Frank Stallone Has the Inside Scoop on the New Hit Series "The Contender"

Learn More About All the "Behind the Scenes Action" and Frank's Experiences in Picking All the Fighters for "The Contender"

Little did Grammy- and Golden Globe-nominated singer and songwriter Frank Stallone know what he was getting into when he was asked by his brother Sylvester to go out and find a bunch of fighters for a new reality show on boxing called "The Contender." Frank, the ex-fighter and world-renowned boxing historian and collector, readily agreed -- until he got his first briefing about the show.

"This was like a rock tour -- thirteen cities and eight weeks on the road. I had to re-think this, being on the road going to all these boxing gyms with people I didn't even know," Frank said.

He did re-think it, and decided that this could be a tremendous adventure.

"My partner Prentiss Byrd and I auditioned close to two thousand fighters, with weights ranging from 105 lbs. to close to 500 lbs. We saw ex-convicts, former world champions, ballet dancers, and even angry women who thought we were sexist for not letting women try out. We had one guy in New York who wore all pink from head to toe. He ran around the ring jumping in the air and didn't throw one punch," Frank said.

One of his favorite stories from the road happened while they were auditioning fighters in the South.

"We were in Tunica, Mississippi, in the middle of nowhere, with no fighters showing up, and sharing the venue with a livestock auction. Believe it or not, we picked two fighters from Tunica who are on the show. Most people were out of gas within 40 seconds, some guys almost needed an iron lung after one round," Frank said.

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