Season 2: #11 Gary Balletto

Boxing Life Stories

Tris Dixon

Sports

5 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 27 November 2019

⏱️ 71 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Gary Balletto was a Rhode Island sweetheart who shot to fame in season two of the popular US television series The Contender. Gary was a good looking guy, an exciting fighter and some tipped him to win the series, which included future world champion Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage and eventual winner Grady Brewer. It didn't work out that way and Gary was eliminated in the second round, only fighting once more before walking away. Then, several years later he was damaged in a horrific backyard accident playing with his children and left a quadriplegic. Life changed in an instant. Here, in an incredibly open and moving interview, Gary talks about his career, the accident and its aftermath and the rise of his son, Gary Balletto III, who just made his professional boxing debut. It's an unmissable conversation.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Andrew was at an age where he was experimenting with cold water therapy.
0:04.4	And Andrew was also at an age where he was experimenting with manscaping.
0:10.4	Hmm. So when he discovered he could save up to 40% in the Amazon Black Friday week
0:15.6	He got a Braun IPL hair removal device and now he's sharing his silky smooth
0:21.1	Dad Bod with his friends at the Coldwater plunge.
0:24.0	Share the joy this Amazon Black Friday week with up to 40% off,
0:27.6	hence 27th of November, while stocks last.
0:30.0	I had all the tools and ability to be the best in the world and I know it and I just feel like if I would have
0:39.1	support a little smarter, if I would have focused on boxing more than I did training hard, you know, if I had to do it all
0:47.0	over, that's what I would have done.
0:49.0	I was instantly paralyzed from that second that it happened.
0:57.0	He couldn't feel anything.
0:59.0	I couldn't move. I broke six vertebrae in my neck I broke C one three four five six seven most everyone in my neck
1:11.6	The state has been good to me and I would have never known how much I was loved until I had the injury.
1:20.0	I had over 2,000 people come to the hospital to visit where they had to wait shut it down. So, Hello and welcome to boxing life stories with me Trist Dixon. This week I have been in
1:57.6	Rhode Island where I've interviewed a veteran of the season two of the contender series Gary Billeto.
2:05.7	Gary was one for some reason I'm not sure why but very rarely I have favorites in
2:11.9	boxing but Gary was one of my favorite guys in that show
2:16.0	Built like a Greek god he could punch he was exciting he came forward he attacked and he just came across as a nice dude. We've not spoken before. I've followed
2:27.8	his career after the contender which didn't last long after the contender you You'll hear about his choices and decisions in life afterwards shortly.
2:39.5	But Gary was a guy that I'd always looked out for,
2:42.2	and then tragedy struck with a freak accident in his
	...

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