The Contender season 2
- For other uses of this term, see Contender.
| The Contender season 2 | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Mark Burnett |
| Starring | Sugar Ray Leonard. |
| Country of origin | USA |
| Production | |
| Running time | Varies |
| Original release | |
| Network | ESPN |
| Release | 2006 – Present |
The Contender 2 is a reality television show based on the sport of boxing, but with an element of the (welterweight) competitor's lives and relationships with each other within the show's living quarters, based in Pasadena, California. The winner of The Contender Season 2 will be decided in a fight at the Staples Center, Los Angeles, and receive US$500,000. The Contender 2 is shown on ESPN in the USA, in the UK on ITV4, in Canada on TSN, in Australia on FOX 8 and on AXN in Asia.
The show takes the format of a gameshow, with the boxers divided into two teams (blue and gold) in a "playground pick" on the first episode. These teams compete for the right to choose which of their team members fights that week, and who he fights against. The second half of the hour long episodes are mostly taken up with that fight: the loser is eliminated.
The program is hosted by Sugar Ray Leonard, former champion boxer. Sylvester Stallone, who famously portrayed the boxer Rocky Balboa in the Rocky series of films, is the show's executive producer. It is being produced by Mark Burnett.
Contestants
|
Blue Team |
Gold Team |
Episode guide
Episode one
Aired 7/18/06 in the US.
The Contenders arrive and are split up into their teams before moving into a communal loft apartment: the teams each have a large room to themselves for sleeping and strategy. They spend a day training and sparring, then are woken at 5 AM the next day for roadwork.
The first fight is chosen by volunteers from each team. Michael Clark represents Gold and Cornelius "K9" Bundrage for Blue. Clark apparently underestimated Bundrage in the first 2 rounds, but then came back to win 2 of his own, in front of his adopted father/boxing coach and fiancee, until Bundrage throws a punch to knock Clark down in the fifth round, securing the win by majority decision (2 judges saying he won, 1 saying it was a tie).
Winner: Blue
Episode two
Aired 7/18/06 in the US.
The blue team were rewarded for their victory in the first fight with a dinner with Alfonso Gomez. Cornelius chooses to fight in the second fight of the second round. The blue team also get to choose this week's matchup. The gold team is shown weighing themselves in the trainer's room (they have to fight as welterweights, at 149 lbs). Rudy Cisneros is shown having difficulty making weight, weighing in at 160 lbs.
Norberto was chosen to fight Rudy, due to the weight problem. Rudy was shown running with a sweatsuit to lose the 10 lbs in 14 hours -- both fighters weighed in at under 149 for the bout.
To the fight then, where Norberto easily won rounds 1 and 2, and Rudy stepped it up to take rounds 3 and 4. However, Norberto had enough energy to take the final round, and won by split decision, with judge Max DeLuca scoring 49-46 Norberto, judge Lou Moret scoring 48-47 Rudy, and judge Fritz Warner scoring 49-46 Norberto.
Winner: Blue
Episode three
Aired 7/25/06 in the US.
Norberto chooses to place himself in the last fight of the second round. Some of the members of the blue team question his choice, noting that fighting last in the second round means a long rest between the first round and the second, but very little between the second and the third.
In the loft, there is a lot of trash-talking by members of both teams, setting the stage for a rivalry between Grady and Vinroy -- Vinroy accuses Grady of trying to duck out on fighting him, while Grady reminds the gold team that blue makes the decisions for this fight. There is a training scene, where Alfonso Gomez spars with several contestants. Then, Aaron is chosen to fight Gary.
Gary's plan for the fight seems to be to go for a quick KO, punching hard, while Aaron is trying to box and bob his way inside Gary's reach and hold his arms when he swings big. The first round, Gary is shown landing some large shots to Aaron, but Aaron is effective at tying the bigger man up and lands some bombs of his own. In the second, Gary is the aggressor, while Aaron seems to be mostly bobbing and weaving out of the way of punches. Same for the third round, where Aaron accidentally grabs Gary's knee and lifts, knocking Gary down. Between rounds, Gary is shown bleeding, while Aaron is merely sweaty. In the fourth round, Aaron seems to hurt Gary, then slips and falls. In the fifth round, both boxers stand toe-to-toe and slug -- the ring announcer refers to it as "boxing in a phonebooth." The final result is Dr. James Jen-Kin 48-47 for Balletto, Marty Denkin 47-48 for Torres and Chuck Hassett 48-47 Balletto.
Winner: Gold
Episode four
Aired 8/1/06 in the US.
