ESPN May Resurrect 'Contender'
10-16-05, 10:00 PM
#26
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I'm a huge Gomez/Mora fan (my gf is in Sergio's fan club and has his t shirt! 
) but I have to agree that all three fights were tainted with bad judging and ref'ing. The Gomez fight was a joke. It was going great and Perez deserved a chance to finish it up with honor. The ref simply robbed him for no reason. Bonsante (who I hate) was clearly the winner of his fight but was robbed. The final fight was close and Sergio was clearly off his game mostly due to the injury (he never got started; he was just feeling Manfredo out in the first round when he got cut) but it was still kinda BS. Manfredo came to fight; his game was tight as hell. Sergio closed the gap some but I would have still given it to Manfredo. Still, it could have gone either way. I'm bummed that Manfredo was a sore loser. Sergio's comments at the end struck me as an emotional response to Manfredo refusing to shake his hand. I bet he doesn't feel good about how it went down. The whole evening was a mess. But the first and final fights had some great boxing in them. Damn, they need to clean up the judging!
Nice to see Ty Taylor and Sweet Suzy McNeil in the audience. I was hoping to see Colby and Probst sitting on each other's laps again.
) but I have to agree that all three fights were tainted with bad judging and ref'ing. The Gomez fight was a joke. It was going great and Perez deserved a chance to finish it up with honor. The ref simply robbed him for no reason. Bonsante (who I hate) was clearly the winner of his fight but was robbed. The final fight was close and Sergio was clearly off his game mostly due to the injury (he never got started; he was just feeling Manfredo out in the first round when he got cut) but it was still kinda BS. Manfredo came to fight; his game was tight as hell. Sergio closed the gap some but I would have still given it to Manfredo. Still, it could have gone either way. I'm bummed that Manfredo was a sore loser. Sergio's comments at the end struck me as an emotional response to Manfredo refusing to shake his hand. I bet he doesn't feel good about how it went down. The whole evening was a mess. But the first and final fights had some great boxing in them. Damn, they need to clean up the judging!Nice to see Ty Taylor and Sweet Suzy McNeil in the audience. I was hoping to see Colby and Probst sitting on each other's laps again.
Last edited by Gil Jawetz; 10-16-05 at 10:06 PM.
10-17-05, 06:43 AM
#28
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I don't think so. I think they're under contract to Burnett Productions and haven't had any fights other than this one. It's kind of messed up, although it's not unusual for fighters to go 4 months without a fight. I feel bad for the other guys, however, who aren't getting any press and who can't book their own fights. What are they supposed to do? The Contender was just about the best reality show ever and everything that's happened since is a reminder of how screwed up the boxing business really is.
10-17-05, 03:57 PM
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I've scanned the first round and determined that the cut was from a head clash. They knocked skulls right where the cut appeared a bunch of times early on, including one time where Sergio immediately grimanced, wipe his forehead, looked at his glove, and looked upset. Meanwhile, I didn't notice any particularly nasty blows to that part of Sergio's head.
05-04-06, 10:04 PM
#31
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The Gomez fight was a war and ended in a draw.
Mora got knocked down by a left hook in the second, but otherwise dominated and won by knock out (ref stopped it) in the 7th. Was a BS stoppage though, the other guy was still punching back and wasn't in any danger. Mora had nailed him several times, but not really hurt him (really don't think Sergio hits hard enough to hurt a bigger guy).
Mora got knocked down by a left hook in the second, but otherwise dominated and won by knock out (ref stopped it) in the 7th. Was a BS stoppage though, the other guy was still punching back and wasn't in any danger. Mora had nailed him several times, but not really hurt him (really don't think Sergio hits hard enough to hurt a bigger guy).
07-17-06, 01:39 PM
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holy crap! I had no idea. I was hella into this the first time around, although Gomez was a major reason for that. I'll check it out although I feel like that's a major scheduling conflict. It's cable so I'm sure it'll be on 100 times.
07-17-06, 02:26 PM
#36
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Don't set a season pass on this if you have Tivo. I tried doing it and it literally sets up a record for every time this show airs (4-5 times a week) I guess there is nothing to distingish which airing is a new episode or repeat.
07-18-06, 11:03 PM
#37
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2 good fights tonight, and 2 annoying contenders eliminated. I do miss the challenge activities though. Guess that saves them some money as it is less to film. Seems like just having the team that wins the fights pick the next match could eliminate 1 team pretty quickly though.
07-19-06, 12:00 AM
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This show picked up right where it left off last season: great fights and interesting drama.
K-9 is a beast and looked far better in his fight with Michael than he did while sparring. Funny that everyone ignored his size and his impressive record just because Michael talked some gank about his technque.
After the 1st round of the 2nd fight it looked like 'Nito was gonna crush Cisneros but that kid kept on fighting man. Gotta give it to him, he fought hard, but 'Nito was a much more polished fighter and it showed.
BTW this show needs it's own weekly thread. This bumping stuff doesn't give The Contender the respect it deserves.
K-9 is a beast and looked far better in his fight with Michael than he did while sparring. Funny that everyone ignored his size and his impressive record just because Michael talked some gank about his technque.
After the 1st round of the 2nd fight it looked like 'Nito was gonna crush Cisneros but that kid kept on fighting man. Gotta give it to him, he fought hard, but 'Nito was a much more polished fighter and it showed.
BTW this show needs it's own weekly thread. This bumping stuff doesn't give The Contender the respect it deserves.
08-14-18, 04:20 AM
#40
DVD Talk Legend
Re: ESPN May Resurrect 'Contender'
EPIX will bring it back. A channel nobody has.
https://deadline.com/2018/06/the-con...es-1202418208/
Friday will be fight night on Epix later this summer. The Mark Burnett-produced revival of boxing competition series The Contender will answer the bell at 10 PM August 24, the premium cabler said today.
MGM Television and Paramount Television are producing the show hosted by former champion Andre “Son of God” Ward — who retired last year with an undefeated record.
The Contender will feature 16 fighters pushing their limits in grueling elimination-style fights and testing their grit and determination to achieve their boxing dreams. The fighters will be overseen by legendary boxing coach Freddie Roach and renowned Philadelphia trainer Naazim Richardson.
MGM Television and Paramount Television are producing the show hosted by former champion Andre “Son of God” Ward — who retired last year with an undefeated record.
The Contender will feature 16 fighters pushing their limits in grueling elimination-style fights and testing their grit and determination to achieve their boxing dreams. The fighters will be overseen by legendary boxing coach Freddie Roach and renowned Philadelphia trainer Naazim Richardson.
