Vernon man ‘Furious' to be a contender

Vernon, N.J. - Some people never get a chance to chase their dreams. But thanks to the support of his wife, Mariel, and other opportunities that fell into place, Vernon resident ‘Furious’ Freddy Curiel is pursuing a second chance to become a boxing champion. Nearly four years after giving up a once promising boxing career to start his own business and raise his family, Curiel is one of the fighters competing in the ESPN sports reality show, “The Contender.” The show was filmed at the beginning of the year, but he can’t tell anyone how he did until the series, which airs at 10 p.m. on Tuesdays, ends on Sept. 26. Curiel, a former welterweight title contender, grew up around boxing in his hometown of Paterson. His father and uncles were boxing enthusiasts and Freddy used to throw punches in a mirror. Before long, he was an undefeated street fighter. “I was good with my hands in the ‘hood’,” said Curiel. “It’s just something that came naturally to me.” One day in the summer of 1989 when he was 14, Curiel’s friend Danny Vargas told him he was going to a boxing gym with his father. Curiel tagged along and ended up joining. Three weeks later, the gym managers asked him to participate in a boxing competition in Hillside. Curiel was matched up against a 112-pound opponent who had a few years of training and a couple of amateur bouts under his belt. Curiel won a three-round decision and the praise of his coach, who told him that he fought like a pro. “From that day on, I knew,” said Curiel. Curiel made his pro debut in June 1994 at the Meadowlands Convention Center against 135-pound Roberto Sierra. Curiel remembers feeling butterflies in his stomach before the bout. Although Sierra “was out to rip my head off” when the fight started, Curiel dropped him with a left hook - his very first punch as a professional boxer. “I’m thinking, ‘This pro stuff is easy.’ Then he hit me in the ribs in the third round and I realized it wasn’t so easy.” Curiel won a four-round split decision and his boxing career took off. Curiel continued to notch wins over the next two years and was named by Ring Magazine in 1995 as one of the industry’s top talents. On New Year’s Eve in 1996, Curiel recalls sitting in his apartment with his family and friends when he brashly announced that they should all take a good look at him because a year later he intended to be a millionaire. “I spoke too soon,” he said. In February 1997, he suffered his first professional loss to Isander Lacen in a six-round technical knockout. By 2002, after a loss to Jose Celaya for the WBO Welterweight title, he decided to end his boxing career with a record after 22 fights with 15 wins, five losses and two draws. By then, he and his family had moved to Vernon where he started his own gutter business. He was so turned off from boxing, he couldn’t even bear to watch his younger brother David fight. Then, last year, “The Contender” became the newest reality show on television as it documented the lives of 16 professional welterweight fighters who vie for a $500,000 purse and a chance to change their lives. Mariel tried to get Curiel interested in the program, but he wouldn’t budge. “I held onto the dream because I know he did deep down inside,” said Mariel, who has known Freddy since they were toddlers in Paterson. “I saw how the show was about working people like us, and I told him I was going to sign him up.” Although he didn’t think of the show, he started to work out to get rid of some of the 60 pounds he’d put on after he stopped fighting. The training got the competitive juices flowing and he decided to give boxing another chance, although not on the television show. But after trimming down to 150 pounds, his opponent backed out of their scheduled fight in July 2005 and he took it as a sign that he wasn’t meant to box anymore. Then last September, Montville boxing coach Lou Esa was contacted by producers for “The Contender” and asked if he could recommend any welterweights for an upcoming casting call being held in New York City. Esa immediately thought of Curiel. “I went,” said Freddy, “but I felt like I was wasting my time.” But then he got on the set. “Once they turned the camera on, I became a different person, very animated,” he said. He began talking about his desire to become a champion and began boasting about how he would show boxing skills to Sugar Ray Leonard, who is involved with the show, that he’d never seen before. After the audition, he went home to put up gutters. After a few weeks, his phone rang while he was working on a job. The producers of the show wanted him to come to California in December for a second round of tryouts. This time, there was no hesitation. After dropping 30 pounds in a month in what he described as “the hardest training I ever did,” with trainer Daryl Davis, he flew out to Santa Monica, where he was told he had to spar in front of Sugar Ray Leonard. Curiel dropped his opponent to the canvas in the first round, ending the tryout. “The producers told me to go back to my hotel room and not to talk to any of the other fighters.” After waiting for “the longest four hours of my life,” Curiel was called in by the producers, who gave him a box. Inside was a medallion surrounded by diamonds with the words “The Contender’” emblazoned on it. He’d made the final cut. Taping finished in February. While the rest of the country watches to see what happens to him, he’s training daily at a gym in Teaneck with trainer Mike DePompe and is pursuing plans to resume his professional career. “It’s a great story,” said Curiel’s neighbor, Annette Colombo. “He’s a great guy and the Curiels are such a nice family.” “I’m going toward my dreams,” said Curiel, a religious man who said his faith in God has kept him going. “I’m going to make the greatest comeback in boxing history.” Stay tuned ….