Who is Big Mo? Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson fight announcer dubbed next Michael Buffer

There will be plenty of star names around when Mike Tyson takes on - but ring announcer Kody ‘Big Mo’ Mommaerts will be going global.

The heavyweight clash is being broadcast live on as , 58, aims for an . The 31-year age gap between the two has arguably led to equal parts intrigue and criticism, with the two-time heavyweight champion preparing for his first pro fight since 2005 against the influencer, who has a 10-1 record.

The Netflix broadcast team will include familiar faces. Former champion Andre Ward will join lead presenter Kate Scott (nee Abdo) in the studio, and commentator Mauro Ranallo will be ringside with legend Roy Jones Jr. Tyson’s son Amir will also commentate on the preliminary fights.

However, fans will not hear iconic cry of “Let’s get ready to rumble” in the main event. Instead, it will be the much younger Mommaerts, 29, who has a striking image and built his ‘Big Mo’ brand to help him break into the role.

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Who is Kody ‘Big Mo’ Mommaerts?

Raised by a single dad in Louisville, Colorado, Mommaerts has confessed to being socially awkward as a child. In high school, he began to excel in American as an offensive lineman and played Division One for the University of Northern Colorado, where he studied Business Marketing.

Mommaerts first delved into announcing during his college days at an athletic awards show. He then worked with Denver promotion Sparta and later introduced his first boxing fight, aged 23, labelling himself “the youngest announcer in the world”. Shortly after working on the Eddie Hall vs Hafpor Bjornsson fight in 2021, he received a call from Boxxer to work on Sky Sports events.

“I saw a gap in the market. I saw this front-facing job being done by three or four people at the most part, a little bit older in demographic, and I saw this gap in the market,” Big Mo explained. "I started branding myself. I used to wear sunglasses in the ring for a visual aesthetic. I wanted to stand out and be a little bit different. I recognised I was 30, 40 years younger than other people doing it."

Outside of fight sports, Mommaerts is the COO of Sports Thread, which works in youth sports. He specialises in the advertising side of the business, but also has aspirations of working full-time in entertainment.

Michael Buffer comparison

Taking a different route from the far elder Buffer brothers, Michael, 80, and announcer Bruce, 67, Mommaerts’ use of social media helped pave a new way into the industry. ‘Big Mo’ has still been unable to escape comparisons to who he regards as the best in the business.

However, he's keen to blaze his own path in boxing. "Some people like ketchup, some people like mustard, people have different preferences, but to me the Buffers are the gold standard and the best at what they do," Mommaerts told Sky Sports earlier this year.

"I've always looked at them as that benchmark that I will try to chase and ultimately hopefully become better than, and I mean that respectfully. I've gotten a lot of comparisons and I as a compliment, but I want to be myself.

"And I think that's critical as you build a role in the public eye, whether it's being a ring announcer or an entertainer. And the reality is, I got started in this industry at a much younger age than anyone else that did it, the average age of announcers today is like 50. I'm 28, I started with Sky, it's important for me to establish who I am now."