Who is Michael Buffer? Why does he say 'let's get ready to rumble? How much does he get paid?
Anthony Joshua's title defence against Oleksandr Usyk will be one of 2021's biggest fights - and then means Michael Buffer will be warming up his vocal cords.
The legendary announcer, 76, has been the voice of boxing for almost 40 years and will once again be in the ring on Saturday night.
AJ and Usyk have been in training camps for months ahead of their heavyweight collision and finally took to the scales on Friday.
Yet for many fans, the fight between them won't feel real until Buffer has the microphone and is screaming ‘Let’s get ready to rumble’.
But what are the origins to his iconic catchphrase and how much is the American being paid for his appearance? talkSPORT.com takes a look...
Who is Michael Buffer?
Buffer was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on November 2, 1944.
His parents divorced when he was only 11 months old and he was raised by foster parents under the name of Huber.
Buffer became a ring announcer in 1982 at age 38, gaining national exposure a year later as the sole announcer for fights promoted by Bob Arum's Top Rank on ESPN.
He is the half-brother of iconic UFC announcer Bruce Buffer, 64, although the pair weren't introduced to each other until in 1989.
While boxing remains Michael's forte, his booming voice has led to stints in the MLB World Series, NBA Finals, WWE and the now-defunct WCW.
Why does he say 'let's get ready to rumble'?
Buffer started saying his timeless catchphrase in 1984 - two years after he started as an announcer - after drawing inspiration from Muhammad Ali.
He told Yahoo in 2018: "I wanted a hook to get the fans into knowing who the main event fighters are. The stars of the show.
“The Great Muhammad Ali used to say: 'I'm so pretty! I'm ready to rumble! Rumble, young man, rumble!' And I kind of refined that to 'Let's get ready to rumble.'
“… Through the years, it became the call to arms. … It’s been a great way to let people know … that you’re going to see the main event.”
Michael's half-brother Bruce is famous in his own right for his 'IT'S TIME!' catchphrase in the UFC.
But the younger Buffer was actually the one involved in trademarking Michael's signature saying in 1992 shortly after becoming his manager.
The Voice of the Octagon told BT Sport: “I realised (Michael) hadn’t trademarked [Let’s get ready to rumble’] and had no t-shirts or hats.
“So I started getting passionate about this and had aspirations of becoming an announcer because I always enjoyed being on stage and talking in front of people.”
The lightbulb moment came when he attended Evander Holyfield vs Riddick Bowe in 1992.
Bruce Buffer revealed that having watched the reaction his brother got from Jack Nicholson, Hulk Hogan and other celebrities in attendance he realised the potential of ‘Let’s get ready to rumble’.
How much does he get paid?
According to reports, Buffer earns between $25,000 and $100,000 every time he uses his catchphrase depending on the fight.
The veteran is even said to have raked in $1million on select occasions, but is yet to be revealed his wage for Joshua's clash with Usyk.
Buffer was quizzed over reports that his catchphrase has earned him $400m during his career in 2018 but he indicated that it is actually more.
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He told USA Today: "That comes from a few years ago and reflects the sales of a lot of products associated with 'let's get ready to rumble' including commercials.
"It's been very, very rewarding."
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