by David P. Greisman

In the pantheon of ring announcer nicknames, there is “The Classy” Jimmy Lennon Jr. — and then there is Henry “Discombobulating” Jones.

Jones has been ring announcing for more than two decades, many of those years following him being taken under the wing of Michael Buffer. Both men will be at the HBO card in Washington, D.C., this Saturday featuring Amir Khan and Lamont Peterson.

Jones will be announcing the undercard in a city where he has worked for nearly three decades for the city government, working for the Department of Human Services in its teen parent assessment program, empowering young teen parents, particularly the young fathers.

The 55-year-old Maryland resident spoke with BoxingScene.com a couple of days before the fight.

BoxingScene.com: You’ll be doing ring announcing at the Khan-Peterson card on Saturday night. What are your thoughts on that?

Jones: “It’s an honor to be on any big-time boxing event, and even more so because I’m doing an undercard for a gentleman who became my mentor, Michael Buffer. He took me under his wing some 18 years ago and put me on stage at Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, Philadelphia, Atlantic City. And for him to be coming here and me doing the undercard, it’s certainly an honor for me.

“In my opinion, he is the crème de la crème, the barometer against which all other ring announcers are measured. And he was just recently selected to be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. So it’s going to be a great honor introducing him in the ring taking over the microphone from me for the main event as an International Boxing Hall of Famer.”

BoxingScene.com: How often do you get to ring announce?

Jones: “It’s very political, to be perfectly honest with you. I’ve been an announcer for 22 years now. I’ve had some modicum of success: USA “Tuesday Night Fights,” ESPN 1 and 2, HBO “KO Nation.” Really, I haven’t broken into the mainstream of ring announcing.

“I hate to say it, but really, it’s race. There were no prominent African-American ring announcers before me. I’m still the only one now, and I’ve been doing it for 22 years. You have to ask the question: Why has there never been a black ring announcer of prominence. Never, in the history of boxing.

“I took the challenge in 1988. I try to get work when I can. I’ve been able to, I guess, market myself by becoming a great ticket seller. For this particular fight, I’ve generated over $33,000 worth of tickets. That speaks volumes — and numbers. So I’m trying to really make myself a commodity. Because no other ring announcer is going to be able to do that. And hopefully promoters will see that it pays to bring me on board because in essence, I’m paying them to use me. So I’ve been all over the country in my career, but it hasn’t been enough. It certainly hasn’t been to the extent that I’m on television regularly.”

BoxingScene.com: At the same time, having more big-time boxing events in D.C. would be beneficial to your career.

Jones: “Absolutely. And now Golden Boy sees that I should be an integral part of the operation, if and when they come back to D.C. Hopefully they will. And that Bernard Hopkins will take notice and bring me on board to announce East Coast operations for Golden Boy, because he controls that — Philly, New Jersey, New York, all the way to here.”

BoxingScene.com: So does that mean when you step in the ring on Saturday that you’ll want to do anything different to make sure you get their attention?

Jones: “I have a tried-and-true format. I’m one of the few ring announcers, if not the only one, that truly gets the crowd involved from the start and keeps them involved all night long. My philosophy is that they want to feel they’re part of the show, that their hard-earned money is well spent. I’m an active type of ring announcer. I’m not just talking at them. I’m talking with them. It’s a call and response type of effect. It’s been working to this point. If it’s not broke, I’m not going to try to fix it.”

BoxingScene.com: What do you think needs to happen for more big boxing shows to come to D.C., because you and I both know it’s not often.

Jones: “Our local talent needs to step up and win and win big. I’ve seen it in my ring career. A lot of our fighters were, I would say, satisfied with getting on television. And truth be told, other than Mark ‘Too Sharp’ Johnson, a recent International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee, other fighters haven’t really captured the moment. They haven’t risen to the occasion to become dominant.

“ ‘Too Sharp’ was dominant. Unfortunately he made some bad decisions in his career and got derailed and didn’t become the megastar that he was supposed to become. Other fighters, they didn’t step up, so hopefully this new generation will capture the public’s attention and the promoter’s attention. At one time we had more world champions than any city in the country in history. That was the heyday. Hopefully we can revisit that.”

BoxingScene.com: At the same time, I wouldn’t imagine that if Lamont Peterson loses to Amir Khan that it kills boxing in D.C. or sets it back.

Jones: “It doesn’t. But he has to really put on a good performance, win or lose. He lost against Timothy Bradley, but there was no shame in that because nobody has beaten Timothy Bradley. Lamont gave a good, spirited effort, and that’s why in losing HBO brought him right back against Victor Ortiz. He got a draw out of that, or maybe Victor got the draw. But of course, he came back again on television and stopped Victor Cayo. And that’s exactly why in this position now, fighting for a title Saturday night. So he has to at least put up a good performance, as do the other fighters on the card.”

BoxingScene.com: Seth Mitchell might have more of a chance to build a following on Saturday than the Peterson brothers do considering his position in the sport and the heavyweight division being the way that it is.

Jones: “That’s exactly right. He’s on the cusp of greatness, really. And it depends on his will and his skill as to how far he can take this thing. There’s a dearth of heavyweight contenders out there. Nobody really knows anybody in the heavyweight division other than the Klitschkos. And they have an iron fist, literally, hold on that division right now with the two brothers being world champions. So to break into that upper echelon, Seth Mitchell has to put on a good performance Saturday night as well.”

BoxingScene.com: Any final thoughts for boxing fans?

Jones: “Just stay tuned. I think there’s a resurgence in the sport, and contrary to popular belief, boxing is alive and well.”

David P. Greisman is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow David on Twitter at twitter.com/fightingwords2 or on Facebook at facebook.com/fightingwordsboxing, or send questions and comments to fightingwords1@gmail.com