Joe Tessitore: Collapsing at MSG Before Crawford-Khan, Ripping Out His Own IV & Why Bud Waited

28:58So it's a, it's an army run ROTC private school. So you wear army greens and dress blues and daily. And yeah, yeah. It's the U.S. Army. The Christian brothers run the academics and then the U.S. Army runs the ROTC program. So you have, you know, inspection every morning, you have drill in the afternoon, you have military science classes, you're wearing, you know, it's all it's full ROTC. So you're wearing Army greens four days a week, and then dress blues one day a week. And so my so I had the opportunity to go there and follow my paternal grandfather's footsteps. It was great experience, all boys, you know, different vibe going there in the 80s.

29:38I mean, like, crazy, different vibe, you know, stuff that if it happened nowadays, it wouldn't be allowed. Yeah. It doesn't conform to society. But, but many don't know, and I didn't know this, and I've been around you for many years that the origin of this career started because of a fateful day during a scrimmage. Yeah. I had a horrible football, I had a horrible football injury. Um, had three reconstructed, reconstructive surgeries on my ankle. My foot. Yeah. My foot It was no longer, I spun, guy tackled me and I did the spin, but my, my bottom part of my leg, my foot didn't. So this from down here was no longer attached to my left leg.

30:16Did you hear it? Oh, it sounded like the big celery stalks. Yeah. It was disgusting. Um, and it was, uh, it was as much pain as you could feel. And then your body turns off that leg. So because of that, I, I was, I was on crutches and surgeries over the course of a year and And a Christian brother named Brother Aloysius Myers was great guy, guidance counselor, a real guiding force. Remember, I was not a smiley, outgoing kid. And he took me by the back of the neck once I got out of the hospital. And he said, hey, you're going to go do this now on crutches and big casts and stuff coming out of my ankle.

30:56And what he said was, you're going to go do oratory work, presentations and speech and debate. So I went down that path. And when I went down that path, because he forced me to go down that path, you know, a guidance counselor back then, like a Christian brother from that era, wasn't what you think of a guidance counselor nowadays. It was like, here's the guidance. You're going to do this. What's the guidance? Not that this is not a suggestion. This is an order. um so brother out changed my life because when i when i got into a situation doing oratorical performance and speech and debate and anything like that i i quickly realized that i had no fear that like there was like nobody could step to me when it didn't get sweaty mouth didn't get dry and you you're on tv with me for years you know that i'm actually almost calmer and more in control when the red light's on.

31:55Right before the red light goes on, we're locking in and you're like, hey, hey guys. I'll have a full conversation with you until two seconds. We have less than 60 seconds and the light's going on. Six seconds a lot of times. And you're like, hey, you all right? All right, cool. And then, hey, don't test the toy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's just, I realized very quickly I was comfortable with that. When did you, from that point forward, when did you start realizing that, man, my voice is different, it's special, like something's going on. I realized I had a deep voice and I spoke from my chest really early on.

32:25And then actually my father said something to me. I remember when I was a freshman in college, I remember my father just saying, like, call me the voice. Like, you got a voice. The voice. Yeah. And, you know, this is just how I speak, of speaking from my chest and projecting like that. I'm not telling you I got a great voice, but I think I have a voice that cuts through Madison Square Garden or an Alabama football game with 100 ,000 people. And some people are born really tall and can dunk a basketball. Some people are born really fast to play cornerback. Some people have a voice. So, you know, I'm just applying it a little bit here, Dre.

33:01Man, that's interesting. Yeah. That's interesting. So this is not like a, this is, I know. Whatever happened to the whole thing when we started this where you're like, I know you don't like talking about yourself. We're like an hour in and talking about me. That's what this is about. People want to know. I don't know that people want to know. I think people are fascinated with, I think all people are fascinated with people's life stories. And I think people are fascinated if they're drawn to you and they have similar tastes in you. I think people are fascinated by greatness is what they are fascinated by.

33:29Because everybody wants to touch greatness. And you won't say it, but you are great. No, I'm not great. I just happen to do something that reaches millions of people and is very front facing. And we associate a lot of that with greatness, especially in American TV culture. when you're on national TV or when a product is on national TV, it's perceived as great. If you, in some of your championship fights, if they weren't ever televised, if they weren't reaching a global pay-per-view market, if you didn't have all the belts, would the accomplishment be any less great what you did in 12 rounds? It wouldn't be.

34:12Correct. But we prop a lot of stuff up as great because of the sizzle. in that non-televised event would determine if that event, not the event, but if that fight, if my craft, if I was great at what I did or not. The way you treat people, Joe, I know, and I appreciate this, again, this element of your personality and who you are, your makeup, but it's great, brother. And I think it's good for other people to say it. And I appreciate you allowing other people to say it, but we're going to say it on this show today. Okay, that's very sweet. You know what's not great, though? It's a brand new shirt and it's bubbling up.

34:47I'm looking at your shirt Falling perfectly right there I had to put this on Because you were coming man This is so I feel like goofy In this shirt right now But nobody You ever feel like Well I know you did Like in your kits In the ring You ever feel like What you're wearing Like is just off A little bit And you're like Oh yeah It bothers me But that's that whole Perfection thing That excellent thing That's the downside to it Right Like when you're worried About what your tie looks like And that's why You know When we're doing Zufa boxing I said no ties We're just gonna go sleep Yeah but you've seen me Like here You've seen me with the phone I know I know I don't need a stylist to do it.

35:18I'm doing it. You look amazing. Yeah. I don't want to stay too long on this, but I do want to touch on something that came from this. You know, tragic story about your sister, but I heard you say something about that and about how the fire that it lit inside of you where, you know, you said, I cannot fail. And you meant every word of that. Yeah, because then, you know, I was the only child. and you have survivor's guilt, if you have a sibling who dies of a fatal genetic disease, what you live with is that there was a roulette wheel that went around and then the ball was sent on it and then the ball's gonna land and the ball landed on her birth as a death sentence and mine landed on double green zeros.

