Spotlight on Ring Announcer Sonny Franco

Meet the Man Behind the Microphone!

In every professional match, there’s the person who stands center ring to announce the two warriors ready to go toe to toe.

Call them ring announcers, emcees or Master of Ceremonies, these individuals have to juggle a lot of balls during each and every live fight. Besides introducing the prizefighters and luminaries ringside, they also have to officially announce the scorecards, entertain the crowd, keep the pace moving along and a lot more.

While Michael Buffer and Jimmy Lennon Jr. are known worldwide, there is a new young crop of ring announcers making the scene. Meet Sonny Franco, one of the emcees hailing from Southern California. Known for his trademark phrase of “Let the Battles Begin!” Franco is also in the Army Reserve and is a young war veteran having fought in Iraq.

And here in the U.S. Sonny has been keeping a busy schedule at various boxing and MMA shows around the country. On November 21, he presented special Awards of Achievement and Appreciation to Thompson Boxing Promotions’ President/Founder Ken Thompson and General Manager/Matchmaker Alex Camponovo at their “Locked ‘N Loaded” boxing show at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario.

I caught up with Sonny after the awards presentation. He and his wife Monica reside in the Southland and are both ringside fixtures at fights. With his love of the sweet science, Franco continues his arc as a popular ring announcer who always reports for duty with his upbeat and professional manner intact.

In our chat, learn which referees Sonny counts as mentors, hear some of his favorite highlights in the ring, and find out why he wanted to honor Team Thompson.

Michele Chong: Hi Sonny! I know you have a long military career. How did you transition into boxing and MMA?

Sonny Franco: Hi Michele! As for my military career, I have been serving in the U.S. Army Reserves for 13 years. I am a Military Policemen and my rank is Staff Sergeant E-6. I have been deployed twice and fought in this recent war in 2003 where I was deployed to Baghdad Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom.
As for my announcing career and how that all came to be, it was nothing short of a right time, right place miracle. During my employment with the Federal Bureau of Prisons I met a friendly co-worker who happened to mention that he was involved in the boxing world. He introduced himself as Tony Weeks and said that he was a professional boxing referee. I told him that I was a huge boxing fan and that I was interested in becoming a Ring Announcer. We became friends instantly and he took on the role of being my mentor ever since. Tony then passed my information on to his mentor and close friend Hall of Fame retired boxing referee Mr. Richard Steele. Mr. Steele contacted me and gave me my first audition at his gym in Nevada. I gave my best performance and after the event, Mr. Steele approached me and said that he liked my style and saw the potential in me to become a great ring announcer one day. I began my career as the oficial announcer for Mr. Steele’s MMA promotion in Las Vegas called the IFO (International Fighting Organization). We broadcasted our events to millions of homes via HDNet. From there the exposure landed me more shows with more promoters and eventually it would lead me to boxing.

MC: You have worked on various live boxing shows for several years now. How did you first get the idea to honor Ken and Alex?

SF: I was introduced to Alex and Thompson Boxing Promotions in 2006 and was given the opportunity to work with the promotion on the “Path to Glory” series. I enjoy working with both Ken Thompson and General Manager Alex Camponovo and have been working with them ever since. Through the relationships of Thompson Boxing Promotions I have had the opportunity to do both televised and non-televised events with other promotions and networks such as Gary Shaw Productions, Top Rank, Showtime, ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights,” Fox Sports, Goossen Tutor Promotions, Iron Boy Promotions and numerous others.

I was honored to have the opportunity to recognize and thank Ken and Alex for all of their support and generosity over the years. The awards that I presented to them were unique and were a token of my appreciation for everything they have done for me, the fighters and the fans over the last 14 years.

MC: What are some of your favorite moments being in the ring at boxing shows?
SF: As a ring announcer I have been blessed with many memorable moments inside the ring. One of them being the chance to honor my father with a standing ten count on the one-year anniversary of his passing. He was a huge boxing fan as well and that night will forever be special to me. Every world championship, every tribute to our nation’s military, are also special moments inside the ring that I am most grateful to be a part of.

It has been an amazing experience over the past 12 years as I have had the opportunity to meet and work with the best people in the world. There is a not an event that goes by when I don’t remember just how lucky and blessed I am to be able to do what I am passionate about.
See you inside the ring in 2015 and be sure to listen for “Let the Battles Begin!”

MC: Thanks, Sonny and have a great rest of the year!

SF: Thanks, Michele!

Sonny Franco’s passion for the sport becomes evident every time he’s at the mic.

Check out some exclusive snapshots of the awards ceremony at “Locked ‘N Loaded” when he paid tribute to promoter Ken Thompson and matchmaker Alex Camponovo. The ring announcer also had a chance to introduce Olympian and WBC champ Wayne McCullough who was a special guest at the show.

During the awards, Franco spoke from the heart of how he’s enjoyed working with Thompson Boxing for the past several years. In front of a lineup of champs and contenders in the ring, Sonny presented commissioned plaques (by boxing trainer/artist Steve Harpst) with a classic 3D boxing glove holding a microphone. Fitting for the ring announcer who loves his country and the sport of boxing. He enjoys working boxing and MMA shows with various promoters across the U.S. and looks forward to more battles on the canvas.

Be sure to catch Sonny Franco in action at a future show!

Photos by Michele Chong