Happy 66th Birthday to Hall of Fame Broadcaster Al Bernstein

Happy 66^th birthday to Hall of Fame broadcaster Al Bernstein.   Al Bernstein, who has been involved with boxing at the top level for more than three decades, is one of the most well-liked individuals in his field.  Known for his knowledge of the sport and his friendly demeanor, Al is “Mr. Boxing” to millions of fight fans around the world.

Bernstein, who grew up in Chicago, joined ESPN back when it was a fledgling network in 1980 and remained there until 2003 when he was wooed away by rival Showtime. At ESPN, he did over two dozen episodes of “Big Fights Boxing Hour” on ESPN Classic where many legendary fights and fighters were analyzed and excellent stories told.

Al’s first big PPV show was Marvelous Marvin Hagler vs Roberto Duran and he has been behind the mike for countless other PPV shows since then.  He was ringside for the legendary fight between Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo (“Hearns-Hagler times three,” in Al’s words), and was part of the broadcast team for the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight where he teamed with Jim Lampley and Roy Jones Jr. That was a delicate situation as the long-awaited fight could not have happened without involving both of the big PPV networks.

Al has won a list of awards that is very deep, including the prestigious Sam Taub award for excellence in boxing broadcast journalism.  He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2012 and into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 2013.  He also served as a boxing analyst for NBC’s coverage of the Summer Olympic Games.  The list goes on and on.

A longtime resident of Las Vegas, Al has moonlighted as a lounge singer and still turns up at some of the open mic’s around town where he blends right in with some of the great Las Vegas lounge singers from back in the day. He has released two albums, one of original recordings. Al’s memoir “30 Years, 30 Undeniable Truths About Boxing, Sports and TV” is available via Amazon and other leading online book retailers.

Accolades aside, Al is known as a standup guy. He has been and continues to be a great ambassador for the sport.  Happy 66^th birthday.

Happy 66^th birthday to Hall of Fame broadcaster Al Bernstein / Check out more boxing news and videos at The Boxing Channel.