Hard to
believe
as it
may be,
Treiber
will
indeed
be the
ring
announcer
that
Friday
night at
the
Horseshoe
Casino
in
Hammond
when
Hitz
Boxing
in
association
with
Banner
Promotions
presents
"Fight
Night at
the
Horseshoe",
featuring
former
world
champion
David
Diaz
against
younger,
faster
Hank
Lundy
and
up-and-coming
Demetrius
Andrade
taking
on the
always-troublesome
veteran
Grady
Brewer.
So, how
does a
self-professed
former
casual
boxing
fan
become a
well-respected
ring
announcer
known
for his
professionalism
and
passion
for the
sport?
"I
started
ring
announcing
senior
year of
high
school,"
he
explains.
"There
were a
couple
of guys
I went
to
school
with who
were
bothers
and they
were
boxers
and one
of them
was
Marty
Jakubowski.
What
happened
was I
had
emceed
our
school
talent
show and
I was
interested
in
getting
into
broadcasting
and I
knew
Marty
was a
pro
boxer.
Marty
introduced
me to a
promoter
out of
Indianapolis
named
Fred
Berns.
At the
time,
Fred was
doing
several
shows a
year at
the
Hammond
Civic
Center
and he
gave me
a shot.
It was
just
luck
that I
went to
school
with
Marty
Jakubowski."
That was
20 years
ago.
Treiber
has gone
on to
appear
on
several
television
networks,
travelling
the
world
one show
at a
time,
meeting
boxing
fans and
gaining
respect
in his
field.
"It's
not like
punching
a clock
every
day. It
doesn't
work
that way
in this
business,
but I
love it.
I love
travelling.
I've
been all
over the
world
and all
over the
states.
Being a
ring
announcer
has
enabled
me to do
something
I love
and see
the
world.
Treiber
says his
big
break
came in
1997.
The
secret,
says
Treiber,
to
top-level
ring
announcing
is doing
the work
before
the
fights.
"I
typically
leave
the day
before a
televised
event.
Most
promoters
request
I emcee
the
weigh-in.
I truly
believe
preparation
is the
key to
being a
successful
ring
announcer
and at
the
weigh-in,
that's
where I
do my
show
prep.
That's
where
you get
the
correct
pronunciations.
Make
sure all
my I's
are
dotted.
Speak
with
fighters
and get
their
hometowns.
I really
try to
pay
attention
to
detail.
I'm a
perfectionist."
Treiber
says
he's
still
surprised
by the
breakthrough
he's
made
this
year.
"Being
in this
business
for as
many
years as
I have,
you
develop
relationships
and it
seems
like a
lot of
the
seeds I
planted
throughout
the
years
have
started
to
blossom.
This
past
year has
made me
feel
like the
twenty
years I
have in
are
really
starting
to pay
off.
It's a
really
great
feeling
to
finish
what has
been a
terrific
year for
me
working
with
ESPN and
to
announce
the
finale
in the
city I
grew up
in. I'm
hoping
to see a
lot of
familiar
faces. I
know
I've
gotten a
lot of
comments
on
Facebook
and
messages
from
people
saying
they'll
come to
the
show.
It's a
great
opportunity
for
people
who live
in this
area and
see a
great
show and
be part
of a
live
national
audience."
Local
boy
jumps
right
out of
high
school,
catches
a break,
works
hard,
perseveres
through
the lean
years
and ends
up
seeing
the
world as
one of
the top
performers
in his
field.
And at
the end
of his
runaway
breakthrough
year, he
ends up
right
back
where he
started,
doing
what he
loves in
front of
friends
and
family
on
national
television.
To
Hollywood.
No one
is ever
going to
believe
it.