36:07Well, that's just fate. That's just how it happened, which then you have to live with a guilt that you get to live a full, healthy life and your sibling did not. So when you understand that gift of life and you're very grateful for it, you don't want to waste that life. You cannot look back and you cannot fail. I felt very strongly that I could not fail in life, that I had to live out the fullest possible, most successful life because of the gift I was given that could have just as easily been that she landed on the healthy life and I landed on the fatal genetic disease that couldn't be cured.

36:58When she was born, my parents were told she wouldn't live to sixth grade. When I was born, it was like, hey, you got a beautiful son. This is great. And that didn't seem so fair to me. So yeah, that was a motivation. I don't discuss that. I never discussed that with my parents. But yes, I feel that way. You still feel like that's the drive for present day? Yes. What motivates me the most for the meat of my career is my immediate family. But that's the ever-present drive. in my life is that I was gifted health and my sister, um, you know, there's, there's something about when a child is born into the world where they didn't make a decision, they didn't have any life habits or course of action that caused something where I think humanity has to protect children.

37:57And I think it is our duty as a society to help children in need when they didn't do anything to put themselves in a harmful situation, whether that's research for genetic diseases or whether that's helping children born into poverty or difficult circumstances. it's our duty as society to aid those children. Because it's very unfair. Being an advocate for, you know. Cystic fibrosis research and funding and whatnot, as well as other things. But yes, or, you know, I think there are a lot of children that aren't gifted with the opportunity for some educational opportunities that, you know, my wife and I want to make sure that exists.

38:49It's powerful stuff, man. You leave the academy and then you go to Boston College, but you just don't go to Boston College. You go to BC and you quickly become the student radio voice for the Eagles. Just to try to stay close to sports and keep that thing going. And then found some success in doing that. Strangely, while I was still in college, had an opportunity to learn how to do TV. Was doing commercial radio while I was still in college, which was really incredible opportunity. So already while I'm in college, getting paid to be a sports broadcaster. Not making a lot of money, but you're doing it professionally.

39:30It was really cool. But you didn't major in communications. You majored in business. I was at a business school, the US and the School of Management. I have a very strong opinion about a communications degree that most people don't want to hear. Got it. That are studying communications. I got you. Listen, I'm a believer when a red light comes on, you either are or you aren't, and you're not going to learn that in a book. You're going to learn that when a red light comes on. And I hate to break that to a lot of people, but so I wanted to study business, did that. um and uh has that served you yeah i think so i mean in negotiations well no in marketing okay in marketing okay in terms of branding in terms of promotion in terms of promoting a product i i've said to you many times hey we're in the eyeball gathering and eyeball retention business right of how you present something how you sell something how you present so marketing of here's the product.

40:27Here's the plan. Now we don't necessarily have a price, but we do in terms of asking our viewers, are you willing to give us your time? Right. And the promotion of that product. I think that's one thing that, that can you weave in promotion through being credible with your broadcasting, your storytelling, but also add enough sizzle to it where you're putting a hook in the mouth and then you're reeling them in. And I'm not asking for details, but speaking of business, type of negotiator is Joe Tessitore when it's time to make these deals. Here's my rule, man. I don't do my own taxes. I have an accountant.

41:03I don't do my own surgeries. I have a doctor. I don't try to go to places where, you know, I'm not needed or couldn't do it well. So I've always relied at the, listen, I've been, I've been doing this at a certain level for many years now. So I would tell you the last 25 years, I've had an agent who I turned that are overdoing. Let me know when we got a deal that's ready to be done. In the meantime, I foster relationships. I under promise and over deliver with producers and executives and everybody I'm in business with, whether it's the entertainment stuff we've done or the stuff we've been blessed with of, you know, of producing and creating content, the 30 for 30s that I've done, or the shows that I've sold to ABC or, you know, any of that stuff in the entertainment and doc field.

41:44Um, it's just, I worry about the product. I worry about over delivering and I worry about having great relationships. And I let people who get a chunk of my salary deal with the other stuff. You guys heard that answer? Yeah. That's pretty skillful. Yeah. But I'm going to ask you this. You don't weigh in at all behind the scenes? I don't. You don't get marching orders? Hey, listen, this is what I want. I would tell you in all my negotiations, I'll say, hey, I'd really like this. Really? Not the money. Not the money. I'm saying the money piece. The job. No, the money. I've always said, let me know when we've got a deal.

42:14Really? And I expect that they are doing their job. Yeah. I don't tell the doctor, hey, listen, get rid of this lipoma this way or like fix my ankle that way. It's like, do your job. Let me know we're good. Why do I have a picture of you with that stern face and that voice? That's not acceptable. We're not, that's not going to work. I've never been that guy. Wow. Because I let the agent make that decision. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I've been very blessed that I've worked with so many executives through the years who almost feel like family to me and they understand. And I'm very, very grateful simply to have the opportunity to have these jobs, whether it's the WWE and whether it's what we're doing now with Zufa Boxing or my ABC ESPN, of course, which is now coming up this winter will be 25 years.

43:06Yeah, six months away from 25 years at ESPN ABC. Wow. It's crazy. Wow. What's up, world? It's Barack the Boxing Bully. Big games and big fights are heating up right now. And we teamed up with DraftKings to bring you a brand new offer. Guess what? DraftKings is now available in all 50 states. From New York to California. So no matter where you are, you're always connected to the phone. Listen up. New DraftKings customers, sign up with our code ATSFIGHTS, spend five bucks, and get$200 in total rewards. That's code ATSFIGHTS. Download the DraftKings Sports app and stay in the game. You all know we love to place our best with DraftKings Sportsbook, but Sportsbook may not be available where you are.

