What would happen if one of the most successful sports figures decided to take on the leaders in other sports to prove he is the best all-around athlete? That essentially is the premise behind ABC's new reality series "Shaq VS" where basketball great Shaquille O'Neal trains in a sport other than basketball and takes on the best in that field. In the coming weeks, the 7 foot, 1 inch Cleveland Cavalier player will swim against Olympian Michael Phelps, play tennis against Serena Williams and box with Oscar de la Hoya in an effort to prove his athletic prowess. To find out more about how Shaq performed against the other athletes, our Jim Halterman talked to Executive Producer Will Staeger and Media Rights Capital's Joe Hipps who gave him the low-down on how Shaq fared in arenas other than basketball.

Jim Halterman: How did the idea come about for "Shaq VS" and how did Shaq become involved?

Joe Hipps: It was actually Shaquille's idea with his manager, Perry Rogers. I guess the idea started with Shaquille asking Perry 'If you were swimming against Michael Phelps, could he make it down there once before Michael Phelps swam there and back?' Of course, Perry said 'no way' and then they started yanking the idea around and this idea came out of that.

JH: Shaq talks some trash with the other sports figures but did he get that he was going to have to really work to beat these other pros?

Hipps: I think it was more a sort of respect for these other athletes once he stepped into their shoes. Somebody like [Pittsburgh Steeler] Ben Roethlisberger and what it takes to be a great quarterback and how quick you have to be when you're in a pocket and they're coming at you so I think it was a little bit more about respect.

Will Staeger: I think it's also amazing to watch an athlete at the caliber of Shaquille O'Neal and how quickly he can learn a sport in five or even three days of training; a sport he hasn't ever played before and especially with his limits. He's so big, so strong so quick for his size. If he had six months or a year to train at any of these sports... he is a professional athlete so it's really fun to watch him in his training and he can hold his own and he has in every episode.

JH: How does he go about training for each of the different sports?

WS: He has an expert coach or trainer to teach him the ins and outs of that sport and, in some cases, with the top athletes in this sport. For instance, in the beach volleyball episode, he got the help of Phil Dalhausser as his couch and Todd Rogers as his partner. For the boxing episode, which we're shooting right now, he has the legendary trainer Freddie Roach and Bernard Hopkins is in the mix as well. It's a process of getting some tips and pointers from batting practice to throwing some passes on the football field and he trained his butt off for a few days. He's gotten as close to world-class level as someone can with a week's worth of training.

JH: How did the roster of athletes come together for the show?

WS: ABC had lofty ambitions because it's a prime time summer series and they'd like to see some big names on this show against Shaq. It was easy from a booking perspective when you've got the 'big man' behind you. Everybody had a big interest in doing this show and so it's been a pleasure so far working with top athletes all over the world.

JH: Was it different for Shaq competing one-on-one as opposed to the team play he's used to doing?

WS: He's fantastic in the way he's learned the sport and the way he's performed. Each sport has its unique element that he looked to pick up on. In the case of beach volleyball, he actually did play with a teammate. In some of the other episodes it's been about learning how to play that sport. You know, he's a leader; he's a top athlete and champion in his sport so I don't think it's different between being an individual and being a member of a five-player team in the sense of learning how to be a leader.

JH: You talked about some of the handicaps given such as Shaq not having to swim as far as Michael Phelps. What are some of the other handicaps that we'll see?

WS: Essentially that's a part of each episode's storylines as they haggle in the course of the show. We had a 7-on-7 quarterbacking challenging where they each had teams of seven in football with Ben Roethlisberger. One of the things they haggled for was Shaq's team not having to go as many yards as the other team. In baseball, one wouldn't think that Shaq could crack homeruns the whole major league park distance on an even basis with [St. Louis Cardinal] Albert Pujols but once he learned what he was doing, we didn't have to move the fence that far in to have it be an even battle.

Hipps: That's just part of the fun of the show is these guys. We have ideas of what we'd like them to do but once Shaquille gets there, the guys or girls, they usually figure something out which usually comes up organically as part of the show.

JH: Were all the sports Shaq played foreign to him or did he have some experience?

Hipps: I think he had played beach volleyball before and I think baseball was pretty new to him.

WS: He liked to claim that he was an All-Star at multiple positions in all sports. Sometimes the other athletes bust him but he basically started basketball at a young age, which is part of our premise. He could have chosen any sport with his athletic prowess. He didn't have too much experience in these other sports.

JH: Assuming the show is a hit, any thoughts on who you would like to go up against Shaq for season two?

Hipps: We have a number of people that we went out to and we had pretty good response from everyone but it's just a matter of scheduling. We'd love to get him on the golf course with Tiger Woods, obviously [Shaq] and David Beckham have been going back and forth so we hope that could result in an actual episode.

WS: It doesn't seem to have worked yet but he's been saying that David is scared.

Hipps: At this point, they may end up in a boxing ring as opposed to the soccer field.

"Shaq VS" premieres tonight on ABC at 9:00/8:00c.