Apparantly the host of the next Contender is Tony Danza! He was a boxer and had a few pro fights, and a decent 9-3 record: http://www.boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=28927&cat=boxer "It was also announced that Sugar Ray Leonard is out as host, replaced by Tony Danza. The series will air between December and February." www.fightnews.com
Interesting, he had nine KO's out of the nine wins. One of the fighters he knocked with a winning record ended up fighting Sugar Ray Seales. Tony seemed to not have a chin, but much props to him trying the sport.
Q – At one point you were a professional boxer weren’t you? Your ring name was “Tough Tony”? A – Tough Tony Danza-----Brooklyn’s knock-out Artist! (Laughs) Q – What weight division were you? A – I was 160 middle-weight. I started in the Amateurs as a Light-Heavyweight, but, these guys were a little too big for me, so I came down a weight class. Q – How was your record? A – I had 15 fights. I won 12. I should’ve won them all. I was sort of sleep-walking. I was never a great fighter. I was just beginning. I was a pretty good club fighter. I made good fights. It was fun to do. Q – You didn’t suffer any broken noses or anything like that did you? A – Of course I did. I got broken noses, ribs, fingers, hands. Your boxing. What are you going to do? There’s this old saying that boxing is like swimming, in that when you go swimming, you get wet, and when you box, you get hit. (Laughs). It’s a tough way to make a living. Q – It probably prepared you for Show Business didn’t it? A – I think Boxing has a great effect on people, if it doesn’t hurt you. It’s an incredible discipline. It gives you an amazing amount of self-assurance, knowing that you can do this thing. It says something about you I think. There’s a camaraderie about it. It’s an incredible thing when you’re willing to put up with that kind of agony for the ecstasy of the artistry you do. You gotta take shots to the nose everyday to try and get better at something. That’s puttin’ it on the line. The only problem is-----the body, the head especially, is not made for it. The three greatest fighters of all time-----Mohammad Ali, Joe Louis, and Sugar Ray Robinson, all ended up the same way-----not completely the same way, but, with terrible problems. That was all from getting boxed around. Q – Is it true you were for lack of a better word, “Discovered” in the gym? A – Yeah. I was found in a gym. Then I sort of cemented it in a fight one night. I got lucky and ended up in a show called “Taxi”. Q – Tony, you’ve lived the American Dream. Were there other people who were maybe just as talented as you, but, for any number of reasons didn’t get that break? A – Well, I don’t know. All I know is what happened to me. I’m not privy to everybody else’s experience. Q – Do you ever ask yourself-----why me? A – Yeah. I do sometimes wonder why I’ve been so fortunate. I absolutely do. I’m a garbage man’s son from Brooklyn. My mother was an immigrant. My father was born here. His parents were immigrants. We’re immigrant families who got lucky and realized the American Dream. Now, the American Dream is also my brother. He’s married to a teacher. They’ve got a nice little house. That’s the American Dream. This thing that I have, that’s happened to me, is I don’t know….. Q – The American Dream Plus. A – Yeah, exponentially probably. Q – Now that you’ve recorded one CD, are you going to try to record another? A – I’m in a place in Detroit for the weekend. After that I’m in Indiana doing my “live” act. Then I’m going to Vancouver for 4 weeks to do a USA movie. And then I’m gonna try to figure out how to get back on t.v. (Laughs) (Which Tony Danza did with the launching of his own t.v. talk show) Q – What was it like to work with Andy Kaufman? A – Great. It took me awhile to get used to him, but once I got used to him I understood what he was up to. http://www.famousinterview.ca/interviews/tony_danza.htm