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45:11I was going to ask you this later in the interview but I'm asking now like throughout the years you see ESPN making cuts and every now and again they got to do that every company does that yeah it's part of the game but how have you dealt with the business of broadcasting throughout the years when you see people come and go hey we like you and two years later this isn't working the ratings how do you handle that? I only care you know I care about the people who I'm very close with and want to make sure that they're getting good advice and that. But, you know. Because nobody's safe sometimes. Yeah, I mean, keep in mind this is business.

45:46Like I think too many times we attach. I attach emotion to the relationships, to the colleagues, to my people. But business, I recognize like that's not where you should be attaching emotion to. That's right. Like that's a corporation. That's a soulless entity. You have a soul. Yes. You have morals. You have goodness. But I don't expect a corporation to have that. I expect them to serve a shareholder. And I recognize that. You know, it's. So that's half the battle. There's more than half the battles. I understand that. It's not show friends. It's not show family. It's show business. That's right.

46:22Right. So you don't take it personal when things happen and you just understand. I don't. Dre, I've been removed from Monday Night Football. I had a long contract with the ability to be broadcasting a Super Bowl. the New York Post writing about like turmoil at Monday night football and this person's moving out here and then this person is is being taken off and then you know what are they going to do with this guy and and like having that play out publicly I remember I don't I don't apply emotion to that I get paid you know and my family has great rewards because of that I'm there to work so and I remember I mean we were still calling fights at that time yeah of course I was on the road with you all the time I didn't see any change you know I wonder like I wonder if his house affected him, but it was business as usual.

47:04Yeah. It was business as usual. We all have pivots in life. We got to have pivots, yes. In 95 tests, you know, you landed in Hartford, Connecticut, at the CBS affiliate. You eventually took over the primary sports anchor role in 97. Yeah, I was doing the 5, 6 o 'clock, 11 o 'clock news, the Hartford Whalers, UConn basketball, the Jim Calhoun show. You know, all that typical, I mean, local news used to be big back then, Dre. This is pre-cell phone, pre-internet. Like, people watch the local news for your sports. Did you get stimulated doing that more than sports? I liked it. It was all sports, keep in mind.

47:39It's just you're on the local news. But the whole time I was there, I always knew I wanted to be at the national level doing live event hosting and play-by-play. That came shortly after that. Yeah, I was doing some play-by-play while I was there, but the big pop came after that with ESPN. What was that phone call like when you got that call in 2002? So I've always been, as you know, a lifelong diehard boxing guy, right? So whether that was being an absolute, you know, slap hanging out at the gym, just training and being around boxing to a lifelong fan, but somebody who knew boxing intimately well and was really passionate about the sport.

48:22And so being in Connecticut and keep in mind, I left New York that I'm in Connecticut. and as soon as I moved to Connecticut, like first thing I'm doing is going to the San Juan Center, you know, with, you know, Peter Cardona and Vasquez and Iceman John Scully and like hanging out with these guys. Eric Harding was there at the time. And like we had a good gym back then. I would just go in there in a jump rope, hit the bag, be around the guys five days a week. So I think people, I would elevate the sports coverage there because at the time, Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun are getting off the ground now.

49:01Major fights are happening at those local casinos. Now we've got world champions coming out of our local gym there. Top contenders, you know, at all different weight classes from Vasquez to Pito to, I mean, Moochie had just finished up his career. And so the fight scene, strangely, in Connecticut was really good. But I was like, why isn't this not covered on local news even more? when these are really our great pro athletes we have here. And so that got picked up on, I think. And ESPN was like, that guy knows his boxing really well. And then there was an opportunity between Tuesday night fights and Friday night fights to get some work in.

49:38Yes. And so Friday night fights had just gotten off the ground. And all those guys were friends in the CBA fights and at the gym. And then I got a call from the senior coordinating producer in late 2001 saying, you really know your boxing. Can we meet for lunch? And he was great. And, um, and he said, listen, there's going to be some opportunity here coming up. Would you like to broadcast with Teddy Atlas? Yeah. What I like to broadcast. Yeah. You think I'll do that for free. So we did that. And Teddy was incredibly generous of, of teaching me the ropes and the producers back then. And, you know, guys that guys that you and I ended up working with years and years and years later, we're working back then late nineties, early two thousands.

50:22And we're really proud. I think that was a different era of where the fight game was. And we were super proud of the lane that we were in back then. And that was, man, that was Teddy Atlas, Brian Kenney, and Max Kellerman. Something very different. Very energized. I watched it. I watched all of it. You were. I watched all of it. Obviously, you were a rising star. You were amateur back then. And then early pro career, we're still covering you. but that was very special and Malcolm Gladwell always talks about the 10 ,000 hours to being an expert man when you're on the road doing Tuesday night fights Wednesday night fights Friday night fights with Teddy and with that production crew and then BK and Max like 10 ,000 hours you're talking we're getting in our 100 ,000 hours right I think we saw everything there was to see and and experienced everything there was to experience in the fight game those years.

51:23You guys are in some unique places too. Yeah. From small venues to big venues to oddball venues. Also, you know, you're talking like a generation of fighters that you and I every so often now get a glimpse of on the Zufa side. Like, just remember who like Mickey Ward was back then pre-Gotti. Remember who guys like Sucre Oliveira and Scotty Pemberton and, you know, these guys. These rugged like... I remember. I don't want to be disparaging, but like these elevated club fighters slash borderline fringe contender types. Dude, Emmanuel Augustus? There were moments calling Emmanuel Augustus fights just flashes.

52:08There were moments now. And I encourage anybody to just YouTube Emmanuel Augustus. If you're of a different generation and you're saying, what was this guy talking about? The drunken master. Trey, there are moments of Emmanuel Augustus, like, a half around here, a half around there, where, like, that's ultra elite right now. I've done this sport for a lot of you. There are maybe five guys I've ever seen that could do what he's doing right now. It's just that, like, maybe life outside the ring, and maybe this, and maybe the lack of resources and funneling and career management. Gave Floyd Mayweather his toughest fight.

