"The Next Great Champ" (2004) TV series 2004-????

User Rating:

1.7/10   

Director:

Brian Smith

Release Date:

November 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Reality-TV | Sport

Plot Keywords:

Boxing

Cast

Lawrence Alonzo	...	Contestant
Rene Armijo	...	Contestant
Fred Bachman	...	Contestant
Tommy Brooks	...	Himself
Dr. Richard Castenon	...	Himself
Luis Corps	...	Contestant
Oscar De La Hoya	...	Himself
Jacob 'Stitch' Duran	...	Himself
Lou Duva	...	Himself
Mohamad Elmahmoud	...	Contestant
Lou Fillipo	...	Himself
Joe Frazier	...	Himself
Shaun George	...	Himself
Otis Griffin	...	Himself (Winner, The Next Great Champ)
Dr. Pearlman Hicks	...	Himself
Larry Holmes	...	Himself
Joe Martinez	...	Himself
Jimmy Mince	...	Contestant
Manny Montiel	...	Himself
Ken Norton	...	Himself
David Pareja	...	Contestant
Arsenio Reyes	...	Contestant
Paul Scianna	...	Contestant
Mike Vallejo	...	Contestant
Gilbert Zaragoza	...	Contestant

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Company:

Endemol Entertainment

Trivia:

Many people were left guessing when they were shown previews of Gilbert and Rene fighting during a supposed "upcoming episode" of Next Great Champ - that fight never aired on any episode during the show's run. Producers were worried during the final days of production that news of the show's winner might leak out. After all, the matches were filmed in a ring that was set atop a downtown Los Angeles rooftop, and it would have been easy enough for unwanted paparazzi to snap a few pictures and spill the beans to the rest of the world as to what the eventual outcome would be. Producers decided to stage two fights on the same night that the finale was to be shot... one being the real fight... the second, merely a "mock" fight intended to throw spectators off. Ultimately, Gilbert and Rene were chosen (and paid) from the ousted cast to participate. During that fight however, the fighters (who were instructed beforehand to simply "throw" their punches) became unexpectedly competitive. The result was one of the bloodiest and most viciously contested matches that had taken place. Gilbert actually required stitches to a facial cut shortly afterward. The producers were very unsure what to do with the actual footage. It was arguably the best fight footage they had, however they had no place in the storyline for it. In the end, the fight was decidedly left out... but snippets of the footage were inserted into weekly previews to keep people guessing.