The Rumble Brothers

The name Michael Buffer might not mean much to you, but you definitely know his voice. He’s probably the world’s most recognisable ring announcer, in boxing and professional wrestling. But the story of how he went from fight night favourite to American cultural phenomenon, is all thanks to a family secret that remained hidden for decades. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
You definitely know Michael Buffer's voice. Let's get ready to remember. Yeah,
sounds exactly like that. He's probably the world's most recognizable
ring announcer in both boxing and professional wrestling. From the

(00:24):
debut of his trademark catchphrase in nineteen eighty four to
calling Hulk Hogan matches and even getting his own action figure,
Michael Buffer has been an icon of boxing forever. But
before he could become a millionaire, there was the small
matter of a family secret that remained hidden for decades.

(00:49):
A Welcome to the Poolroom, where we celebrate the winners, losers,
and the weird stuff between I'm Tony Armstrong and today
we're biding the year off one of sport's greatest dynasties.

(01:15):
By the time he was in his forties, Michael Buffer
was really really famous. But the younger Bruce Buffer came
to the ring much later. When Michael was announcing famous
fighters like Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, Bruce, like lots
of Americans, was glued to his TV. Without really knowing

(01:36):
anything about Michael Buffer, including his surname, Bruce became a
real fan. These two Buffers had never met. They didn't
have any reason to know each other. They were thirteen
years apart in age and lived in different places in
the US. But one day I was fixed on the telly,
as they often were, Bruce Buffer saw a name flash

(01:59):
onto the square. This handsome man, the one with the
incredible voice, was a Buffer too. It was an unusual surname.
Outside of his Philly based rellies, Bruce had never seen
or met another Buffer. Apparently. Bruce called the famous boxing

(02:20):
promoter Don King. I guess he just got his number
from the Yellow Pages and found out Michael had grown
up only a short distance from his own childhood home.
Bruce was convinced there was more to it. By this stage,
Michael Buffer was as famous as the box as he
was calling a household name, and he was about to

(02:42):
become even closer to home than that. Not expecting any
amazing revelation, Bruce asked his dad if he knew anything
about this distant Buffer. As it turns out, he did.
Buffer Senior had been married for nine months during World
War Two. He and his wife had had a son
and later got divorced. It had been more than forty

(03:05):
years since Joe Buffer had seen this little boy, Michael
with a quick glance to Bruce, Joe simply said, I
think that's your brother. This was news to Bruce. His
older half brother had been raised by foster parents, who

(03:27):
changed his surname, but never legally. When Michael enlisted in
the army during the Vietnam War, his original name resurfaced
and it stuck, which was lucky because young Bruce Buffer
wouldn't have batted an eyelid at seeing Michael Huber on
the screen. It was Dad who got in touch. Michael

(03:48):
was in his forties by then. When a waitress at
a country club theater passed him a note a viewer
had called in and hoped he might call back Joe Buffer.
Michael said he knew immediately who that was. The three men, Joe, Bruce,
and Michael met in a California restaurant. Of course, they

(04:12):
talked boxing. By all accounts, they got on like a
house on fire. Not long after that, Bruce and his
parents went along to the Riddick Bow versus Evander Holyfield
fight in Vegas nineteen ninety two, and Bruce was practically
exploding with pride that this world famous announcer was his brother.

(04:36):
But this time, when Michael said the iconic words Let's
get ready to rumble. Bruce had an epiphany, Let's get
ready to rumble could be more than just a catch phrase.
It could be a gold mine. They locked it down.
The famous phrase began to appear on hats, t shirts,

(04:57):
key rings. Anything was fair game. Bruce knew it could
be more than just a lion. It could become an
American cultural movement. Michael Buffer's pay packet skyrocketed. According to
the Internet, it's a nice little money spinner. Every time

(05:19):
Michael hollers those famous words at an event, he allegedly
earns a whole lot of zeros. Some places have estimated
the trademark value of Let's get Ready to Rumble could
be as much as four hundred million US dollars, all
thanks to Bruce. To return the favor, Michael helped his

(05:44):
little brother join the family trade, but where he was
refined and gentlemanly. Bruce favored a new arrival to the
scene UFC, a blood spot, as he called it. The
energy and street fighting style suited him perfectly, and while
the crowds loved Bruce, his big break came from somewhere
truly unexpected. He appeared in an episode of the sitcom Friends,

(06:07):
the one with the ultimate fighting champion. Today, Bruce's fame
and relevance has almost outdone his brothers. He appears in
practically every UFC fight night, and the fans adore him,
but he doesn't really see it that way. For Bruce Buffer,
he'll always just be stoked to have made his way

(06:30):
in the shadow of the greatest of all time, his
big brother he found on the Telly. Thanks for listening
to the Poolroom with me, Tony Armstrong. This has been
an iHeart production. Join me next time. For more cracking
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