52:46Floyd will tell you. foydals often say like he'll acknowledge it openly right but that's the thing like like we think that there's a huge gap between good and great and great and all-time great success or just falling short and being marginal sometimes it's a few things that you have that this person opportunity it's resources it's so i had an uncle an uncle mike who was you know came over from Italy. I don't know, maybe he was probably like 19 or 20 years old. My mom's oldest brother is very dear to me. And so what does he do? Like he becomes a baker in Schenecton, New York, working at the bakery.

53:26And he's at like the Jewish bakery in town where they're doing the arugulas and all the specialties, but he's now teaching them how to do the Italian stuff and the Italian wedding cakes and the pastries. And from a skill level, then he opened his own bakery he was, and, but from a skill level, so he's an immigrant, uneducated, but he's got this skill of coming over from Italy as a pastry maker and cake maker and whatnot. From a skill level, I would guarantee you that my uncle Mike could go onto all these TV shows you see in these big Vegas casinos where they bring in the best pastry makers in the world.

54:02I used to have conversations after school with him where he'd be working on a seven tiered wedding cake making like 500 perfectly frosted roses. And this would, he'd have the pastry bag. I can remember this because I use this analogy sometimes and we'll get back to what you said to me about 10 minutes ago about TV. And he'd be like, how was your day today? I'd be like, ah, you know, blah, blah, blah. And he'd be twirling, he'd be twirling roses that are all coming out perfectly symmetrical, looking like artwork while he's like looking at me talking, and then he's lattice working and then he's putting trim on there.

54:39And he's like, and like we'd have a half an hour conversation and all of a sudden there'd be this spectacular and flawless, like every rose, every detail. So when you say to me, dude, we're coming back from commercial break. We're about to go on a major global pay-per-view. We're about to call a heavyweight championship of the world. And they're like counting down in your ear, 30 seconds. We're coming back live, red lights on and you're to my left. I'm like, what was that sandwich you were eating today? What was it? And we're just, because my resting heart rate, When you're good at something, if not great at something.

55:08So you tell me, Uncle Mike, the same thing. We just had this conversation about talent. It's just that he didn't have the opportunity, didn't have the resources, didn't have the promotion, didn't have the branding to be Ace of Cakes, Carlo's Bakery, or to be Duff on Food Network. But he had it. Just as skilled. He had it. And Augustus, just as skilled. But if he had the Olympic pedigree and he had the A-plus promoter and he had your discipline and regiment, right? Anyways. That's the thing, too. And I want to move on. Please move on. It's also the intangibles. It's a few of the intangibles. Like, yeah, it's the external help, you know, resources.

55:47But sometimes I or this guy was willing to sacrifice a little bit more. I was willing to lock in and stay focused a little bit longer to see the dream come true. And this guy, he went astray a little bit. He wasn't as disciplined. It's not a lot that separates this one from that one. That's exactly. See, you recognize that. And that's why you made a choice to be that disciplined and that professional. That's actually what a professional is. There are times you and I are broadcasting and I hear disgust in your voice. Yeah. You have disdain because you're explaining a fighter's path. Yes. And we're sitting there saying, man, he's got some great physical skills here.

56:28Wow, he's got great measurables. Boy, the height for this weight class. Dre, he's got an elite jab. But you know, lack of discipline, the ups and downs, the roller coaster ride of commitment. And to you, you're revolting by that. You're disgusted by that. you have disdain for that, those inconsistencies. What it is, is you only know life through the prism of being a consummate professional. That's what actually being a pro is. What being a pro is, is the consistency not dropping off. And you're ready to put work in. You're ready to apply yourself to your craft in season and out of season. Correct.

57:12When you feel like it and when you don't. Dude, I broadcast a live WWE show. Last night. Okay. Do you know what I did when I got on the plane to take a red eye? I opened up my laptop so that I could just go through some of the broadcasts. When we're taping this, we're about to do a broadcast at Madison Square Garden tomorrow. And start to go through some of the things I want to make sure I get across. Some of the descriptives. Some of the phrasing of describing a fighter. Some of the framing of a story of redemption. Or the climb back up. or a prospect proving themselves to the point of exhaustion where I said, I got to shut this and I just got to sleep on this red eye.

57:54What an undisciplined person does is they make sure that they drank at the airport so that they could fall asleep on the plane. I'm not telling you I'm great. I don't find that to be great. I just find that to be professional. And that's the standard. That's what's required. That's a requirement. But many don't meet the requirement. Yes, correct. That's the disdain right there. You see that right there. Many don't meet the requirement. That's what I hear when... It's been drilled in me. It's been drilled in me. Man, the first ESPN run was a long run, 2002-2015, short break, and then we'll get to the second run.

58:30Right, then the top rank. Yeah, which I was a part of. Right. But when did the college football journey start? Oh, I was doing college football starting in the, first of all, always been a huge part of my life. But I was doing independent play-by-play in the late 90s and early 2000s. And then ABC, ESPN, I think somewhere around, I was doing games in 2002, three, four, but a full package, 2006, 2007, like in that range, the ABC Pac-12, 330 game. I was consistently doing those games on the West Coast and then the Friday night package, prime time. And then obviously it's just never stopped. Yeah.

59:14Right until, you know, until the two years where they they wanted me on Monday Night Football and and doing Monday Night Football in the NFL playoffs and Pro Bowl and those years. Yeah. More than back to it. More than any one event, the range that you have is the most intriguing thing to me. It's interesting. I listened to you on the WWE last night. I'm just listening to you. I'm like, how do you prep for this? Differently than what I prep when I work with you and different than when I do football and different than what I'm doing comedy with Rob Riggle on Holy Moly. Holy Moly. Yeah, totally different.

