Joe Antonacci (ring announcer) (born August 9, 1960 in

Ridgewood, New Jersey Ridgewood is a Village (New Jersey), village in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Ridgewood is a suburban commuter town, bedroom community of New York City, located approximately northwest of Midtown M ...

) is a noted

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

ring announcer and emcee famous for his televised boxing ring appearances in a tuxedo on ESPN's Friday Night Fights, NBC Sports Network, CBS Sports, Fox Sports, HBO, Showtime, and GoFightLive.TV. Nicknamed 'Generous Joe', he donates all of his ring earnings to assist injured and retired amateur and professional boxers in need, to overcome their disabilities incurred as a result of bouts in the ring, and to amateur boxing organizations. Antonacci also serves as a ring announcer for

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

fights.

Biography

Career

Antonacci has worked for all of the major promoters in boxing, including

Bob Arum Robert Arum (born December 8, 1931) is an American lawyer and boxing promoter. He is the founder and CEO of Top Rank, a professional boxing promotion company based in Las Vegas. Prior to becoming a boxing promoter, Arum was employed as an attorn ...

’s Top Rank,

Oscar De La Hoya Oscar De La Hoya ( , ; born February 4, 1973) is an American Promoter (entertainment), boxing promoter and former professional boxing, professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 list of boxing sextuple ch ...

’s Golden Boy Promotions,

Don King Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups. King's career highlights include, among multiple other enterprises, promoting "The Rumble in the Jungle" and the ...

’s Don King Productions and North Jersey’s Main Events, headed by Kathy Duva. His adventures as a ring announcer have taken him from Madison Square Garden to Macau, China, where Antonacci announced the first ever professional fight card in that venue, from

The Venetian Macao The Venetian Macao () is a hotel and casino resort in Macau, China owned by the American Las Vegas Sands company. The 39-story structure on Macau's Cotai Strip has of floor space, and is modeled on its sister casino resort The Venetian Las Ve ...

. In March 2012, Antonacci was elected as a member of the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame, headed by boxing historian Henry Hascup. Antonacci was also nominated in 2012 for a 'Good Guy Award' from the Boxing Writer's Association of America.

Comedian and actor

Antonacci is also an award-winning comedian based in Chicago who has played the top comedy clubs in Chicago and New York City. He was a finalist in The Clean Comedy Challenge in Pasadena, California. Joe’s brand of humor appeals to audiences of all ages. Joe has appeared in over a dozen television series, films and music videos.

Personal life

Antonacci is a graduate of

William Paterson University William Paterson University, known as WP, officially William Paterson University of New Jersey (WPUNJ), is a public university in Wayne, New Jersey, United States. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Founded in 1855 an ...

with a B.A. degree in English. He resided with his wife Diane and two children in

for many years before moving to

Lombard, Illinois Lombard is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States, and a suburb of Chicago. The population was 44,476 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Lombard was originally named "Babcock's Grove", after the Babcock brothers ...

Filmography

Ring announcer Joe Antonacci has appeared as himself in four motion pictures: *

Lights Out (2011 TV series) ''Lights Out'' is an American boxing drama television series from the FX network in the United States. It stars Holt McCallany as Patrick "Lights" Leary, a New Jersey native, and former heavyweight champion boxer who is considering a comeback. ...

* They’re Just My Friends (2006) * Orthodox Stance (2007) * The Challenger (2012)

Joe Palooka comic book

Antonacci owns the trademark to and has recreated

Joe Palooka ''Joe Palooka'' is an American comic strip about a heavyweight boxing champion, created by cartoonist Ham Fisher. The strip debuted on April 19, 1930 and was carried at its peak by 900 newspapers. It was cancelled in 1984. The strip was adapt ...

, an American comic book, formerly about a heavyweight boxing champion that debuted in 1930 and ran until the 1980s. A brand new comic book version of the character is currently being offered for sale online, created by Antonacci and his creative team. Palooka is reborn as a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter. Antonacci's team has also created a sister series of MMA-themed comic books entitled 'Legion of Combat.

Death

Joe Antonacci passed away on April 25, 2024 https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/joseph-antonacci-obituary?id=54987657

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Antonacci, Joe 1960 births American sports announcers American boxing commentators People from Ridgewood, New Jersey Living people William Paterson University alumni