Celebrity Boxing
Diminished celebrities fought exhibition boxing matches on Fox.
Celebrity Boxing is a 2002 Fox television show that featured celebrities with diminished careers or notoriety competing in exhibition boxing matches. Contestants wore headgear during the three-round fights, and only two episodes were produced. In 2002, TV Guide ranked it number six on its list of the 50 worst TV shows of all time.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Action; Reality Television
- Writer
- Barry Adelman
- Director
- Sandy Grossman
- Presenter
- Chris Rose
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Episodes
- 2
- Runtime
- 60 minutes
Facts from the source article.
First episode
The first episode aired on March 13, 2002. Danny Bonaduce faced Barry Williams, Todd Bridges fought Vanilla Ice, and Paula Jones took on Tonya Harding. Bonaduce, introduced as Danny "Boom Boom" Bonaduce, knocked Williams down five times before Williams' trainer threw in the towel in round two. Bridges, introduced as Todd "Mad Dog" Bridges, controlled his fight against Ice, who was billed as "Bi-Polar" and had Tank Abbott in his corner; Bridges floored Ice in rounds one and two and won by unanimous decision. Harding, billed as "TNT," fought Jones, presented as Paula "The Pounder" Jones; Jones, a late replacement for Amy Fisher, appeared reluctant, often fleeing from Harding and hiding behind the referee, and in the final round announced she did not wish to continue, giving Harding a technical knockout victory.
Second episode
The second episode of Celebrity Boxing aired on May 22, 2002. The opening bout featured Darva Conger against Olga Korbut, followed by Dustin Diamond versus Ron Palillo and Manute Bol facing William "Refrigerator" Perry. The main event pitted Joey Buttafuoco against Joanie "Chyna" Laurer. Barry Williams sang the national anthem before the first fight and later interviewed several competitors. Korbut, who had been charged with shoplifting $19 worth of groceries four months earlier, was staggered by Conger multiple times but stayed on her feet until the final bell, losing by unanimous decision. Palillo, introduced as "The Pulverizer," shoved Diamond after pre-fight instructions, but Diamond dominated once the fight began, knocking Palillo down twice in the second round. The referee stopped the bout at 1:23 of that round, leaving Palillo with two black eyes. Lawrence Leritz acted as boxing coach. Bol used lateral movement and his 102-inch reach to outbox the nearly stationary Perry, winning 30-27 on all scorecards. Bol said afterward he would donate his purse to relief efforts for victims of the Second Sudanese Civil War. Laurer replaced John Wayne Bobbitt, who was removed after being charged with abusing his wife. Former lightweight champion Ray Mancini, commentating for FOX, thought the decision could go either way, but Buttafuoco controlled the fight and gave Laurer a swollen eye. One judge scored it a draw, while the other two favored Buttafuoco, 29-27 and 29-28.
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