59:47It's like we all have different clubs in our golf bag. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You got to hit the driver now. You got a deep bag. Hitting the driver is calling a world title fight with you. Like you got to bring it. You got to know it analytically. You got to be able to see it, analyze it, say it. There's no scoreboard. There's nothing to lean on. It's just you, Dre, and Max, eyes up. feel the moment and have that, you know, grabbing the putter is doing holy moly with Rob Riggle and just having fun. It's mini golf and whatnot. You still got to prep, but, you know, it's in a different lane. Man, you've also had the privilege of anchoring, you know, another one of your passions, you know, horse racing, the Belmont Stakes, Breeders' Cup.

1:00:28I miss doing that. And you've always had like the big three, boxing, college football and horse racing. and we talked about your versatility, you know, just throughout the years, but high level, uh, uh, standard of excellence. How do you recover from mistakes on and off camera? Oh, I don't do well with mistakes. I try to be the quarterback who throws an interception, doesn't think about it for the next series, but man, I really, yeah, I don't like that at all. We all met. There's no way. One of the things when you do a live network broadcast is you fool yourself thinking you're going to throw a no hitter every time, every time.

1:01:11And you don't, whether it's misidentifying somebody in the football game briefly or for a moment or not seeing something that you wanted to see or say or get in or there could be anything or not hitting a cue perfectly or, you know, missing something. yeah, it bothers me because we're always fooling ourselves thinking we're going to throw it down. But for the young broadcaster out there, when you do make the mistake, what's the recovery process? Because it has to be quick. You got, yeah, of course. You don't have time to think about it. One of the things I view myself is, I view myself as a goalie, not letting in goals, and that of making clean TV.

1:01:48Everything we do is going to have something that could expose the production as being rough around the edges or not clean. It's my job to make it look clean. So I don't even probably tell you half the stuff that's going on in my ear. Not at all. I can hear bits and pieces, but not at all. Just cleaning stuff up. At this stage in your life, just throughout your process, like throughout the years, how are you juggling passion, profession, and family? So fortunately, my kids are now adults off in their career. So it's more about, and they're a huge part of our life. When they weren't. When they weren't, it was first flight home, red-eyeing back to every sporting event, John's football, Nicolina squash matches, getting back to be as present as possible.

1:02:40Home is wherever they are. Just saying yes to everything. Just not worrying about sleep, not worrying about like there'll be time to sleep someday. Good expression. Well, you know I'm addicted. Yeah. You've witnessed that. But you're not that far off, by the way, dude, with the amount of espresso that comes to the table ringside. So, yeah, saying yes to everything. Man, we had a great run. Your second run as play-by-play ESPN, 2017, 2025. My run ended a year before that, 2024. My introduction to Mike McQuaid. Yeah, Mike McQuaid was our coordinating producer. He was a super intense guy. He has a lot of the same traits.

1:03:25we have, except he probably smiles.001%. I hope he's watching this right now. He runs all the SPN now. Yes. But he is ridiculously intense, but he's also ridiculously loyal. And the ultimate coach. All he wants is for you to be better. If you're lazy, if you like mediocrity, if you don't work hard, he's your worst nightmare. Oh. He's your worst nightmare. He's a great coach, though. But if you share your kindred spirits and you share a lot of the same vision, you'll want to run through a wall with us. Yes. My first intro with Mike, I forgot. It was the Kovalev and the fighter from Canada. What's his name?

1:04:13I can remember physically where we were, but now I'm in space. We were in Frisco, Texas. It was obviously a unique situation because of Kovalev's circumstances and obviously your history there. We were in Frisco, Texas. I can't remember, but it was a very unique circumstance. So Frisco, Texas, all you told me about Mike, you said, listen, Mike McQuaid's coming in. You're very matter of fact about it. You said, things are going to be different. And you said, we're going to be better. And I was like, okay. Never met Mike McQuaid in my life. My first intro to Mike McQuaid was, and I don't like going in former opponents fighter meetings.

1:04:52I know you don't. I'll bow out. I know. The other team members are like, no, it's good. We talked to his team. And I'm like, are you sure? Are you sure? Right. It's good. So McQuaid comes to me. And this is when he took over. For us, you know, in boxing. Kovalev doesn't want you here. This is my intro to Mike McQuaid. Yeah, I remember that. And I remember being like, okay. So I go out. I'm like, okay, so this is Mike McQuaid. Okay, so this is what it's going to be. And I can remember everybody was like antsy because Mike is here. And other broadcasters didn't know if they were going to get fired.

1:05:27They didn't know what was going to happen. Everybody, like, I just noticed how when he walked in the room, everybody sat up a little bit straighter. It's not by accident that the guy runs production. But I didn't know him at the time. Yeah. And then in short order, man, we just short. And I said, I see you. And me and Mike have had a great relationship. Yes, you have. But it was so interesting the first time we met and just the reaction that I saw people get. But man, we took off. And then you looked at me and you said, I told you. Yeah. A couple of shows and you said, I told you. I like that kind of a leader, by the way.

1:06:01I like when people hold others really accountable and demand that people get better. Listen, still to this day, I think we all want that kind of. Now we're fortunate we still have that at our place with good hands on leadership. But yeah, I think in all aspects of life, that's what people want. Yeah. Yeah. we talked a lot about you as a person, your accomplishments, but the day you were goaded for me, in my eyes, where it's sealed, it's done. It's April 20th, 2019. I remember that day distinctly. Madison Square Garden. Yeah, Amir Khan versus Bud Crawford. Terrence Crawford versus Amir Khan. Do you know, I just saw Bud at MSG last week because I was broadcasting Saturday night's main event, WWE at Madison Square Garden, Like it was a star studded spectacle.

1:06:53It was the whole thing with Jalen Brunson and Roman Reigns and, you know, Carl Anthony Towns. I mean, Lin-Manuel Moraine. I mean, everybody was there. And I'm about two minutes. This whole thing you always talk about right before. And I'm about two minutes away from Stephanie McMahon's to my right. The lights are on us. And we're, you know, we're coming on Mass Square Garden and on national TV. And I see coming through the tunnel with security. I see there's that smile. So here it comes. So I go, get over here, get over here. You know, I got to take the ear pieces out. And I said, and I pointed to the ring.

