Michael Schiavello

Michael Schiavello
Born 1975 (age 40–41)
Melbourne, Australia
Other names The Voice
Occupation Sports commentator, writer
Years active 1991-present

Michael Schiavello (born 1975) is an Australian sports commentator for AXS TV, K-1, Dream, Maximum Fighting Championship, King of the Cage and The Contender Asia.[1] He has also written for more than 50 publications worldwide and was the long-serving editor of Blitz Magazine, and was also the editor of International Kickboxer Magazine until 2009, a feature writer for Inside Sport magazine and was the youngest ever inductee to the Best Australian Sports Writing Awards.[2]

Commentating

Michael first got his start in commentating at age 16 at a Track and Field event in Melbourne. Shortly after he began hosting his own radio sports show on Southern FM where he was called "Mr Scoop" for his ability to score interviews with world-famous sports stars between High School and Home Work. Some of the famous sports personalities Michael interviewed for his community radio show included soccer stars Diego Maradona and Pele, tennis stars Gabriela Sabatini, Stefan Edberg and Goran Ivanisevic, cricket stars Richie Richardson, Wasim Akram and Mohammed Azzarudhin and pro wrestler The Junkyard Dog and more.

When he was 21 a fight promoter in Melbourne asked him to commentate the video of his show. Other promoters heard it, liked his style and asked him to do their shows. Then when Foxtel (Fox Sports) came on air in 1996 they asked him to commentate for them and has been ever since.[3]

He is the voice of K-1, Dream, Sengoku, The Contender Asia and all of AXS TV Fights (formerly HDNet), having signed with the North American broadcaster in July 2009 after capturing the attention of the network's billionaire owner, Mark Cuban. Other promotions he has commentated for include: MFC, Invicta Fighting Championships, XFC, Adrenaline, Evolution, XPlosion, King of the Cage, BAMMA, and Legacy Fighting Championship.

Michael has also commentated the 2006 Commonwealth Games and the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. He also helmed the biggest Pay Per View event in Australian television history when, alongside the late Clinton Grybas, Kostya Tszyu, Adam Watt and Paul Briggs he was part of the broadcast team for Danny Green vs Anthony Mundine.

Michael has commentated over 4000 fights in more than 15 countries since 1996. Cities he has commentated in include Tokyo, Amsterdam, Las Vegas, Bucharest, Taiwan, Beijing, Montego Bay, Lodz, Budapest, Omaha, Tampa Bay, Edmonton, Seoul, Auckland and Honolulu.

Michael made a guest appearance on "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast on 24 July 2011.

In 2010 Michael became the first commentator to ever be nominated for "LEADING MAN" Award at the World MMA Awards in Las Vegas.

In September 2011, Michael was nominated for "BEST SPORTS HOST" in the 2011 CableFAX Cable TV Awards. The Awards will take place 18 October in Hollywood, CA.

In August 2015, he was a guest commentator for Lucha Underground's Ultima Lucha Event.

The Voice Versus

In 2010, HDNet launched The Voice Versus series in which host Michael Schiavello interviews various combat sports personalities. The one-hour sit down interview show with some of the biggest names in sports and entertainment has proven a hit with viewers. Guests on the show include:

Nick Diaz was scheduled to appear on the show in July 2013 but he did not show up for the interview.[4][5] To date, The Voice Versus has filmed in four countries: USA, Australia, South Korea and the Netherlands.

Personal life

Michael Schiavello relocated from his native Melbourne to Las Vegas with his wife, Irena, in September 2011.[6]

Schiavello became a Freemason in 2009, joining Balwyn-Deepdene Lodge No. 275 where he was raised to a Master Mason in 2010, before switching to Daylite Lodge No. 44 upon his relocation to the US.[6]

Books

References

  1. ↑ "Photoshop training courses-Photoshop Black And White". Thevoiceonline.info. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ Mike Fagan (30 May 2009). "Bloody Elbow Exclusive: An Interview With Michael Schiavello". Bloody Elbow.
  4. ↑ Shaun Al-Shatti (23 July 2013). "Morning Report: Nick Diaz no-shows 'The Voice Versus'; Chan Sung Jung to earn $20k/$20k split with no PPV points". MMA Fighting.
  5. ↑ Cory Braiterman (23 July 2013). "Nick Diaz another no-show, flakes on taping 'The Voice Versus' with Michael Schiavello". MMAmania.com.
  6. 1 2 "Freemasons Victoria | Member Profiles". Freemasonsvic.net.au. 1994-01-05. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
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