Text size:

Eric 'Badlands' Booker ready for Nathan's hot dog eating contest

By Ryan Chatelain | ryan.chatelain@am-ny.com

6:35 PM EDT, July 2, 2008

Eric "Badlands" Booker prepares to eat before Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Competition Tuesday, July 4, 2006, in Coney Island, New York. (SETH WENIG, Associated Press / July 4, 2006)

"Badlands" will have less acreage when he returns to the Super Bowl of competitive eating Friday, nearly two years after retiring from the game.

Eric Booker, better known by his nickname, has shed 90 pounds since he competed in the 2006 Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island. Now down to 380 pounds, the Long Island resident and No. 7 train conductor says he is ready to give star eater Takeru Kobayashi and last year's champ, Joey Chestnut, a better fight.

"I just stopped eating all that McDonald's and all that Chinese food," Booker said, adding that he's also hitting the gym regularly. "It helped a lot. Just the fact that I feel lighter, and my capacity has grown a lot since then."

The former burrito- and matzo ball-eating champ has also released four competitive-eating-themed hip hop albums and will rap before Friday's contest. Overcoming 98-degree heat last weekend in Camden, N.J., "Badlands" downed 27½ franks in 10 minutes to win a qualifier. His career best at a single contest is 30½ in 12 minutes.

What: 93rd Annual Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest
Where: Coney Island
When: Noon Friday
TV: ESPN
Last year: Joey Chesnutt won by eating a record 66 dogs