—She was featured in a pictorial spread in Maxim and was a Playboy centerfold.
—Known as “The First Lady of the Ring,” she remains boxing’s highest-profile female ring announcer. She’s called fights across the world, been a regular on Fox Sports Net, ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights,” Fox’s “Sunday Night Fights” and Showtime and was the first woman to announce a world title fight when she officiated the David Santos-Steve Forbes IBF super featherweight bout in 2002.
—Last Sunday she was enshrined in the National Boxing Hall of Fame in California, joining former champs Julio Caesar Chavez, Michael Carbajal, Mike Weber, David Diaz, Montell Griffin, Sean O’Grady, Raul Perez, Lucia Rijker and Humberto Gonzalez in the 2019 induction class.
“Boxing is entertainment and I entertain people” Hayes once explained to me here. “There’s nothing wrong with seeing a strong female figure who looks great and still does her job efficiently. I think I add a breath of fresh air. A new dimension. I’m something people aren’t used to seeing in the ring.”
Born in Floyd County, Kentucky and raised in Detroit, she was first introduced to boxing as a 17-year-old ring card girl.
She set her sights on being a ring announcer and got her break, thanks especially to Ohio boxing figures like nationally-acclaimed referee Frank Garza from Delphos and Dean Chance, the former Cy Young winning pitcher who ran the Ohio-based International Boxing Association.
She married former University of Kentucky basketball player Jeff Brassow here – they’re now divorced – and she became a popular sports personality in the Miami Valley.
She now lives in Lexington and still is a ring announcer, known for her signature call:
“It’s time to separate the men from the boys!”
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