While the gold team lauds Gary on his victory, Blue discusses the implications of Aaron's loss. Grady uses the opportunity to again insult Aaron, saying he should have been the one to fight instead of Aaron. The gold team are all given Polaroid digital cameras as a reward, and Gary also receives a framed photo of the fight. Saying it was partially due to the injuries suffered in the battle against Aaron, Gary chooses to fight in the last bout of round two, against Norberto, who says that his plan is to try and re-open the cut by Gary's left eye.
There is a training sequence, first the contestants have to stack tires in a truck with Tommy, then hit focus mitts with Jeremy. Walter is shown working hard at training, while Andre is shown as much slower and less enthusiastic. Grady spends some time talking with his family, and the teams then discuss who's fighting next. The blue team expects Vinroy to call out Grady, but the gold team uses the power to choose to play head games with the blue team. Instead, Walter toes the line, and chooses to fight Andre. There is also a scene showing a close relationship between Cornelius and Andre, where Cornelius discusses the Bible with Andre and even says he is like "a little brother".
In the fight, Andre is knocked down in the 1st round. It seems Walter has a good chance to win the match by KO, but he gets cocky and shows off some instead. Andre never manages to win a round; Walter wins 50-44 on all three cards in the show's first unanimous victory.
Winner: Gold
Episode five
Aired 8/8/06 in the US.
There is a recap of the previous action, then in-ring congratulations to Walter from his girlfriend and Sugar Ray. Back at the loft, the contestants await Walter's return, and they laud him when he comes up the elevator. "Sugar" Shane Mosley arrives with the reward for the victorious Gold team -- designer leather jackets and sunglasses for everyone.
There is a training sequence, with various contestants sparring with Mosely, including Walter (who uses the opportunity to try and showcase his talents). Then, they are shown running behind Tommy in a pickup truck, and Alfonso Gomez is shown sparring with them. Walter and Cornelius exchange words, setting up another rivalry on the show. The time comes for selecting the position that Walter will fight in for the quarterfinals; he indicates that he's torn between fighting first and fighting against Cornelius; when he puts his plate in the slot for week nine, Cornelius taunts him, saying "smart choice," and Walter decides to change his decision; he will fight Cornelius in the quarterfinals.
Then, the fight selection for this episode; Vinroy calls out Grady. Grady is shown talking to his wife and kids, while Vinroy calls his family back in Jamaica. Just before the fight, he is surprised by his wife and two girls showing up in the locker room. The fighters talk about their plans, and Jeff Goldblum is shown in the audience just before the introductions. Grady apparently wins the first round handily, cornering Vinroy and out-punching him; the second round has the same theme, with Grady cornering Vinroy and not letting up. In the third round, Vinroy "accidentally" headbutts Grady, cutting him by his right eye. The referee pauses the bout for the doctor to examine Grady, who is deemed fit to continue. Vinroy appears to win this round, coming behind his jab to score. Grady fights defensively in the fourth round, but Vinroy appears unable to capitalize on it, sticking with the jab only. In the fifth round, both boxers stand toe-to-toe and slug it out, which is to Grady's advantage, being shorter; later on in the round, Grady chases Vinroy around the ring, catching him on the ropes to win the round. Grady wins by unanimous decision, Dr. James Jen-Kin scoring 48-47, with Marty Denkin and Fritz Warner both scoring it 49-46.
Winner: Blue
Episode six
Aired 8/15/06 in the US.
Grady is shown receiving six stiches near his eye, where Vinroy caught him with the headbutt. When he returns, he is lauded by his team-mates for his victory. The ceremony where he chooses a slot to fight in for the next round isn't shown in full like in previous weeks, but he chooses to fight in week eleven.
The contestants get to meet Willie McGinest, who gives the blue team designer wristwatches as a reward for Grady's victory. The contestants train, and talk about Steve Forbes' record. The blue team argue amongst themselves about who's fighting next. When the time comes to choose, Micheal Stewart chooses to fight Ebo. When the mens' wives are interviewed, it turns out that the two families have become close, and Ebo's wife hopes that the relationship will continue regardless of the outcome of the fight.
The morning before the fight, Micheal and Ebo have breakfast together, both commenting on how unusual it is to do so; they both say how much they respect each other in interviews.
