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Black Myspace Layouts in plain myspace layoutsMICHAEL SCHIAVELLO
The World's LEADING MMA and FIGHT SPORT COMMENTATOR
Renowned for his catch-cry "THE BIG KABOSH"... â€œThe Voiceâ€ Michael Schiavello is regarded as the best ring sports commentator in the world.
Since 1996, Michael has thrilled audiences with his ultra-exciting and informative commentary of ring sports events worldwide including: K-1, Muay Thai, Boxing, Kickboxing, Mixed Martial Arts, Wrestling, Full Contact Karate, Taekwondo and more.
Michael has commentated for commercial television, live pay-per-view and cable TV the world over. His commentary has even featured on the JAY LENO SHOW!
Michael is the world's premier K-1 and MMA commentator. He is the global voice of such brands as DREAM MMA, K-1 GP, K-1 MAX and The Contender Asia Finale.
Michael has commentated around the world, hosting and calling fight shows in: Las Vegas, Amsterdam, Budapest, Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau, Auckland, Honolulu and beyond.
Recently Michael hosted and commentated the most watched TV reality series in history -- THE CONTENDER ASIA FINALE. The series will be seen by close to one billion people worldwide on such networks as AXN, ESPN, ITV4 UK, Fox 8 and more.
In August, Michael heads to BEIJING, CHINA to commentate the OLYMPIC GAMES. In 2006 he also commentated the Commonwealth Games.
Michael is renowned for his one-liners and edge-of-your-seat exciting and informative commentary style. He is the only non-fighter to feature on the cover of FIGHT TIMES magazine, has been interviewed in INSIDE MMA Magazine, International Kickboxer magazine and by such websites as kakutougi.info, infinitemma and more.
To contact Michael regarding COMMENTARY SERVICES for your promotion, email [email protected]
See and hear "The Voice" Michael Schiavello here...
ABOUT THE HAMMER
Mark "The Hammer" Castagnini is a former WKA Australian Cruiserweight Muay Thai Champion who provides the perfect foil to Schiavello's antics as a specialist commentator.
Insightful, informative and able to analyse the fight game better that any specialist commentator in the world, Mark uses his background in Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Boxing and Kyokushin Bare Knuckle Karate as the perfect platform for his on-air expertise.
As a fighter, The Hammer was known for his slinging leg kicks and all-round toughness. This was proved no more than in his epic battle again Simon "Raging Bull" Fenech at Festival Hall in the mid-1990s when Hammer won a close, bloodied decision on the Tosca Petridis/Bruno Campiglia undercard.
In 1995 Hammer won the coveted WKA Australian cruiserweight Muay Thai title with a crushing second round knee knockout over "Samoan Wildman" Romolo Pio.
Hammer has also fought in Thailand, having won two fights there at Chaweng Stadium, including fighting with a broken arm!
Mark also works as General Manager of Blitz Publications which produces, among many titles, Australia's three leading combat magazines:
Blitz
International Kickboxer
Australasian Taekwondo
Mark is also the general manager / coordinator of the best-selling swimsuit calendar - WET 'n' WILD and the bodybuilding magazine IRONMAN. He is also head instructor of the Blitz Thai Kickboxing franchise in Melbourne with over 200 students.
