He coulda been somebody; he coulda been a 'Contender' finalist

In some ways, what the Fraza family experienced Sunday night was significantly worse than the agony of defeat. It was the agony of chicken pox and a total lack of closure.

''So, so maybe when he's better, they bring him back in?" said a disbelieving Karen Agnew, better known as Aunt Karen, who sat with a cluster of Fraza family members Sunday night at Cheerleaders Sports Bar and Grill in downtown Haverhill.

Agnew's words broke the silence during the first commercial break after Jeff Fraza, the hometown favorite, was disqualified from ''The Contender" because of the chicken pox, which the 27-year-old picked up somewhere between the Merrimack Valley and California last fall when the show began taping.

''So, he gets better and they let him back in?" Agnew said, continuing her appeal, her eyes welling up with tears. ''Do they let him back in? He's so good. He's so good."

Jeff Fraza has watched NBC's hit reality show ''The Contender" with his family for four weeks now, withholding the secret that his role on the show abruptly ends with a rash.

The family had known Sunday night's episode was supposed to be a big one for Fraza, a middle-weight fighter who put on about 10 pounds to qualify for the reality series that pits boxer against boxer, ''Survivor"-style, with one contestant leaving each week after a fight. At the end, one winner will leave with $1 million.

The start of the episode had the Fraza clan screaming and hooting in support of Jeff, who has become a local celebrity and somewhat of a heartthrob. It showed Fraza in the temporary home where he stayed during the filming of the show. It showed Sylvia Pastrana, 25, Fraza's girl-friend of more than 10 years, who immediately picked up her cellphone to call her mother in Florida when she saw herself on television. It showed the couple's 7-year-old son Antonio, whose screen time prompted cheers of pride from the crowd.

But the screams halted when Fraza received his on-screen diagnosis, and the full bar watched a doctor say their own contender had to be quarantined and could no longer fight.

''I am so glad this part is over," said a calm and collected Fraza, who comforted his family about the bad news he received months ago.

The show's solemn tone continued as the audience watched the rest of the episode, which featured contestant Najai Turpin, who committed suicide in February, before the show aired. Fraza traveled to Pennsylvania for the funeral with several members of his family after hearing the news. The episode showed Turpin lose a fight against a West Coast rival, which eliminated him from the competition.

Fraza said Turpin's death only strengthened the bond between the men on the show. He said he keeps in close touch with several contestants.

''You come back and you walk around the house and you look for the guys to be there," Fraza said. ''You kind of miss them."

For Fraza, it's been a long ride that began last March with ''Contender" auditions in Brockton. Hundreds of New England boxers showed up to try out for the show, which is hosted by ''Rocky" actor Sylvester Stallone and five-time world champion Sugar Ray Leonard.

Fraza, who has won multiple national boxing titles and is trained by local legend Mickey Ward, said the audition was a ''who's who" of the local boxing scene.

''You had big fat guys who hadn't fought in three years and then you had other guys who were in great shape and ready to go," Fraza said. ''Everyone was there. All the winners."

Soon after auditions, Fraza was chosen for a callback and was sent to California, where he met Stallone and sparred with a fighter much larger than himself.

''They wanted to see if I could hold my own," he said.

He got the news that he had made the show in the summer and filmed between August and September. The families of all of the ''Contender" contestants were brought to Los Angeles for the taping.

The experience was life-changing for the couple, who returned home with their son in October. Pastrana fell in love with California.

''The weather was great," she said. ''The fact that I didn't know anybody was great."

It's also been a rush for the rest of the Fraza family. Kathy Fraza, Jeff's mother, who lives above Fraza and Pastrana on the second floor of a multi-family home, said she generally works the 3 to 11 p.m. shift at Lakeview House Nursing Home in Haverhill.

''I got everybody hooked," she said of the nursing home residents. ''They've got his pictures up around the nursing home. They've been watching each week."

Fraza began fighting in Haverhill when he was 13, which he claims is older than many boxers, some of whom start before the age of 10. He comes from a line of fighters. Fraza's father and grandfather both had successful amateur boxing careers. Fraza's father, Norman, trained him until Fraza hooked up with Ward, who joined the family at the bar Sunday night.

Fraza's brother Derek, 30, also had a boxing career and is a two-time Golden Gloves champion.

It's a loving, fighting family. Some of those in the bar who swelled with pride about knowing Fraza were just as proud of their previous attempts to punch him out.

His cousins, Tiffany Goodwin, 27, and Corey Smith, 26, were raised with Fraza like siblings. Goodwin has always watched from the side of the ring. Smith said he used to fight Fraza, but was never successful.

''He used to whip my [butt]. I never took it as serious," he said.

Pastrana met Fraza at the Haverhill Boxing Club. He was a student at Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School. She was at Haverhill High School.

It wasn't long before they began dating and sparring.

''I loved every minute of it," Pastrana said, smirking. ''Ask him. I gave him a bloody nose."

After Sunday's show, family and friends mobbed Fraza for hugs and autographs.

He got their hopes up once he explained that it wasn't quite over. NBC is planning to ask viewers to vote for their favorite eliminated boxers to bring them back the night the network airs the series finale from Las Vegas. It will feature a live fight between the finalists.

Up to six men will be called back to fight. Fraza said he believes he has a good shot at being called back because viewers never got the chance to see his talent in the ring.

''That's what we're hoping," he said. ''We're hoping for fan favorite."

The fight is scheduled for May 24. Boxers won't know whether they will be called back to fight until the public gets to vote.

In the meantime, like the others who have been eliminated, Fraza is still training. Just in case.

''They haven't shown Jeff hang up his boxing gloves yet," said Norman Fraza, after the episode concluded -- as it does each week -- with the eliminated fighter hanging up his gloves, much like the snuffing of the torches on ''Survivor." ''They didn't show that. That's all I'll say."

Meredith Goldstein can be reached at mgoldstein@globe.com.