Against Real Fighters, Stallone Got Clocked
When Sylvester Stallone entered the ring with heavyweight champ Joe Frazier, he learned the hard way that celebrities have no business dabbling in professional sports.
Frazier, who was trying out for “Rocky III,” cut Stallone’s eye within 30 seconds of their sparring match.
“You think that you play the role long enough, and you assume, ‘Oh, I can compete with a professional,’” Stallone told professional wrestler MVP in an interview on the WWE’s Web site. But Frazier’s blow – resulting in four stitches — set him straight. “I couldn’t believe it. My fantasy was completely destroyed that you can last more than however long it takes a professional athlete to actually get to you. That’s how long you last in the ring. That’s how long it takes.”
Stallone would get whupped a couple more times, once by Ernie Shavers and then by Roberto Duran, before deciding to cast Mr. T. — still tough, but not boxing legend tough.
My recent blog about Marvin Gaye – and cohort Sarah Linn’s subsequent comment – got me thinking about celebrities who dive into big time sports.
On the one hand, they attract scorn because 1.) They’re usually not worthy and 2.) Regular Joe’s don’t get to do it, so why should they? On the other hand, it is fun to vicariously watch a non-professional compete at the pro level.
With that in mind, I’ve compiled a top ten list of celebrities who delve into pro sports. Check out tomorrow’s blog entry for the list.
I will give you one teaser, though: Don’t pick Kevin Costner for your city league softball team.
Posted on May 8th, 2008 by Pat
Filed under: The World According to Pat
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