Mark travels to Thailand annually conducting the International Kickboxer / WMC Thailand Tour with a large group of Australian fight fan enthusiasts (as recently featured in Inside Sport magazine). There he trains out of the WMC Camp on Koh Samui, keeping up to date with the latest training techniques and methods, and keeping his finger on the pulse of all Muay Thai news.
Hammer is a respected member of the fight community, having received awards from the Thai government for his continued promotion and worldwide propogation of Muay Thai.
Away from the fight game, Hammer is the owner of Melbourne's party central - AREA61 night club - located at 61 Fitzroy St in St Kilda. Check them out at www.area61.com.au
MORE ON "THE Voice" Michael Schiavello....
The networks who have utilised "The Voice" include:
Fox Sports
Main Event
Fox 8
SKY Australia
InDemand USA
Viewers Choice Canada
BelleVu Express PPV Canada
Direct Dish USA
ESPN USA
KGMB 9 HAWAII
EuroSports
Channel 7 Thailand
Pro TV Romania
SKY NZ
TVNZ 1
TVNZ 2
TV3 - NZ
Fight1.TV
BSB SKY
In 2003, Michael wrote and hosted the explosive K-1 Annihilation weekly series on the Fox network (Fox 8), alongside popular Channel 7 personality and NEIGHBOURS star, Nicky Whelan
In 2006, Michael helmed TVNZâ€™s coverage of the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. As head boxing commentator, Michael commentated an amazing 226 fights in eight days!
Michael also realised a dream come true when he ventured to LAS VEGAS in August to commentate for American PPV at the famous BELLAGIO HOTEL.
He made his second trip to Las Vegas in 2007 to once again commentate the K-1 World GP at the BELLAGIO for worldwide pay per view audiences.
This year alone "The Voice" has called the shots ringside in: Las Vegas, Amsterdam, Honolulu, Seoul, Macau (China), Sapporo, Tokyo, Osaka, Hong Kong, Auckland, Sydney, Brisbane, Surfers Paradise and Melbourne.
Michael was inducted into THE PACEMANâ€™S HALL OF FAME as one of AUSTRALIAâ€™S GREATEST SPORTS COMMENTATORS -- ahead of Bruce McAvaney!
1. Peter Landy
2. Richie Benaud
3. Michael Schiavello
4. Bruce McAvaney
In 2006 Michael was part of the team for the biggest Australian boxing television audience in history performing commentary for the epic Mundine vs Green WBA world title eliminator from the Sydney Football Stadium. The pay-per-view for this broadcast on MAIN EVENT was the largest pay-per-view in Australian television
Michael is a leading writer and has written for more than 50 publications worldwide, is a regular contributor to Inside Sport magazine and author of four books, including the 1999 best-seller BOUNCER! (as featured on A Current Affair); Bodies of the Rich & Famous; Offside!; and the novel ReflexJack.
A former self-confessed "celebrity interviewing junkie" he has interviewed a literal who's who of sport, movies, music and entertainment for radio and print, including: Pamela Anderon, Bo Derek, Raquel Welch, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Rachel Hunter, Diego Maradona, George Foreman, Jackie Chan, Gabriela Sabatini, Wasim Akram, Rod Stewart, Pele, Bill Goldberg, Sarah O'Hare, Kimberley Davies and many many more.
In 1998, at age 23, Michael became the youngest writer EVER inducted into the prestigious CUB/Random House Best Australian Sports Writing Awards for the story "Dreaming Freeman" about Cathy Freeman as featured in Women in Sport magazine
Michael is renowned as the "King of the One Liners" and famed for his hilarious one-liners and introducing edgy comedy into his commentary style.
For more information on "The Voice" Michael Schiavello or "The Hammer" Mark Castagnini add them as friends on FACEBOOK www.facebook.com