1:07:26I said, you got visions of Miracom when you look there? So it was funny. We were just talking about that night. So, you know, when you work with people, the skill set is one thing. But you want to see if they got that other thing in them, that intangible, a little bit of dog in them, you know? Yeah. And that night I saw it. Yeah, I had a major medical episode that night. You had a major medical episode. About seven or eight o 'clock. Before the main event. Yeah, about seven or eight o 'clock. I can't remember, but we had, I wasn't feeling good that morning. The night before we had a production meeting, and I remember I was really dehydrated.

1:08:03And of course, I was drinking espresso all night. I remember staying up. I can remember what we had for the meal, which I think partially set me down this path. I remember staying up, just pounding espresso all night, trying to prep, get ready, wanting everything. Like, you know, I take great pride in calling Bud Crawford fights. Biggie Vint. He's a dear friend. Yeah. And it's Madison Square Garden. It's the guy who at the time I felt was the best fighter in the world, but wasn't being thought of or recognized as that because he didn't have the resume quite to say that. But yet I felt like, I don't know if you fully felt that yet, but I felt like, I think I know what I'm seeing.

1:08:44Oh, I knew he was. Yeah, yeah. And there was also stuff going on with the media. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I had been through that, so I knew what was happening. He was the best fighter in the world. Yeah, and so just for me, and not to disrespect Amir, because I have great respect for him and where he was at that stage of his career, but for me, I always felt like there was a duty in calling a Bud Crawford fight to make sure your words were being put forth in the right way, because if you feel, I was very resolute in my belief that like, this is the pound for pound best fire in the world. And I don't know that the world quite see.

1:09:21So I remember staying up late, working hard, waking up next morning. I remember our stage manager, Anthony saying, Hey, man, like, I'm just a little off today. I'm feeling a little weak, like a little tired, a little, and then they wanted to open a show from way up top, Madison square garden. And I got up there. Yeah. So they're looking down at the whole garden with me up there. Bright lights came on. You know, you start to get a little sweat. You start to like, and I dropped. But I dropped in a way where it to everybody, and even to me, like it played like a major heart episode. So they raced me downstairs.

1:09:59There's a medical center inside Madison Square Garden with EKG. I mean, they ripped my shirt off. We're on the air. We've broadcast. Live. We're live on the air. And now I've got EKG and I've got medical and they didn't like what they saw and they didn't like the response they were getting. And now we're the pay-per-view is off and running. And you're picking up the pieces and Bernardo's picking up the pieces. We're ringside. You were up there. Tim Bradley's picking up the pieces. So we're only hearing about what's happening. I'm in an ambulance heading to Cedar Sinai. And my son, John, who at the time is a football player at BC, who's, as you know, like boxing obsessed.

1:10:39Loves it. So, you know, he came down from Boston that morning just to go to the bud fight. And now he's in an ambulance with me. And, you know, I'm kind of in and out of it. And an executive from ESPN jumped in the ambulance too. And man, now I'm over there and they got cardiologists and everything. IVs in the whole thing. And within a couple hours, you know, a couple of, now we're getting close to bud fight. We're getting close to the co-feature and, and I'm in a hospital Cedar Sinai. I got an IV and, um, and they say, this was a perfect storm of dehydration of, um, a stomach filled with acid, a vasovagal scenario where he just gave way and just dropped his heart's perfect.

1:11:30I'm like, heart's perfect. Great. But I'm like, um, you know, you, you, the shirt's been ripped off the things in I go, John, I go, my pocket over there is a thing of cash. I said, uh, get an Uber, go outside the emergency room, give the guy whatever cash you think is needed and say, just sit there. We're coming. I said to the doc, I go, uh, I go, Hey man. I said, um, I don't have to stay here if I don't want to. It's on my own will. He's like, well, it's under our advisement. I want to release you. And, uh, I said, uh, take that IV out and he just disconnect. They disconnect the IV. You remember the port was still in.

1:12:12I say, I just turned to John. I go, we're out. I just walk it. Cause what are you doing? Shirts undone. It's getting an Uber. I go, give me more cash. I go, give me the corner eighth and 33rd right now. I walked in sweating shirt on down. I know Cheryl. The tape is still here. Your hospital band? Yeah, hospital. I remember you and Tim looking at me like. It looked like, it felt like you came back from the dead. Like it was some Undertaker type of stuff. Like we didn't see him pass out. We just heard it. It sounded bad. We're concerned, but we're also calling undercard fights. Right. And we're getting a little updates.

1:12:50Then the main portion started. Yeah, then the main part. And we're not getting much of an update. We're just getting bits and pieces. And I look to my left and there's Joe Tessitore and he's back. Hey, Joe, happy to be back, guys. Sorry about that. I said, I don't know. Whatever that is, he's got it. Well, no, I mean, once again, that's just - Goated in my book for like - Oh, you're sweet. The accomplishments are amazing. I love them. Yeah. But that other stuff - Oh, thank you. Yeah. I mean, you're talking about somebody broadcasting. And the tie was impeccable. The tie, the shirt. You actually got off a stool injured in fights and fought on.

1:13:28This is just somebody, well, an Iron Man's trying to hurt you more. Nobody's trying to hurt me more. Yeah, I'm down and out, but nobody's trying to punch me in the face or hit me with body But you could have passed out again. I'm just broadcasting a Bud Crawford. Now, let me, again, I don't want to make this about me, so let me tell you what you need to take away from that night. So Bud wins the fight. Madison Square Garden, big room, pay-per-view. It's his night. He's in New York. I was so done sweating through my shirt, IV, that they took, as soon as I got done calling the fight, they took me and they brought me to a green room and they laid me down on a couch and they tried to give me water and they're putting ice in the back of my neck and I'm just like, I'm out of it.

