How Al Bernstein wound up opening for Hagler-Leonard at Caesars

We speak of legendary boxing announcer Al Bernstein. Bravo to the budding Vegas lounge star for his boffo performance Friday night at Tuscany Suites’ Piazza Lounge.

Bernstein performed well (and well past midnight), singing selections from the Great American Songbook and elsewhere. His takes on “You Make Me Feel So Young,” “Georgia” and “Desperado” were particularly smooth.

Bernstein’s stage experience dates to the Sugar Ray Leonard-Marvelous Marvin Hagler bout 30 years ago this week (the actual date was April 6, 1987). Bernstein had done a little background singing, and was asked by Caesars Palace officials to perform at the old Olympic Lounge for a limited engagement before the heavily hyped “Superfight.”

“I had a three-night engagement leading to the Hagler-Leonard fight, and because of the nature of the fight, we had very celebrity on the planet in that room,” Bernstein said during an interview on my KUNV 91.5-FM radio show. “I walked out and looked at the crowd, and over here is Tommy Hearns and Rodney Dangerfield, and over there is Victor French (from “Little House on the Prairie”) and John Madden. It was one of the most-fun things I’ve done.”

Bernstein developed an act called “The Sports Blues,” which had been tabled a several years ago until he was asked by Tuscany bandleader Kenny Davidsen to dust off the charts and host a night.

“It’s a passion of mine,” he said. “I’ve been sitting in with a lot of people lately, at places like the Bootlegger and with Kenny at the Tuscany, and decided to get up and do it again.”

Bernstein is already mapping a plan for a return to the Tuscany, so his gigs might become a thing in town.

Delving into his other passion, calling major fights, Bernstein talked of the arc in boxing’s popularity. By the 2000s, the sport’s prominence started to wane as it top stars (Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield among them) began to leave the ring. Also playing into the decline, Bernstein said, have been the myriad championship belts awarded, and “boxing’s inability to make the fights the public wanted to see.”

“Boxing became a niche sport and outside mainstream media, even though in the past four-five years, the product boxing has been putting out is good again,” Bernstein said. “But because mainstream media hasn’t been covering the sport as much as it once did, some of the good product hasn’t gotten out there. There has been bit of a renaissance, though, and worldwide, boxing is as big as it’s ever been.”

As an example, Bernstein notes a fight he’ll be calling this month for Showtime: The April 29 Vladimir Klitschko-Anthony Joshua IBF heavyweight title bout in London. “Ninety thousand people will be in Wembley Stadium for that fight,” he says, “and it sold out in two days.”

Of course, rising stars from the U.S. would greatly enhance boxing’s appeal in this country.

“Many people reference tennis, because American stars have not been prevalent — and I’m talking on the male side, not the female side — it has hurt the sport in America, even though people love Roger Federer and (Rafael) Nadal and all those people.”

Joshua and WBC champ Deontay Wilder are two heavyweights who could become famous outside the sport’s niche audience.

“If you have Joshua and Wilder ever get together, that would be a mega-fight and could spark a lot of interest,” Bernstein said, and if that match is made, he’ll be ready for the call.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section, and Fridays in Neon. He also hosts “Kats! On The Radio” Wednesdays at8 p.m. on KUNV 91.5-FM and appears Wednesdays at 11 a.m. with Dayna Roselli on KTNV Channel 13. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.