My Interests

I'd like to meet:

"THE VOICE" MICHAEL SCHIAVELLO'S TOP 10 COMMENTARY LINES OF 2007

1. "Feitosa is a nice Brazilian... I like a nice Brazilian... I used to tell my ex-girlfriend that all the time."
2. "There are two things I know for sure: Britney Spears will never win Mother of The Year and Albert Kraus didn't win that fight!"
3. "He went swimming last week and Japanese whaling boats began firing harpoons at him."
4. "He's been on his back more than my ex-girlfriend."
5. "He wears more hair product than Bon Jovi."
6. "I'm so excited I've got goosebumps on my arm... or some other sort of strange growth."
7. "There are no windows in Mighty Mo's house. If he wants to let a breeze in he just punches a hole in the wall."
8. "He's a stud... there are no such things as lesbians in the world, just women who haven't met Paul Slowinski yet."
9. "He's so tall giraffes are attracted to him."
10. "He's so short he could milk a cow standing up. You know he went to Tokyo Disneyland last week and they wouldn't let him on any of the rides."

Music:

"Check this out! A newspaper story in the Townsville Bulletin about sports commentators... including "THE VOICE" MICHAEL SCHIAVELLO"... I'm FLATTERED by what the journalist wrote... click on the image and have a read!!!

Movies:

"THE VOICE" MICHAEL SCHIAVELLO'S Upcoming Schedule
* K-1 MAX Japan -- TOKYO, February 2
* K-1 Grand Prix Hungary -- BUDAPEST SPORTS ARENA, February 9
* DREAM -- MMA -- March 15, SAITAMA SUPER ARENA, Japan
* K-1 MAX Final 16 -- April 9, HIROSHIMA GREEN ARENA, Japan
* THE CONTENDER FINALE -- Singapore Arena, April 12, SINGAPORE
* K-1 Yokohama Grand Prix -- YOKOHAMA ARENA, April 13
* K-1 European Grand Prix -- AMSTERDAM ARENA, April 26
* DREAM.2 MIDDLEWEIGHT GRAND PRIX -- SAITAMA SUPER ARENA, Japan, April 29
* DREAM.3 LIGHTWEIGHT GRAND PRIX SECOND ROUND -- SAITAMA SUPER ARENA, Japan, May 11
* DREAM.4 -- Yokohama Arena, Japan, JUNE 15
* K-1Grand Prix Event -- FUKUOKA, June 29
* K-1 MAX FINAL 8 -- Tokyo Budokan Arena, July 7
* K-1 GP in TAIWAN - July 13
* 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES -- BEIJING, CHINA, August 2 - 27
* K-1 Final Elimination -- SEOUL, KOREA, September 27
* K-1 World Grand Prix final -- YOKOHAMA, JAPAN, December 6
* K-1 Dynamite -- OSAKA, JAPAN, December 31
"THE VOICE" MICHAEL SCHIAVELLO IN THE TOWNSVILLE BULLETIN
AUGUST 2007
By Ben Vernon -- Townsville Bulletin
IN many ways it must be a hard job calling sport on television.
And I mean the person calling the actual game, not the knob-end ..colour man' sidekick.
That's a piece of piss. If you're Phil Gould, for instance, you can just watch while Ray Warren does all the work and shout things like ....Unbelievable!'' occasionally and say crap like: ....I first saw this kid playing in the under-5s for Mareeba and I knew he was going to be special''.
No, I'm talking about the guys that actually call the game.
I'm not a huge fan of AFL but one of the best in the business is Dennis Cometti. The man that gave us such classic moments as: ....Barlow to Bateman. The Hawks are attacking alphabetically ... ,'' when describing Melbourne star Adem Yze: ....Terrific player, terrible scrabble hand'' and: ....Exquisite goal by Glendinning. That was a Rock Hudson kick â€“ looked straight but it wasn't''.
In other, Cometti-less, football codes one has to rely on horrific mistakes for entertaning commentary. How about this gem from a Kiwi rugby commentator: ....Andrew Mehrtens loves it when Daryl Gibson comes inside him''. I don't think they'll playing that version of the game in heaven! But Test cricket â€“ five gruelling seven-hour days that dribblers and former players feel compelled to fill with gibber â€“ is arguably the most fertile ground for commentary genius.
BBC commentator Brian Johnston came up with this alarming report in the early 80s as West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding came in to bowl to English all-rounder Peter Willey: ....The bowler's Holding, the batsman's Willey''.
And this gem as Pommy captain and fast bowler Bob Willis took himself off after a spirited opening spell: ....The England captain has relieved himself at the pavilion end.''
And you can't go past the emperor of understatement, Richie Benaud, who came up with this one after Kim Hughes copped one in the nether regions: ........ and Kim Hughes returns to the crease with one ball remaining''.
But my favourite Benaud moment was when Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram lost the toss and yelled the F word frustration to a live TV audience. Without a pause, deadpan and drier than the Simpson desert, Benaud said: "Interesting to note, isnt it, that the word for extreme disappointment the same in English as it is in Urdu.'' They just don't make them like that any more.
But there is a new kid on the block â€“ a commentator of such wit and descriptive genius he makes Oscar Wilde seem like a monosyllabic moron. His name is Michael Schiavello and it's likely not many of you have heard of him because he commentates on kick-boxing, but he is destined to become one of the greats.
Schiavello has a tremendous gift for simile.
I watched two kickboxing tournaments, purely to listen to this bloke's work, and this is the sort of stuff he comes up with in the quieter moments ..."He's working more angles than a protractor and got more moves than a chessboard', ..he's got more combinations than a Chinese takeaway, he's put on more strikes than a builder's union, he's all over him like a fat kid on a cupcake'.
But when one of the fighters is receiving some punishment is when Schiavello truly comes into his own.
....He's copped more jabs than a typhoid clinic, he's worn more leather than the Village People, he's taken more hits than Google, he's been scored on more times than my ex-girlfriend, he's taken more battering than a piece of flake, left himself more exposed than Janet Jackson's right nipple, taken more knocks than a front door, more hits than the Beatles/a pinata/a blackjack table, more kicks than a chorus line'' and on one memorable occasion when a fighter accidentally got kicked in the pills he came up with this: ....I hope he wanted to be a farmer because he's just picked up a couple of achers.''

