The Associated Press’ The Big Story is reporting WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has signed on to be a boxing announcer with CBS Sports.
Ross will make his debut with CBS on March 12th for the “Knockout Night at the D” event at the Downtown Las Vegas Event Center called “Knockout Night at the D.” Ross is signed on for eight scheduled monthly events; he will be working alongside color commentator Al Bernstein.
Ross commented on the signing, telling AP:
“I can’t overnight become a boxing expert. There will be learned boxing fans, longtime fans, that are going know infinitely more about boxing than I do, and I have no problem with that. My strengths are storytelling and getting you to know the fighter, and then bringing that spontaneity, that voice that cuts through the clutter.”
Ross, who is also working for AXS TV calling New Japan Pro Wrestling events, says the reason he hasn’t had a regular announcing gig since 2012 is because the right job hadn’t come along yet:
“I never said I was retired. I never found the gig that fit what I needed. The need wasn’t just the money. It wasn’t the money. The need was, can I do something that I feel at this stage of my life, at 64 — what can I do that, I’m motivated to get up and go to work, get on that plane again, pack the bag again, check in the hotel again? It’s got to be a fun project.”
