Antonacci
does it for the G-Man!
January 26, 2004
By
Andre Courtemanche
“If
I’m at a fight and I’m sitting right at the ring, who cares
if I’m doing it for free? It’s like living a dream to be
involved with all the wonderful people I’ve worked with
in boxing.” Joe Antonacci
There’s
something the boxing world should know about the ring announcer
scheduled to work this Wednesday’s “Star Boxing on Broadway”
show in New York City. Something his humble nature doesn’t
allow him to make a habit of revealing…
Although
he had been a lifelong fan of the sport, it hadn’t yet occurred
to Joe Antonacci to get involved in professional boxing
on the night of February 2, 1995, when former Middleweight
king Gerald McClellan was in England challenging Nigel Benn
for his WBC Super Middleweight title.
And
years later, with only a few fights under his belt as an
announcer, the decision to dedicate all the proceeds of
his newfound hobby, and in the process become a true fistic
humanitarian, didn’t dawn on him until he met McClellan
at the Boxing Writer’s Association of America’s annual dinner
in 2002.
According
to Antonacci, it was a speech delivered that night by award
winner Teddy Blackburn that first made him aware of the
former champion’s dire circumstances (from the effects of
the gruelling Benn fight, a blood clot on the brain and
a subsequent coma have rendered McClellan brain damaged
and permanently unable to see or communicate effectively).
“Teddy
Blackburn got up to give a speech and told everyone Gerald’s
story. And then, at the end, Lou DiBella, whom I consider
to be a wonderful human being, had flown Gerald in. None
of us knew it. They brought him out in a tux.” Unable to
fend for himself and having exhausted all his ring earnings
on the considerable cost of the 24-hour care his sisters
faithfully provide, McClellan is forced to rely on the generosity
of the boxing world for funding. “Gerald is in very, very
difficult situation. They say his capacity is very limited,
but you could still see in his face that he was moved by
the crowd. He got a standing ovation,” said Antonacci.
“Afterward,
I walked over to him, you can’t shake his hand or talk to
him, but I kissed the top of his head. For me, that crystallized
why I was a ring announcer. It gave me a chance to do something
worthwhile. From that moment, I’ve dedicated my announcing
career to him and sent all the proceeds to his trust fund.”
Without
any self-promoting or requests for media attention (this
interview was his first on the subject), Antonacci has quietly
donated every cent he has made in professional boxing to
the fund set up to aid the fallen champion. For Antonacci,
a corporate trainer and motivational speaker by day, the
chance to rub elbows with what he calls the “wonderful people
you meet in boxing,” is more reward than any dollar figure
he might earn.
Ironically,
it was his involvement in another charitable offer that
led him to this heroic mission. “It’s funny how life happens.
I was working for an eye doctor at the time and we were
in New York City at a Ring8 meeting offering to perform
free detached retina procedures on any retired fighters
who needed them. That night, I met a promoter named Bob
Duffy. He needed a ring announcer and I said I could do
it. He said do you have any experience? Well because I had
played a ring announcer in a wrestle mania skit we did for
our kids’ school play, I told him I did. I got the job and
he liked how I handled it and hired me on the spot.”
Since
then, as word has quietly spread among the Big Apple’s fight
community, the well-respected Antonacci has increasingly
been given more and more offers for work. “The funny thing
that has happened is that the good guys in boxing have all
rallied. Teddy Atlas thanked me when he heard the story
of what I was doing. Michael Buffer and Ron Scott Stevens
have been tremendously supportive. Joe DeGuardia from Star
Boxing has used me a couple times now and he’s the one who
told fightnews about me. The people I’ve worked with are
some of the nicest people you can meet and when they’ve
heard what I’ve been doing, they’ve been very helpful to
me, and in turn, Gerald. They’ve put their arm around me
as their ring announcer, knowing that when they pay me,
they’re making a charitable contribution to one of their
own who desperately needs it.”
And
while it’s true that his good heart has opened doors for
him, its Antonacci’s skill and devotion to his craft that
have earned him all the return business. “I can’t say it’s
a hobby because I take it very seriously,” he said. “I went
to my first boxing match at 11-years-old at the Embassy
Hall in North Bergen. That night, Randy Newman beat Chuck
Wepner. I can still tell you the entire card from memory.
That’s the impact live boxing had on me. As an announcer,
it’s important for me that I make everyone’s night at the
fights as special as my first time. I always ask kids in
the crowd if they’re having a good time and talk to them
about the fights they’re seeing. I still remember the thrill
and excitement of being there. I want to give them that
twinkle in their eye that I had that night.”
Joe
Antonacci’s inspiring mission of generosity and compassion
began when he was a wide-eyed child watching intently as
two ring warriors thrilled the crowd with their determination
and bravery. He decided that night that these men were his
heroes.
That’s
why he says it was an easy decision to make when one of
them needed his help. |
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