Television:

CHECK THIS OUT:
MICHAEL SCHIAVELLO'S HILARIOUS INTERVIEW WITH INFINITEMMA.COM click here to read it: http://zine.infinitemma.com/index.php?page=michael-schiavell o-interview---june-2007

MICHAEL SCHIAVELLO'S INTERVIEW ON 1116 SEN SPORTS RADIO click here to listen: http://www.sportzblitz.com.au/international-kickboxer/forump ics/michael%20schiavello.mp3

YOU CAN NOW FIND "MICHAEL SCHIAVELLO" ON FACEBOOK.COM
TRAILER FOR K-1 MAX LIVE ON MAIN EVENT MONDAY JULY 7 2008
LISTEN TO THE SONG "THE BIG KABOSH" PRESS PLAY!!!

THE FINALE OF THE CONTENDER ASIA -- SNEAK PEAK HERE!

MASATO vs BUAKAW at the K-1 Max October 2007

Books:

MAIN EVENT will broadcast the K-1 MAX LIVE for the first time ever on MONDAY JULY 7... check out the AWESOME TRAILER!

Heroes:

SCHIAVELLO vs CASTAGNINI
The Verbal Battles...
They're best of mates off the air but they bicker, banter and take cheapshots at each other on the air.
"People always come up to us asking 'Do you guys actually like each other?' because we're always hanging shit on one another. We push the boundaries a fair bit," says Schiavello.
SOME OF SCHIAVELLO and CASTAGNINI'S CLASSIC ON-AIR TRADES
SCHIAVELLO SAYS...
1. "Close your mouth or you're gonna attract flies!"
2. "You know Hammer when you were fighting you were my second favourite fighter... everyone else tied for first."
3. "When you were at school Hammer your English teacher asked you what came at the end of a sentence and you answered 'parole'."
4. "We've got over 750 friends on myspace. You're finally the popular kid Hammer!"
5. "Wait, my phone's ringing. It's Pee Wee Herman. He wants his sense of humour back."
6. "Gee Hammer, you're getting all Brokeback Mountain on Benny Ritter."
7. "No Hammer, Cobra was NOT the best movie ever made."
8. "Hey Hammer, how do you spell I.Q.?"
CASTAGNINI SAYS...
1. "I'm gonna kill you Schiavello."
2. "You won't think so when I elbow you in the head."
3. "The only thing you know is a buffet."
4. "If it weren't for pick-pockets you'd have no sex life."
5. "My homophobic side has to question a man who looks at mens bodies like you do."
6. "You've got wood" (comment made when Schiavello started waxing lyrical about UK fighter Steve Wakeling)

