Saturday? You fly off where and you do what?’ It’s not been great. I wouldn’t say that that’s the reason I’m not married yet, but it certainly hasn’t been a benefit, what I do, to the social life.
On whether it’s worth it:
Oh, I love it. You know what? I love what I do. You hear people say, ‘Oh, 10 more years and I can retire.’ I never want to retire! I want to be doing this till the day I die.
I love working in front of a live crowd, I love working a live televised event, I love boxing, I love the sport, I’ve made a lot of great friends in the business, and it’s just every opportunity I get, I appreciate it, because it’s a very competitive business; there’s a lot of guys out there who are always trying to get your job. But every show I do, whether it’s in front of 50 people, or whether it’s in front of 50,000 people, I always give 100 percent because they often say you’re as good as your last performance. I just love what I do and I take a lot of pride in what I do. If you have a passion for something and you really enjoy it, I think it shows. I think we’ve all had jobs that we didn’t like and you’re not really there.
Last thoughts to fans:
Just keep coming out to shows and supporting boxing. And it’s really because of the fans that I have a job, that promoters are able to make a living, that fighters are able to make a living – it’s all because of the fans. Without them, none of us would be making a living at this. And so I encourage all boxing fans, when there’s a show in your area, to come to the show and enjoy the event live because I believe that there’s nothing like being at a show live and being a part of the event because when you’re there—I was there when Tyson bit Tyson’s ear, I was there when Whitaker fought De La Hoya—there were a lot of fights I saw when I lived in Las Vegas and I was not announcing. And I’ll tell you, when you’re actually there and you’re a part of a crowd as a fan, you always remember it a lot more than if you were watching it in your living room.
And, of course, I want to wish a happy Thanksgiving to all the great boxing fans!
