“Let’s get ready to rumble!” Feel familiar with this catchphrase? Not all boxing fans know Michael Buffer, but every one of them surely recognize his booming voice that has introduced legendary champions such Mike Tyson, Oscar de la Hoya, George Foreman, Manny Pacquiao and more.
The most interesting part is, this catchphrase has been used by Michael Buffer since 1984, and he had it trademarked in 1992. Since then, he has received about 400 million US Dollars in licensing income. How could that be?
As a ring announcer, Buffer has experimented with various catchphrases to excite the attending audience. Among them are “Man your battle stations!” and “Fasten your seatbelts!” but these phrases did not engage viewers. Eventually, he heard of boxing legend Muhammad Ali saying, “Rumble, young man, rumble!” and was inspired by it.
Buffer began to use the word rumble in his MC gigs. “We’re here tonight to witness 12 rounds of boxing in the heavyweight division, let’s get ready to rumble, introducing first in the red corner…” and so on. On the advice of a friend, Buffer would pause and put more emphasis on “Let’s get ready to rumble”, . He realized that doing so would make the crowd cheer excitedly. Continue Reading