1:14:11I'm done. I must've been in that green room for an hour to 90 minutes, just like trying. And a lot of ESPN staffers waited for me. Post fight. Post fight. This is like 1, 1.30 in the morning. Do you know who else wouldn't leave until they saw me? Who's that? Bud Crawford. I walked out of the green room. He came over. He embraced me. I heard what happened to you. I want to make sure you're all right. That's champion of the world. Yeah. Yeah. I was just talking to somebody about this yesterday. because now Bud flew to Australia to support Errol Spence. And, you know, there's people making, oh, why is he taking Errol's shine, this and that?

1:14:58What they don't understand about Terrence is I've never seen a person physically show up for people more than I've seen Terrence Walker show up. I agree with you. Whether it's his kids. Yes. Whether it's like this dude, there was five people in the gym for Kovalev II the night before. You know, that week of the fight is a lonely time, right? And I just had key members there. He found out where we were training. It's late in Vegas. He shows up. When I get inducted in the Hall of Fame, he's still an active fighter. He comes way to upstate New York, canist order to support me. And I've seen him do this for Shakur and countless other people.

1:15:37So that doesn't surprise me. It's just who he is. Him getting on a plane to Australia doesn't surprise me. Fight Australia and tell me if you think that's convenient. Come on. That's who he is. He's super old school in that way. He is incredibly old school in that way. Just, yeah, man, I, yeah, so that's Terrence Kuff. My family wasn't happy with me that night, don't you? I can imagine. Not happy with me at all. I just remember being in shock. Even after that night, I just remember thinking and going back to my room, like, he really did that. Like, I don't know how bad it was, but he went to the hospital in an ambulance.

1:16:10When you hear a hospital in an ambulance, it was pretty bad. Yeah, it was not good. it. And then I looked up and I'm like, this dude resurrected. What the heck? Keep in mind though, we're calling boxing. Again, you got punched in the face for a living. That was a heck of an IV that gave me. I'm just spitting words out. That was a heck of a cocktail. Yeah, I don't know what it was. The IV cocktail was crazy. A couple more, I'm going to get you out of here, brother. You've had countless epic calls, but I don't know if there was any more of an epic call than you had in 2020 with your son John's fake field goal.

1:16:43I guess ranked, was it ranked number one? Clemson was number one in the country, yeah. Clemson. That was on ABC. For the 40-yard field goal attempt. As they split out, Danny Dalton's a fake. Tessitore is under center on fourth and two, and he got him to come off sides. John Tessitore came up and played quarterback at the last second, and they may get a first down out of this. How about that on fourth and two?

1:17:15He has played every position growing up from prep quarterback, receiver. He's pulled off multiple takes. He fits with contact. Five-yard penalty. Results for the first down. And he did it here. He split out the tight end, went under center, played quarterback, and drew Clemson offsides. Wow. What a great call by Jeff Halfley. And I know you had to really grind on the week of prep to find out all the detailed history. I'm trying, brother. John Tessitore, your son. I know you're so proud of him. What was that like? Oh, it was crazy. Obviously, John did not have, listen, he went on to play ACC football.

1:17:52He was a great football player growing up who was fortunate enough to be recruited. But he didn't have the biggest moments you would have. Except for that, it was funny. So when John got married, we had a little luncheon. Congrats on that. Thank you. So we had just a small Catholic mass. And then I think there were 18 of us that went to lunch afterwards. And I remember one of John's teammates was to the left. And John and my daughter-in-law, Jen, was sitting there. And I said, you know, just to put in perspective John's football career when I tell this story. And Jen was a phenom, four-time All-American national champion lacrosse player.

1:18:31So arguably one of the greatest women's lacrosse players in the history of the sport, Jen Medjit. And I said, it's so this Boston college sports power couple that has combined for 346 points, highest scoring couple in the history of BC. Jen scored 332. John scored 14. So he only scored 14 points in his entire BC football career. But he had this one moment. I'm broadcasting the game on ABC. Clemson's number one in the country. and he comes in and dc shockingly takes the lead on clemson went on a fourth and five john goes under center and plays quarterback when they're attempting a field goal and and splits out the wing and gives the look that he's going to pass the ball and draws a safety all the way into the a gap off sides first down so i was doing so that was that was thrilling for such a quirky fake field goal play that then gives bc the lead against the number one team in the country but john and i talk about 200 times a day on a constant text chain we talk football all the time and boxing all the time and that whole week we're texting never once does that i'm prepping for a game and you know when you prep for a game you want to know everything's and outs never once does he say to me oh by the way i have a fake in this week oh by the way when you see this formation be ready for this oh by the way when it's fourth and less than five be ready for never once the whole week he went about his business i went about my business and uh kept that one it was fun but in the moment i was hoping to get through the broadcast without having to say his name.

1:20:22And in the moment I had to like, like quickly, like, so I just called him Tessitore. So it was fun though. It was great. It was, it was a great moment that we have that we get to cherish forever. Of course. Of course. Even though it's very spot, but I don't know how like a guy like, uh, like, uh, Bob greasy called his son, Brian being the starting quarterback at Michigan Rose bowl. Like, I don't know. Cause that was like one moment and I was like, wow. Yeah. Yeah. Man, that's powerful stuff. Historic stuff, man. That stuff you guys talk about. It was fun. Yeah, you talk about that. Yeah, it was fun.

1:20:57I'm sure his son will love going back and watching YouTube. That's what I'm saying. When I say historic, that's stuff that's going to get passed down for generations. Yeah, it was a lot of fun. And again, congrats on John's marriage, man, to a beautiful bride. Yeah, congrats on your family with a new daughter in your life. Mariah. Congrats to them. and I'm gonna give you a couple of quick ones, man. And then we're gonna get out of here. What's your favorite event that you've ever called? That's a really tough one because I don't like living in the world of superlatives of greatest, favorite, number one, best.

