The Contender: Walter Wright is back ... on screen

TACOMA — Walter Wright's rapid ascension in professional boxing followed by a long and mysterious layoff led to rampant speculation about his untimely demise.

The old-timers at the Emerald Queen Casino, where Wright built a 10-1 record as a light middleweight, were quick to warn how a brilliant young talent can fall victim to the many nefarious characters who still control the fight game.

Unfounded rumors involving drugs and women circulated between Seattle and Tacoma, and whenever Wright made a public appearance, he'd hear the same questions.

"Where have you been?" and "When are you fighting again?" to which he offered vague and elusive responses that further fueled the gossip.

His manager, Brian Halquist, didn't help matters when he jokingly said Wright was taking a sabbatical from the sport and touring Australia.

"One Web site actually wrote that he was doing a walkabout in the outback," Halquist said. "Imagine that, Walter in the outback."

It's not as absurd as the truth, which is that Wright's disappearance was the result of him being one of 16 boxers who competed on the second season of the reality-based series "The Contender," which has its two-hour season premiere at 8 tonight on ESPN.

"I had to tell some pretty wild stories," said Wright, who hasn't fought since October. "Not being able to say where I was or what I was doing was killing me. People were saying this and that about me. They would see me around and were wishing me well, but I could tell they thought I got into trouble or something."

Because of confidentiality agreements, Wright is sworn to secrecy about the show, which was filmed in 29 days in Los Angeles and concluded taping in February. The season concludes with a live bout worth $500,000 on Sept. 26 at Staples Center.

Other than repeating, "It was a great experience," Wright described his run as "a long one," which might suggest he advanced far in the win-or-go home TV series in which the boxers live and train together and fight each other in five-round bouts.

"If I had a chance to do it all over again, I wouldn't change nothing," Wright said. "I'd let it play out exactly as it played out because I'm smiling. Why would I change that?"

The same might be said of Wright's professional career, which began with a surprising knockout defeat three years ago.

Touted as rising star after amassing a 90-12 amateur record, he was winning on all three scorecards in his pro debut against Canadian Matt O'Brien before crashing to the canvas 33 seconds into the final round.

"Two things happen to a fighter after something like that," said Mathis Hill, Wright's trainer since 1999. "They either get gun shy, don't want to fight and leave the sport, or they bounce back. Walt bounced back.

"After Walt lost that fight, he rolls off 10 in a row. He was on record pace, actually, until this show put him on ice in terms of fighting every six weeks."

Wright was doing a pretty good job of making a name for himself in the Northwest — 10 of his 11 fights have been at the Emerald Queen and one was in Seattle — but he needed a bigger stage, which is why he re-auditioned for "The Contender" after being denied for the first season because he didn't have enough fights under his belt.

At 25 with cover-boy looks and an engaging personality, Wright — nicknamed "2 Guns" — has the necessary requirements in and out of the ring to make him an ideal contestant for the show and potentially the newest star in boxing.

"This gets him out across the board nationally to boxing fans and general sports fans," Halquist said.

"In a 13-week period, we will accomplish what it would have taken 24 months to do. It's big."

Apparently, NBC didn't think so, which is why the network dropped the critically acclaimed show, citing poor ratings last year. Executive producer Mark Burnett ("Survivor" and "The Apprentice") found a new home on the sports cable giant and made a few changes to the format.

Boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard returns as host, while last year's co-host, Sylvester Stallone, was reportedly away filming the latest installment of the "Rocky" movies.

Burnett also eliminated the show's gimmicky team challenges, but promised to retain the cinematic feel of the fights and the close-up examinations of the fighters' relationships with their families.

"The season one guys really weren't that good, in my opinion, and their careers bloomed," Wright said. "So the opportunity is there to make a name for yourself."

Last year's winner, undefeated middleweight Sergio Mora, is the boxing equivalent of "American Idol" Taylor Hicks. Mora is in line to fight middleweight champion Jermain Taylor for the title in December if he beats Eric Regan on Aug. 25.

"We could do club shows and ESPN shows and we're going to sell our 1,500 to 2,000 seats, but what we need is the general sports fans," Halquist said. "We need someone to say 'Hey, there's Walter Wright. He was on "The Contender." I want to go see him fight.'

"We need that man or woman that normally wouldn't come to a boxing match to get interested in boxing. And Walter is the guy to do it."

Percy Allen: 206-464-2278 or pallen@seattletimes.com