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The voice of Tim Hughes echoes through homes and events around the world. From video games, movies, radio, television, IFL events, Sportfight events, Olympic events and more, Hughes has found a niche with his voice and his technical audio skills as a studio engineer. He often engineers his own voice-overs in
his home studio or on-the-road studio. Hughes provides more than statistics when calling an MMA event. He sets a series of moods, ultimately driving anticipation and excitement, helping to build the perfect environment for combat athletes to perform in. His genuine enthusiasm is unique for a ring announcer calling large events, and refreshing. I had the pleasure of interviewing Tim before
(HERE), have sat ringside with him several times, and have spoken with him numerous times. He's truly a class-act, and the perfect example of an IFL representative. I was enamored for the opportunity to catch up with him!
NWFS: Tim, my friend! How have you been?
Tim Hughes: Mike! Great to hear from you! As you know, I have been very busy with a lot of road trips these days. I was up in your neck of the woods a couple of weeks ago for a great Sportfight event at the Rose Garden and just got back from an IFL show at the Sears Center in Phoenix, Kansas City, New Jersey...
I've lost track! It's been great.
NWFS: We're very much looking forward to seeing you again, next time is in Everett ! With your busy schedule, how do you keep up with everything; doing voice-overs, ring announcing, radio shows, running your own post-production studio, and everything else you get your hands on?
Hughes: It's funny, most of us on the road with the IFL are freelance so we're all juggling a lot of balls these days. I'll give you a great example of what and how I do it while on the road. Several of my clients are
TV stations that are very busy during sweeps months, of which May happens to be one, and I voice and produce their daily topical promos and radio spots everyday. To accommodate all of my clients, I take my "mobile studio" on the road with me which consists of a laptop with the editing software, microphone with interface and all the wires and headset. I basically set up a portable studio in my hotel room and in between rehearsals and production meetings I run back to the room where the client emails me scripts, I produce them with music and sound effects and repost them on an FTP site for stations to retrieve. This week in Chicago , I actually mixed and posted 5
TV spots for CBS and then voiced 27 radio and TV spots for the NEC Home Shows in California! I also get up early on Saturday mornings to host my radio shows back in Salt Lake live from the hotel. It's really made possible because of great clients who bend the rules a bit to allow me to get it all done!
NWFS: You're really lucky in that respect, that sounds ideal. Speaking of luck, you were cast as the Ring Announcer for the MMA film "Never
Submit". What's the status of the film?
Hughes: The movie hasn't started shooting yet. We were scheduled to start this past week in Kansas City but they have been experiencing stumbling blocks along the way that keep the show delayed. This past week the lead actor backed out so they are recasting and there may be some other legal issues.
NWFS: How have things gone with The IFL, now that you've been with them for over a year?
Hughes: I can say without hesitation that it has been, next to the Olympic experiences in 2002 & 2004, the best experience of my life! The IFL is a fantastic organization with first class people at all positions behind the scenes and some of the most exciting young MMA talent in the country fighting! The live event crowds are growing, merchandise is selling like hot cakes and most importantly the
TV ratings have been steadily growing each week. Many people want to downplay the actual ratings for the IFL Battleground show each Monday night on MyNetwork stations across the country but the target demo of males 18-34 ratings have been the best of any program in the young history of MyNetwork! It's amazing to think that over 1 Million viewers watch these great athletes every Monday night and those numbers don't include the weekly show on FSN or any of the replays on both networks! I'm honored that they believe in me enough to make me a part of the show!
NWFS: You've called bouts in some very prestigious venues with The IFL, in addition to your work with The Olympics and other live events. What venue has struck you as your favorite working with The IFL, and why?
Hughes: As far as venues go, they all begin to look alike once the production is in place for the show to be honest. Having said that, there was a certain mystique about Trump's Taj Mahal last year just because of the history and I have to say that the Mohegan Sun is second to none when it comes to the overall venue with all of the great restaurants and casino. It was a special moment for me when we arrived at the Forum in LA however. I grew up down there and as a kid got a few chances to attend Laker games when I was 10 or 12 years old and followed them religiously on
TV. In 1970-71 when they won the Championship with Wilt [Chamberlain], Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Gayle Goodrich and Happy Hairston, I kept a book with all of the newspaper articles and wrote down every score. There was even a fold out of Chamberlain's shoe in there from Sport Illustrated! They went on a 33 game win streak that year that is still an NBA record. Anyway, and I know this sounds a bit weird, but they served our crew dinner before the show in the Forum club upstairs and when I walked through the bar area with all of the pictures from that era hanging on the walls I almost broke down with the memories! I immediately called my brother to share the experience with him. I'm still looking for that scrapbook at my mother's place!! But my favorite part of working the show without a doubt is the production values of the show. Everything is first class for the athletes, talent and hopefully the fans. Not only am I working with the legends of the sport every show who I'm now on a first name basis with, but I am also rubbing shoulders with producers, directors, sound engineers, lighting techs etc... that have been responsible for everything from Olympic coverage, to Superbowls and Kentucky Derbys to Monday Night Football...WOW!