1:21:31I try not to live in that world of ranking and lists and all of that because as soon as you say something, you're like, oh yeah, but I forgot about this. So that's really - Most enjoyable. I always say to myself, what comes to mind when you say, So for me, boxing is always really, really high on that list. And for one specific reason of great moments, and that is because there's something very, very different when you know, and for those of us that have lived their life in the sport, it's an axiom that's well overused, but for a reason, and that is you don't play boxing. You play football, you play basketball, you play baseball, but you don't play boxing, just knowing that anytime anybody steps through the ropes, they're risking their life.

1:22:19That means everything you're witnessing comes with a different level of urgency and care. So the greatest fights that I've ever called aren't necessarily the biggest fights. They're not. I mean, you, Lennox Lewis, and I called Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder at the absolute height of who they were, right? When the whole world stopped and watched it. That was a good broadcast, by the way. It wasn't probably the greatest fight we've ever called, right? But in terms of pure eyeballs of tens of millions, right? Spectacle, yeah. Spectacle. There have been four-round fights, six-round fights. True, true.

1:22:59There was a fight you and I, there were two fights you and I called in this calendar year that blew my mind. There were probably three fights this year, just in this calendar year. And I would say that when you do this for a living, that's going to happen every year. I mean, there was a fight you and I called with Riziki recently at CBS. Unreal. What am I watching here? Unreal. There was a fight with Hot Rod Kalajic we called this year. I was like, what, is this really happening? But that happens so often in the sport because at its best, the reason why boxing never dies off, never fades away is because when it's at its absolute best, it's better than anything.

1:23:41It's actual cinema. It's a movie that you can't believe when it's at its absolute best. other sports and our colleague max kellerman says this all the time you know they use things as a surrogate for what boxing actually is you know you're hitting a tennis ball hard and breaking another man's will no in boxing we actually do break another man's will right so anything that's a superlative of the best things i've ever called in life are undoubtedly what happens in the ring the intensity of an sec football game and a big rivalry game at lsu or texas and em or alabama And it comes down to a last minute play thrilling because of the pageantry and the meaning and the setting.

1:24:26But very rarely is somebody putting their life on the line. Here, you're putting your life, your career, your future earnings, your family's reputation. So it just hits different. But that doesn't mean, though, that I'm saying it's at the championship level when I answer that question. because I've called fights here at club shows in New York where I can't believe what I'm seeing. I can't believe. There was a Delvin Rodriguez fight I called right down the street here where I couldn't believe what I was seeing. What comes to mind when you think about some of the most emotional events that you've ever called across all sports?

1:25:03I like watching the coming-of-age moments. I like watching the breakthrough moments. I think those feel better. I like watching when a young man just changed the course of their life. And that could happen in any sport that I've broadcast. It happens in horse racing where a jockey wins a big moment and their life is forever different. It happens in football all the time where I'm calling a big game and now you know, wow, this person just set themselves up. Happens in fights all the time. That first championship win, that breakthrough moment that they're forever different. Now, I like the ride up with athletes.

1:25:41I like seeing that ride up and that moment in a young athlete or an emerging athlete's life where they go from prospect and future and hope and hype to it's there. Becoming. You got it. Yeah. The jackpot's not there. Yeah. You got it. One of the broadcasters that you've admired the most throughout the years. I like Brent Musburger a lot. um, I like Keith Jackson a lot. Um, I like, I like just about everybody who's been in our sport a lot. So whether it's the glory days of HBO with Jim and Larry and Manny, or the glory days of Showtime, or even our current colleagues who work, uh, either with us or at other places, um, a lot, there are very few boxing broadcasters I haven't admired through the years because people in the fight game are different.

1:26:40They see the world differently. They're sort of our kind of people. They're the people I'm most comfortable around, fight people. But in what I would describe as the mainstream American sports, I've always gravitated towards the styling of Brent Musburger, knowledgeable, prepared, but big and pronounced and taking everything you do and trying to make it the best version, the biggest version with the biggest spotlight on it and, and elevating it, giving you a reason to watch because of the skill and presentation and preparation, the use of your voice, the urgency, the building of excitement, the inflection points.

1:27:29I like that. The nuance. Yeah. I view myself as a live event host and play-by-play guy. And I think you've picked up on this through the years of the event, the action, the pageantry, the energy is like a Leroy Neiman painting. It splashes of color and dynamic and has energy to it, just like a Leroy Neiman painting would be. I'm the frame. I'm where it's hung on the wall. I'm the key light. I'm holding you by the hand and pointing out the different colors and the way that we use the brush strokes. But the painting is the painting. So there's a lot of times I'll broadcast with you where I don't care if I don't speak for 35, 40 seconds a minute.

1:28:17But when it's time for me to speak, a framing that or the crescendo, which means the spotlight, the key light needs to be on it more of taking over the blow by blow, you're going to know it. Or when I need to hold you by the hand or guide you or show you a nuanced paint stroke, you're going to know it. But it's not about me. It's about the painting. If I strip away all the accomplishments, everything that drives you, everything you've ever done, I strip it away. Who's Joe Tessitore? A father, a servant. That's it. that's it. Just a father who serves, who lives his life to serve others. I'm not good enough and great enough to serve my community.

1:29:04I'm not great enough and good enough to serve the world, but I know I'm great enough and good enough to serve my family. So to provide, protect, shelter, create opportunity, create magic in their life, make sure they have the best life possible to live however they want to live. Ideally, my idolization of St. Joseph is a very real, tangible thing. So those ideals of where my religion teaches who he was and why we honor him and why he's the patron saint of laborers and fathers is sacred to me. That's it. I'm just a servant, a soldier of St. Joseph. Not a better way to end this interview, brother.

1:29:58Always great to visit with you. We got to get to work at a certain point now. We do. We got a show this weekend. Another compelling guest and another compelling story. We appreciate you for spending some time with us on The Art of War. All right. Good job, guys. Great.

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