'I was America's Next Top Model judge with Hollywood role – but fight ruined everything'
Rob Evans, who was a judge on America's Next Top Model, has claimed his career was destroyed by a 'minor scuffle' with a fellow model, whom he was staying with in New York.
When British boxer Rob Evans secured a spot on Tyra Banks' popular reality show America's Next Top Model, he thought he had made it big. However, an overlooked altercation brought his career to a sudden standstill.
The UK pugilist, who gained international recognition after being chosen as a judge for the US reality show, recounted how one incident caused his world to crumble.
In an interview with On The Edge podcast, Rob shared that his agency had provided him with accommodation. He remembered: "Each agency has a model apartment... just a base where you can stay. You never know who you'll be staying with, and I was staying with this young kid for about three weeks."
Rob generally got along with his flatmate, Landry Macedo, but there was some tension. He went on to say: "One thing I would say about Americans, they don't understand banter. You can have a joke with someone, and they'll take it seriously and be offended that's basically how the whole thing started."
According to Rob, he made a light-hearted remark that Macedo didn't appreciate, things quickly spiralled out of control and before he knew it, they were fighting. He recollected: "He hit me, so I hit him back. I had to leave the agency apartment but then I just went on about my business and he did the same."
Rob viewed the incident as a mere scuffle between "boys" and promptly put it out of his mind. It was only two years later, when Rob was making waves as the fresh face on the judging panel of America's Next Top Model, that the issue reared its head again.
He had been brought onto the show as a "heart-throb" judge, and there were even rumours circulating in the media linking him romantically with supermodel Tyra Banks. In reality, she played more of a "mentor" role to him, but his newfound fame meant he was rubbing shoulders with A-list celebrities like Kanye West, Jay Z, and Beyonce.
For a fleeting moment, it seemed as though Rob was on the fast track to stardom.
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However, his past altercation with Macedo came back to bite him. He continued: "I got on the TV show and five days after it aired. He pressed charges against me because I used to box."
"They charged me for a assault with a deadly weapon... he deadly weapon was my fist because I had boxed in the past." Rob complained that Macedo had also claimed he was "hospitalised," but had in fact just gone to A&E.
"Hospitalised means you stay in hospital," he added.
The damage, however, was already done. The ensuing scandal cost him valuable sponsorships, including his contract with Nike, as well as a potential part in one of the Fast & Furious films.
He explained: "It all just disappeared, because they can't have someone who's a felon basically going around beating people with deadly weapons. But it was nothing like that."
Rob, who returned to modelling and also worked as a personal trainer, has always had a passion for boxing. He's now challenged Misfits heavyweight champion TempoArts and former American footballer Chase DeMoor.