My Blog

NEW Intreview with Mark "The Hammer" Castagnini

In the following interview, Fox Sports specialist commentator Mark "The Hammer" Castagnini talks about what it takes to be a specialist commentator, his personal highlights, his favourite fighters, co...
Posted by Fox Kickboxing on Thu, 23 Aug 2007 05:54:00 PST

NEW Myspace Interview with "THE VOICE" MICHAEL SCHIAVELLO

In the following interview exclusive to MYSPACE, the world's leading fight commentator, "The Voice" Michael Schiavello, gives us another insight into the man behind the voice behind the microphone in ...
Posted by Fox Kickboxing on Wed, 22 Aug 2007 08:05:00 PST

HILARIOUS Schiavello Interview on infinitemma.com READ HERE

..> ..> ..> Michael 'The Voice' Schiavello Interview - June 2007 Michael 'The Voice' Schiavello is one of the most recognized commentators in combat sports today. He has worked all over the w...
Posted by Fox Kickboxing on Mon, 20 Aug 2007 03:18:00 PST

Schiavello to Call TWO SHOWS in TWO WEEKS! Hong Kong and LAS VEGAS

The world's leading fight sport commentator, "The Voice" Michael Schiavello, will commentate two mega shows in two weeks! Having recently commentated the K-1 European Grand Prix at the Amsterdam Arena...
Posted by Fox Kickboxing on Wed, 18 Jul 2007 05:16:00 PST

Schiavello's to Amsterdam for European GP... Expert Predictions

The world's leading ringside commentator, "The Voice" Michael Schiavello, heads to Amsterdam on June 23 to commentate the K-1 European Grand Prix. Schiavello, the worldwide voice of K-1, has the follo...
Posted by Fox Kickboxing on Tue, 19 Jun 2007 09:58:00 PST

The Stuff of Legends

By Michael Schiavello I was fortunate enough in November to be asked by K-1 Corporation/SONY to provide the worldwide English commentary for the K-1 Grand Prix at the Tokyo Dome, with special c...
Posted by Fox Kickboxing on Sat, 05 May 2007 12:30:00 PST

Still a Fan After All These Years

By Michael Schiavello A strange thing happened at the fights recently& okay I know that sounds like a bad opening line from a stand-up comedian but honestly something strange did happen at the ...
Posted by Fox Kickboxing on Sat, 05 May 2007 12:28:00 PST

Schiavello Locks in Busy K-1 Scehdule

As the international voice of K-1, Australia's own "The Voice" Michael Schiavello has just finalised a busy schedule calling the K-1 shots worldwide in 2007. Schiavello's schedule includes: April 28 -...
Posted by Fox Kickboxing on Mon, 19 Mar 2007 04:05:00 PST

The Case of the SCHIAVELLO look-a-like!

It's 8.30am last week, Wednesday morning, and I receive a call from an old friend named Nicole. Nicole and I are Lois and Clarke, we worked together for years at the magazines and I even taught her ho...
Posted by Fox Kickboxing on Thu, 15 Feb 2007 05:12:00 PST

MICHAEL SCHIAVELLO Kicks off K-1 Season in YOKOHAMA, JAPAN!

The world's greatest ringsport commentator, "THE VOICE" MICHAEL SCHIAVELLO, will travel to Yokohama, Japan on March 4 to call the shots ringside on the first K-1 event of the year. The trip will mark ...
Posted by Fox Kickboxing on Fri, 09 Feb 2007 04:36:00 PST