Bob Sheridan obit

'Colonel' Bob Sheridan, legendary boxing announcer, passed away

 

He was not on the list.

The man who called arguably the biggest upset in sports history, along with some of boxing's most iconic fights has died.

"Colonel" Bob Sheridan, frequently considered "The Voice of Boxing" for providing the blow-by-blow of thousands of matches, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 79.

Sheridan called many legendary fights, including the "Rumble in the Jungle" between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman and the "Thrilla in Manila" between Ali and Joe Frazier. He also called one of the more infamous moments in boxing history when Mike Tyson bit off a part of Evander Holyfield's ear during their 1997 rematch. His first title fight was in 1968, calling Jimmy Ellis vs. Jerry Quarry as both men fought for the vacated heavyweight championship after Ali was stripped of the title for refusing to be drafted by the Army during the Vietnam War.

Sheridan's most famous call took place on February 11, 1990, at the Tokyo Dome where James "Buster" Douglas, a 42-1 underdog, knocked out Mike Tyson in the tenth round to win the undisputed heavyweight championship. Sheridan, whose voice would rise with incredulity with each punch Douglas landed throughout the fight, reached a fever pitch at the right moment, as aptly reflected by DAZN's Todd Grisham, who himself worked with ESPN and WWE for several years.

Sheridan perfectly captured the final seconds of the fight:

"Oh, nice uppercut by Buster Douglas! Look at this! He's knocked Mike Tyson down! For the first time in his career, Mike Tyson has hit the canvas! He's in big trouble! He may not be able to recover! He's up to seven! And eight! He's not gonna be able to make it! Unbelievable! Unbelievable! Buster Douglas is the new... heavyweight champion of the world! This has got to be... this must be... one of the biggest upsets in the history of boxing! Buster Douglas... the new undisputed heavyweight champion of the world!"

Living in the Las Vegas area for years, he was active through April of last year where he was the center of controversy for several offensive remarks during a remote call of a fight in Mexico. Sheridan had also battled multiple health issues over the years, notably having four heart attacks and a dozen angioplasties.

The Boston-born Sheridan was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2016, having called over 10,000 boxing matches and more than 1,000 title fights. Many of those cards were under Don King Promotions as he was the TV announcer of the legendary promoter's events starting in 1973.

Sheridan attended the University of Miami on a baseball scholarship and briefly played for the Class-A Miami Marlins after graduating in 1966. While working as a gym teacher in Miami, Sheridan paid for air time on WDER-FM on Sunday mornings. Before the end of the year, he started calling boxing matches on WGBS. He went on to announce several of Muhammad Ali's title fights, including the Rumble in the Jungle against George Foreman and the Thrilla in Manila which saw Ali take on Joe Frazier. He anchored telecasts for Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield's bouts. He was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 2004. In 2007 he succeeded Lon McEachern as the main play-by-play commentator for the bodogFIGHT mixed martial arts promotion, calling fights alongside Paul Lazenby, Jeff Osborne and Royce Gracie.