Inside Big Mo's journey from cold calls to centre stage: How boxing's youngest elite ring announcer realised his Madison Square Garden dream... as he gears up for Katie Taylor's huge trilogy fight with Amanda Serrano

Two years ago, ring announcer Kody 'Big Mo' Mommaerts told me that his dream was to one day step into the center of Madison Square Garden and command the mic. On Friday night, he'll do just that, announcing the trilogy bout between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano on the most iconic stage in boxing.

'Begin with the end in mind,' he told me, repeating the mantra of a former American football coach that's stuck with him since his playing days. That mindset helped transform visualisation into reality.

'When I was announcing for smaller venues or smaller fights, I pretended that I wasn't there. I pretended I was in Madison Square Garden, that I was in the O2 Arena, that I was in the Royal Albert Hall. These amazing venues that I've gotten to be in... It really just started from there and now it's all coming full circle.'

At 29 years old, Mommaerts is now the youngest master of ceremonies operating at the highest levels of combat sports – a voice that's become familiar across boxing, MMA, and bare-knuckle events alike. But Friday night is more than another line on the resume. It's personal.

'It'll feel more internally validating than anything else, really,' he says. 'That's what Paul-Tyson felt like, and that's what MSG will be. I've been in this industry for a few years. I came in a complete outsider. Not just to announcing, but to entertainment, broadcast, media, boxing – all of it. I built this from the ground up... so when I'm able to do shows like this, it's almost like: I was right. I was smart to bet on myself.'

He's just over six months on from announcing one of the most-watched fights in modern history: Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson, in front of 72,000 fans at Dallas Cowboys' AT&T Stadium and an estimated 60 million households on Netflix. That event changed his career. Now, Netflix has brought him back for the historic finale of one of boxing's most important rivalries: Taylor vs. Serrano III.

The two women, pioneers of the sport and the first to secure seven-figure purses, will headline an all-female card at the same venue where their saga began. For Mommaerts, it's a full circle moment – and one he will cherish for years to come.

Despite the nature of live TV and a live audience, Mommaerts doesn't get nervous anymore – not really. Not after nights like Paul-Tyson. Not after arenas like the O2.

'I don't really get them anymore,' he says. 'After I did Shields-Marshall at the O2, I kind of knew what it was like. What to expect moving forwards. What settles the nerves is the fact I'm very well prepared. 

'Anyone who knows me knows I am meticulous. I try not to read off of a card. So that takes memorisation, and a level of understanding of what's going on. That calms me down knowing I am prepared for anything that's thrown my way.'

From his vantage point, the crowds don't even feel that different. 'There were 75,000 people at Cowboy Stadium. But from where I'm standing, looking straight at the broadcast camera, my field of view only has a few thousand. It starts to all feel the same.'

He speaks like someone who's already imagined it all and that's because he has. 'It's like I've already lived it in my mind. Like I've already turned to my left and seen Katie Taylor. I've turned to my right and seen Amanda. I turn back and face the crowd, and I see Madison Square Garden. 

'It's everything: how I'm putting on my suit, what I'm looking at when I get in the ring, the cues... it all just swirls around in there and then feels like I've already done it come fight night.'

But his job doesn't stop at visualisation. Boxing is chaos, and being ready for last-minute curveballs is part of the gig. 'It happens all the time. Boxing moves 100 miles an hour and is almost never settled. It's always: hey, this sponsor needs this, or this person is now walking out with this person, or here are the anthem singers and they want to be introduced like this. So I'm used to that. I'll write it down, make sure I say exactly what the broadcast or the client needs in that case. That's just part of it.'

The lifestyle has changed him, too. Late nights are traded for sleep management, voice care, and flights across time zones.

'Managing sleep and travel is a big one,' he says. 'I don't really have a body clock anymore. My body hits six, seven hours, and it's like: it's time to get up. But yeah, my job is full presenter mode, it's very formal, very done up, very 'on'. So when I'm not in that setting, I'm kind of more laid back and private. My social battery's changed.'

That balance – between the on-stage energy and off-stage solitude – is something he's still refining. But if his rapid rise through the announcing ranks proves anything, it's that he's a fast learner.

'Months ago, I was doing Paul vs. Tyson. That changed me a lot. It's all happened so quick, and I've had to learn at breakneck speed – which is what I wanted,' he says. 'When I started cold calling promoters at 24, I didn't have any experience, didn't go to school for broadcasting. Honestly, I wouldn't have hired me either.'

Instead, he's learned by doing. 'Working with Sky, Netflix, DAZN, TV networks in France, Poland… I've been a sponge. The people I work with are more experienced, and I just try to absorb everything I can. I'm very active – more active than a lot of MCs – and I'm thankful for that. It's helped me craft my style.'

With Madison Square Garden now checked off the list, what's next?

'I don't know,' he chuckles. 'Maybe Wembley. Maybe Tottenham. I'll need to pick a new goal. But this one, Friday night, it's going to feel like something bigger than a box to tick. It's going to feel like I built this. Like I was right to believe in the vision.'

Whatever that next goal ends up being, don't bet against Big Mo getting there.

After all, he's already lived it in his mind.