[Previous entry: ""] [Main Index] [Next entry: "Manfredo Batters Bonsante"]
05/14/2004 Archived Entry: "Behind the Scenes at "The Contender""
Behind the Scenes at "The Contender"
By Ted Kluck
(DETROIT) There is a Stallone in the ring - bouncing on and off the ropes, sweating, and moving comfortably over the canvas to the four corners of the ring. But this isn’t Sly and it isn’t a test shoot for Rocky 6. The Stallone in the ring is Frank – sometime musician, sometime actor, and full-time “boxing guy.”
Stallone, along with trainer/manager Prentiss Byrd and godmother of the ring Jackie Kallen, is in Detroit looking for talent. Specifically they’re looking for 16 young fighters willing and able to do reality-TV battle on NBC’s “The Contender” for the right to $1 million and a shot at boxing glory. Real fights, in real time, for real, hard money.
“People forget that this is a head-trauma sport,” said Stallone, between officiating one-round tryout bouts. “You can’t really get a feel for a guy without seeing him go live in the ring. A guy can hit a bag all day long but Jake Lamotta used to say that he was in the business of hitting people, not bags.”
Stallone, who has 35 years of experience in the fight game, will see approximately 50 fighters – amateur, professional, and street - today. He’ll see 50 more tomorrow and then go to New York, Chicago, Seattle, Philly and Las Vegas to do the same thing in an endless road trip that will span most of May and June.
“We have a ‘radar’ I guess you could say. When someone is good it’s a no-brainer. I just exchange a little glance with Prentiss and I know we’re on the same page. Some guys are exciting. Some are ‘fancy-Dan’ Muhammad Ali-wannabe types. Some are tough-guys who think that if you can knock a guy out in a bar you can do the same thing in the ring. They’re in for a rude awakening.”
Kallen, subject of the recent Meg Ryan vehicle “Against the Ropes” was drawn to the show to keep her hands in the sport she loves as well as provide a female presence on-screen.
“I’m the person the guys are going to talk to when they’re nervous or homesick,” said Kallen. “I’ll be kind of a den-mother presence. When the guys are sore and discouraged they probably won’t share that with each other but they’ll share it with me.”
After handling champions like James “Lights-Out” Toney and Bronco McKart, Kallen will also have a voice in finding talent for the show.
“We’re lookoing for guys who can fight, obviously, and guy who are distinguishable from each other and have personality,” she said.
Guys like John Cipriano from the Motor City Boxing Club. Cipriano, who has 12 amateur fights under his belt, has been boxing “on and off” for five years.
“It’s an opportunity for exposure,” said Cipriano, “but it’s also a chance to show people that boxing is about more than just two guys throwing punches. It’s a science.”
And if “The Contender” doesn’t work out?
“I’m pretty handy, and I have a family business to fall back on. I’ll survive.”
With temperatures reaching the 100 degree mark in the Hotel Ponchartrain ballroom, nervous fighters sit next to one another not sure when Stallone will call their name or who they’ll be fighting next. The room is devoid of press-conference bravado and chest-thumping and has been replaced by silent nerves and respect. When each one-round bout is over the room erupts into cheers for the combatants, regardless of skill-level.
“I just want people to know that anyone is welcome to try-out for our show,” said Stallone. “We want people from all backgrounds and all walks of life. Ideally I’d like to get back to 1950’s style boxing when America was a melting pot and there were lots of opportunities for pro fighters. Guys fought a lot and stayed in shape all year around; and as a result the product was much better.”
“I’ve always loved this sport,” said Kallen. “Boxing is survival of the fittest – there’s something about a person who would want to get hit everyday and keep coming back for more.”
She adds, “And I never wanted to be a stepford wife, just sitting around the suburbs spending money.”
As Stallone moves around the ring under the hot lights, shouting encouragement as kids from Dearborn and 8-Mile slug it out; there's little chance of that.