NWFS: I know you like that! What's the most difficult part of Ring
Announcing,
and what's the best part?
Hughes: Once you embrace the idea of being in front of a large crowd with millions more watching on
TV, it's really not that difficult. I learned along time ago in my radio experience that as long as you treat the audience as a single person and try to relate to them one on one, it's a simple form of communication. Hopefully the crowd feels the same way when they leave a show. I have always admired the work of Jimmy Lennon Jr. and the Buffers, but I really try to go beyond the traditional role of ring announcer and be the eyes and ears of the fans in the stands, inside the ropes. I consider myself to be more of their host for the evening at each event. And the best part? Working in front of the crowd! I really feel comfortable there, and after announcing to 3.5 Billion people during the Olympics in 2002 at each of the Medals Ceremonies nothing really affects me these days!
NWFS: Does it look like
you're still headed to Beijing to call Boxing for the
2008 Olympic Games? What projects do you have coming up?
Hughes: I just shared an email with the Organizing Committee this week and things are coming together. In fact they have asked me to help them gather other qualified English voices to help in their games so I have hooked up some of my good friends, some of the best voices in the business, and we may all spend a month in China next Summer!!
NWFS: As a seasoned Ring Announcer for Sportfight and The IFL, you've seen enough fights to understand the game. What are your thoughts on the match-ups for the Everett event? What are your fight-of-the-night predictions?
Hughes: I don't know about the fight of the night, it may well be the Lightweight match-up between Savant Young and Ryan Schultz! They both love to bang! Antonio McKee is going to want to take Dolce down and limit his striking ability, but Mike is anxious to get back on the winning side. Devin Cole is coming off his first win as a Wolfpack member and his fight with Wayne Cole could be a slugfest! Unfortunately the Tiger Sharks are going to have their hands full at almost every position with the Anacondas...but so does the rest of the league right now! The X-Factor in this team match will be the support of the local fans, they can help tip the scales and inspire the best in the Tiger Sharks team. I'm looking forward to Schoenauer vs. Goes and Radach / Marunde!
NWFS: Knowing entertainment as you do, is there a fighter, or a of couple fighters, that have really stood out in this league to you as a future stand-out super star? If so, who?
Hughes: I hate to mention one or two when there are so many deserving of the notoriety. Seriously the league is stacked with talent and I maintain that if these guys stay with the league, and the IFL business plan continues to get great partners and sponsors, these WILL BE the best known MMA fighters in the country. Horodecki, Rothwell, Shultz, Palaszewski, Heleno, Gunderson, the list goes on and on. Then you add the names of some of the veterans, like Goes,
Matyushenko, Hieron, Schoenauer, etc..., it's an amazing line up and true MMA fans are figuring that out very quickly!
NWFS: Many people don't like the sound of their own voice when they hear it on a recording. What goes through your mind when you hear your work? You think, "Damn I'm sexy!" don't you? (All Laugh)
Hughes: HA! Funny you would say that! It took me a lot of years to like the voice and delivery that has kept me employed on the radio for 27 years now. After all this time, I'm able to step away from it a bit more and recognize when something either worked or didn't work in the ring or on the air. Luckily these days there are more times that worked than not and it usually ends up being something spontaneous rather than something scripted.
NWFS: Tim, as always, it's been a great pleasure! I look forward to see you in Everett! Thank you!
Hughes: Can't wait to get back up your way! I haven't been in the Seattle area since I was a kid! I'm also excited because my brother and his buddies are hopping on the Harley's and riding in from Missoula Montana for the show. I hope the local MMA fans have that same kind of passion and come support the Tiger Sharks and the IFL!!
Let's show Tim that the Northwest fight fans are the best in the world.
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