Vijender does a Stallone

In February 2004, Mark Burnett, Sylvester Stallone and co-founder of Dreamworks, Jeffrey Katzenberg, announced that they were teaming up for a new boxing reality series titled The Contender that would initiate a nationwide search for a ‘new boxing superstar’.

In February 2004, Mark Burnett, Sylvester Stallone and co-founder of Dreamworks, Jeffrey Katzenberg, announced that they were teaming up for a new boxing reality series titled The Contender that would initiate a nationwide search for a ‘new boxing superstar’. Bulldog Media and Entertainment is now bringing the series to India with Olympics and World Championship bronze medallist Vijender Singh stepping into Stallone’s shoes as host-mentor.

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“Vijju will bring authenticity to the show. Apart from boxing, it will tell the stories of these boxers most of whom come from below poverty line. Since Vijju’s father is a bus driver, he’s the original Rocky, the real action hero,” asserts Akash Sharma, vice chairman and MD, Bulldog.

Shailendra Singh of Percept, which will be co-producing the show, describes it as “50 per cent sport and 50 per cent entertainment”, with “plenty of aggression, unscripted drama and a climax every five minutes”.

Even though this will be a first-of-its-kind reality series on boxing in India, a show on wrestling that was flagged off recently hasn’t yet grabbed the TRPs. “That show is in a different space; besides it’s fiction while ours is non-fiction. Also, Vijju has a lot of female fans,” says Sharma.

Shailendra Singh concludes, “While Dhoni plays for India, Vijender fights for India.”