BAY CITY, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Toughman Contest, one of the most exciting and controversial combat sporting brands of all time, seeks a return to the limelight with a professional version of its storied single elimination tournament.
Toughman Contest was started in 1979 by Art Dore and his friends in Bay City, Michigan to determine the toughest and spread quickly like wildfire. In its heyday, Toughman events were held at top Las Vegas Casinos, broadcast live on Fox Sports, FX Network, Showtime and international networks and 150 record Toughman Contests were conducted. The 1983 Hollywood movie “Tough Enough” and the Sega Genesis “Toughman Contest” all help make Toughman a cultural phenomenon. Toughman also launched the careers of many superstars, including Mister T. and Tommie Morrison, who both starred in Rocky movies, and Butterbean, the King of Four-Rounders.
The new series, Toughman Pro, features eight (8) professional boxers in a winner-take-all Battle Royale. Contestants are selected via open casting of experienced boxers, who are then randomly matched by drawing of lots. The first event (Toughman Pro Genesis) is slated for Spring 2019 and billed “Night of the Heavies” because it features heavyweights in a free-for-all. Toughman Pro Genesis will be a major pay-per-view broadcasted on all seven major US cable systems, air in Canada and Mexico and be syndicated internationally, worldwide as feasible.
Toughman Pro reintroduces to the United States the tournament format still found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and many Commonwealth countries. Fighters are dual-matched in an old-fashioned Battle Royale featuring seven (7) tournament face-offs (four Quarterfinals, two Semifinals and a Finale). Winners get a Grand Prize of $10,000 to $1 Million, a customized truck and an assortment of prizes. Losers go home with only an appearance fee and incentive bonuses.
Unlike the original, Toughman Pro tournaments are 100% licensed and fully sanctioned by the applicable State Boxing Commission. Further, the series uses standard state boxing rules and regulations, British Boxing Board of Control tournament rules, as well as proprietary Toughman Pro rules to ensure maximum safety and optimal excitement. Lastly, combatants are licensed professionals and fights must be completed in one night!
