The finale of The Contender sold out in only 5 minutes:
http://www.boxing-central.com/module...ticle&sid=6201

The show is also getting decent ratings while having to go up against top 20 shows in Cold Case and Extreme Home Makeover and had to deal with day and time shifts at the beginning of the season. Anyway, it is good to know that people are still getting into this show and if it can finish strong (and good dvd sales), it may lead to a second season (hopefully having heavyweights). The chances are slim, but you never know.


On a side note, here is a link to what a seven foot russian boxer looks like in the ring: http://www.boxingpress.de/fotos/valouev.jpg

I have to admit that I've really enjoyed the show. However, doing heavyweights would be a disaster. The fights would be boring, and they'd need 6 months before fighters could go again. But if they do find a way to do another season, I'll probably watch.

das

Actually, I am going to have to disagree. A 5 round fight is a huge hinderance to the "middleweight" class that the Contender is using. Because the lighter classes usually do not get knocked out (we have had only one knockdown), it is fair to say that some of the fights could have been different if they used 10 rounds (which is more realistic for the experience of most of the fighters). Heavyweights, on the other hand, are more prone for early knockouts and the 5 rounds would not hurt as many of them as it has hurt the middleweights. With the assumed flash knockdowns that would occur, the turnaround for the winners would be faster. Plus, regardless of the way the current crop of heavyweights is viewed, the majority of the United States (the general fan), can associate themselves easier with heavyweights (ie more ratings).

I agree that the 5-round thing isn't realistic at all, but I disagree that heavyweights would be any better. At least with the middle weight classes, you get a lot of action that attracts unfamiliar viewers. With heavyweights, you may see an extra knockout or two, but the fights would be more boring and I do think they'd need a greater recovery time between fights. And I do think the current view of boxing is a factor to be considered. The average American doesn't give a shit about boxing anymore, and aside from a couple of select names, doesn't know any more about the heavyweight division than any other. Hell, names like De La Hoya, Trinidad, Jones, Mayorga, Mosley, Vargas, Mayweather have probably been more recognizeable to the average American in recent years than any Heavyweight other than maybe Klitschko or one of the many over-the-hill has-beens who keeps drawing press.

das

"A shot from the live-action 'Mike Tyson's Punch Out' movie."

Because the viewer does not see the whole action, any fight (whether between grandmas or flyweights) would have 30 seconds of good action per a 3 minute round. And the recovery is harder for middleweights because they throw more punches without knockout power so the fights last longer. It is widely known that it is more dangerous for a fighter to go 10 rounds of fighting than have a quick flash knockdown. Lighter class fighters are more prone to suffer brain damage than heavyweights.

As far as the general viewer, having heavyweights would increase viewership. How much, it is hard to tell? The general public can rattle off names of Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Louis, Lewis, Tyson, Marciano, Holyfield, Balboa (seriously), etc... For the general person, that want to be able to relate what they are watching to something they can recognize or are familiar with. An average person does not know who Tito or B-Hop is. Heavyweights garner the most buys for pay-per-views all-time and the highest ratings for boxing on tv.

Yeah, it is hilarious. It almost looks like photoshop was involved.

You are right that the normal person does not care about boxing. In fact, sports fans in general do not care about boxing. But the point is not whether they can name current heavyweights or middleweights because they are going to get no-names for the show for either class. The point is what the general public can identify with. And there is no question that through the past 100 years, heavyweights attract the larger audiences and garner the most attention.

If there is a season 2, that would be pretty cool. The show also has a lot of emotion which is why I think its doing so well, there's no good guy or bad guy.

Here's hoping for a season 2 for the Contender which has surpassed The Contender as my favorite reality show

I wonder how much the DeLa Hoya show affected this show's appeal. The DeLaHoya show was pretty much universally panned which probably affected people's perpections of this show ("another boxing show....didn't the last one suck? I'm not watching")

In any event, its a shame, because this show is the goods. I know several people who wouldn't have sat through even a round of boxing if you paid them 49.95, but they're cheering at their sets every Sunday.

I think there is no doubt that it had an effect on the show. It should not have, but unfortunately a lot of America does not think so.


On a side not, here is hoping for unedited fights option on the dvd release. I will 100% buy it if this is an option. If not, the price is going to have to be reasonable.

I like the show, and wish it would return. But I think they need to retool the "game" part of it. The challenges are pretty silly and don't have much to do with boxing. It's the find of thing that works for Survivor, but not here. Plus they're just boring. I'm not sure what they should replace it with, but something... I do like the second round twist where the winner becomes matchmaker. In fact, they should have done this from the beginning. The 'team' aspect is another thing that didn't work for me. What makes the show for me is the human element and the fights.

Agreed. If you are going to have challenges, at least have them deal with some sort of boxing (speed bag, jump rope, etc.). They should be thankful more fighters did not get injured while hammering walls, reinacting Seabiscuit, or throwing medicine balls into Toyota Tundras.

I say fuck the heavyweights. Lighter weight classes were always more exciting to me.

I am all for making the challenges more gym oriented. Speed bags, agility tests, endurance with jump rope, sex with Ahmed's girl...

Either way bring on season 2. And 3. And 4...

Ahmed has to have some serious money because she is way too hot for a dude like that. Regardless, I would really like to know his back story. Middle Eastern-Denmark-?-Houston-Cali. He has had an interesting path and I am curious what was the cause for all the moves.