And you thought boxing couldn't get weirder after Mike Tyson bit Evander Holyfield's ear.
Fox and NBC are brawling over rival unscripted series designed to find America's next boxing champions. And even though viewers won't see either show for months, the high stakes are already making the typical Las Vegas bout look like a schoolyard scuffle.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday May 08, 2004 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 34 words Type of Material: Correction
"Sport of kings" -- An article in Tuesday's Calendar section about the competition for prime-time television shows featuring boxing incorrectly referred to it as "the sport of kings." That term refers to horse racing.
NBC is betting more than $35 million on "The Contender," which is executive-produced by Mark Burnett ("The Apprentice"), DreamWorks' Jeffrey Katzenberg and Sylvester Stallone. The producers, who have ruffled some feathers in professional boxing by vowing to clean up the scandal-tarnished sport, have booked two of its most beloved figures, Sugar Ray Leonard and George Foreman, for on-air appearances, although their specific roles are still being worked out.
Fox, meanwhile, recently began recruiting amateur and young pro boxers for "The Next Great Champ," which comes from Endemol USA ("Fear Factor") and will showcase multiple champion and Olympic gold medalist Oscar De La Hoya. The winner will get a contract with De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions and perhaps the chance to fight a titleholder.
Now "Champ" and "Contender" are locked in a tight race to beat one another to TV screens. Fox is reportedly eyeing the November sweeps, while "Contender" was originally targeted for January. (Network representatives say the premiere dates are still undecided). Even so, NBC is planning a splashy send-off for "Contender" later this month in New York, where Burnett, Stallone and Leonard are expected to meet advertisers at the network's fall-schedule presentation.
Copycat shows are common in Hollywood -- witness the plethora of makeover shows in the wake of ABC's "Extreme Makeover"-- and so are arguments about who deserves credit for a winning idea. But perhaps due to the nature of the sport, or concerns about the size of the potential audience for reality shows about boxing, the two competing projects have inspired an unusual amount of trash talking before anything even airs.
"Our show is 'The Contender,' their show is 'The Pretender,' " boasts veteran Hollywood manager Jeff Wald, who had been pitching a reality boxing show for months before finally interesting Katzenberg. Wald particularly criticized Fox reality-show whiz Mike Darnell for allegedly filching the idea.
Burnett has gone so far as to threaten legal action, according to an interview last month with Daily Variety, although no court papers have been filed yet. He did not return a call last week requesting elaboration.