In the first round of the fight, Ebo seemed to dominate, closing with jabs and forcing Micheal to the ropes; Micheal lands a couple of big shots, but not enough to win the round. In the second and third rounds, Ebo tries the same game plan, successfully, although in both cases, Micheal lands more big shots than Ebo; Ebo's volume wins out. In the fourth round, Micheal lands a huge left hook, stunning Ebo, and slowing him. After this point, every time they close, Micheal manages to land a power punch, culminating in a knockout punch coming from a left hook. Ebo manages to rise by the count of nine, but when he is asked to walk towards the referee, he stumbles and keeps his hands down, so the referee ends the fight at that point, 1:52 in the fourth round.
After the fight, both men talk with their wives and the camera, discussing their feelings about fighting a friend; Micheal seems especially broken-up, saying he'd have to pray for Ebo's family, and thanking the referee for stopping the fight before Ebo got hurt. Ebo is taken away in an ambulance as a precaution; the ring doctor indicates that he's worried that there might be slow bleeding in Ebo's brain.
Winner: Blue
Episode seven
Aired 8/22/06 in the US.
The contestants discuss the upcoming two bouts -- Freddy is unsure about boxing Steve, as Micheal was supposed to box Steve instead of Ebo. However, he says "to be the best, you've got to beat the best," referring to Steve's world title. Jeff and Nick wish each other luck, and we see the men's pre-fight routine; Nick trains, while Jeff relaxes.
After the fight selection (Freddy chooses Steve, and Nick defaults to fighting Jeff), Freddy has dinner with his family, who all express confidence in him.
On fight day, during the introductions for the first fight (Nick vs Jeff), we see Joe Pantoliano and Burt Reynolds in the crowd. The men square off in the center of the ring, trading punches, with Nick getting slightly the better of Jeff in both power and number of punches landed. Sergio and Sugar Ray comment on how good Nick's form is, and Sergio says to Burt that Nick won the round. The second round finds Jeff getting backed up by Nick, who seemingly lands body blows at will. Jeremy, Jeff's trainer, lets him know that he's down 2 rounds now. In the third round, Jeff seems to mount more of an offence, using his jab effectively to set up big punches, but Nick doesn't take it lying down, as he counters well throughout the round. Jeff is shown with a cut over his left eye in between rounds. For the fourth round, the two men again trade bows, perhaps a bit more evenly than in the first round; Jeff seems to think he won the round, as does Jeremy. Sugar Ray tells Burt that "this round here decides it." The men touch gloves and begin the round, which Nick seems to win handily, landing combinations at will, until Jeff's right hand finds Nick's left eye to slow him, opening a cut. They trade punches, where again, Nick does more work, leading to a unanimous decision win for Nick.
Winner: Blue
Episode eight
Aired 8/22/06 in the US.
In the second bout of the night, Peter Manfredo is shown in the crowd. Before the introductions, Steve says "none of the other contenders called me out. I want to show them why they didn't..." The first round has a lot of action, with Freddy landing a series of powerful overhand rights just before the bell. In the second round, Steve twice winds up landing a series of left and right hook combinations, easily winning the round. The third round has Freddy landing more blows, using his jab to set up body punches. The round ends with Steve throwing a flurry, and Gary saying he's unsure who won the round. The fourth round finds Steve trading, taking a jab from Freddy to land a hook of his own. He lands a huge uppercut after the boxers seperate from a clinch. In the final round, Steve shines, effectively avoiding Freddy's punches to land his own seemingly at will; the few punches Freddy lands wind up on his shoulders and elbows, not on target at all. Steve winds up winning a unanimous decision.
Winner: Gold
Tournament Tracker
While The Contender: Season 2 is a reality TV show, it does contain a serious competition with a proper format - a 16 man knockout tournament.
Preliminary Round
- 1. Cornelius (B) beat Michael C (G) by majority decision.
- 2. Norberto (B) beat Rudy (G) by split decision.
- 3. Gary (G) beat Aaron (B) by split decision.
- 4. Walter (G) beat Andre (B) by unanimous decision.
- 5. Grady (B) beat Vinroy (G) by unanimous decision.
- 6. Micheal S (B) beat Ebo (G) by KO.
- 7. Nick (B) beat Jeff (G) by unanimous decision.
- 8. Steve (G) beat Freddy (B) by unanimous decision.
(Numbers refer to the episode in which the fight took place.)
Quarter finals
Quarterfinal bouts are determined by the individual winner of each preliminary bout. The winner can choose which episode they will box in, and may choose their own opponent
- 9. Nick vs. Steve Steve won by majority decision.
- 10. Cornelius vs. Walter
- 11. Grady vs. Micheal
- 12. Norberto vs. Gary
(Numbers refer to the episode in which the fight will occur.)
Guest appearances
Trainers
Tommy Hearns