Rocky LaPorte

Comedian Rocky LaPorte will be taping a new CD and DVD when he performs at Comedy Works Feb. 22-25. LaPorte received a standing ovation during
a recent appearance on NBC's Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He is a former boxer and big sports fan.

Q: So, the dude bit your ear and that ended your boxing career. When did the boxing career start?

LaPorte: (Laughing) I started when I was about 14, and boxed until I was about 21. I had a lot of amateur fights, did the Golden Gloves and then went pro. I had a couple of pro fights, but when you start out you only fight four-rounders against tomato cans. Some guys are tough club fighters but . . . it's a tough way to make a living. And my first daughter was born when I was 20. So I started driving a truck. I figured it was better than getting socked in the head.

Q: You complete the question -- 'I got hit so hard one time that . . .'

LaPorte: I woke up in Hawaii.

Q: Where were you when you got hit?

LaPorte: Chicago

Q: You still follow boxing?

LaPorte: No, I don't follow it like I used to. I used to follow it a lot. I was so bad that I had eight fights and my record was 0-11. They gave me credit for fights I hadn't even lost yet. Now they're going to have another Rocky movie -- Rocky VI. What's he going to fight -- arthritis? Who's he going to fight at his age?

Q: Ever meet guys like Mike Tyson, or any fighters from the past?

LaPorte: I never met Tyson. But I met Vito Antuofermo -- he had those three big fights with Marvin Hagler. I met Tony Zale -- he fought Rocky Graziano in the 1950s. I've met a lot of those guys who fought back in the '30s, '40s and '50s. They would fight like once a month.

Q: What stands out of those guys you met from the past?

LaPorte: One guy, he was talking to me and I couldn't follow him. He was like, 'Yeah I like comedy a lot. I remember this one fight . . . hey -- you like chicken?' I was like man, this guy was all over the place.

Q: How would you improve the officiating in the NFL?

LaPorte: That's putting me on the spot. I was in the mall the other day and I saw these two guys get into a fight. So I pulled one of those referees from Foot Locker to break it up. Seriously, though, I saw where Seattle's coach (Mike Holmgren) ripped the officials. If something's blatantly wrong, why can't you say anything about the officiating?

Q: Give some names of famous athletes you've gotten to know during your career.

LaPorte: I actually know (Green Bay Packers) quarterback Brett Favre pretty well. He had me at a couple of his celebrity golf outings. And I love football. I got to meet some of these guys like Michael Strahan . . . and I love it, hanging out with those NFL guys.

Q: When those guys are in the audience, do you crack jokes on them?

LaPorte: Oh yeah, sometimes I make fun of them. And they like it, too. They're really good sports about it. But one time I was making fun of the Rams when they played in Los Angeles. It was five of them in the audience and they surrounded me after the show like they were going to kick my butt. They were like, 'hey man, we don't appreciate you picking on us.' I said, 'if you won a couple of games I could pick on the Clippers.'

Q: What about the Nuggets?

LaPorte: I got in trouble in Denver one time and the judge sentenced me to either 90 days in jail, or go see the Nuggets play. So I'm sitting in jail and my cellmate turns the Nuggets game on TV and I told him to turn it off. I beat the heck out of him . . . I used to tell people we went (to Denver) and they let us play the Nuggets. We beat them by 70 points -- me and my friends. People would groan. But then they would laugh because they knew the Nuggets were kind of bad. I like coming to Denver, man. I've been coming there a long time.