The Contender
A reality television series that follows a group of boxers as they compete with one another in an elimination-style competition, while their lives and relationships with each other and their families are depicted.
In the fourth season of The Contender”, 16 of the world’s best cruiserweight boxers answered the call and flew across the globe to the island nation of Singapore, to fight, in hope of being the next Contender Champion. The 16 boxers stepped into the Contender Training Gym for the very first time meeting with host Tony Danza and trainers Tommy Brooks and John Bray. The fighters were welcomed to their new gym and to Singapore, their new home. In his address, Tony let the fighters in on his little known past: he was once a professional boxer, but ended up down a different path. Tony then introduced the two trainers. Training the Gold Team is Tommy Brooks, one of the biggest names in boxing. He’s trained Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield as well as the Blue Team’s trainer, John Bray. John was himself a former Heavyweight contender. Now, as a trainer, John faces Tommy as a student challenging his former teacher.
Setting the bar high for the rest of the fighters, Felix “Bad News” Cora Jr. gives a solid first match performance, out-boxing Joell Godfrey in 5 rounds of cruiserweight action. Felix’s victory now gives the Blue Team the first win of The Contender Tournament and the upper hand.
After a 5-round, lopsided brawl with the Gold Team’s Jon Schneider, Alfredo Escalera Jr. wins the second fight of the Contender Tournament and keeps the “Power of Choice” with the Blue Team.
Coming off the exciting Erick Vega vs. AK Laleye fight, the Gold Team has the power of choice for the first time. The mood in the loft has changed drastically, as the Gold Team celebrates their first victory in the tournament. They then get right down to business in discussing who their first target should be. Deon makes it clear he wants to fight, eying either Richard Gingras or Mike Alexander. AK, however, suggests that they should go after the “bleeding lamb”, Ryan Coyne because of the disrespect he’d shown Hino during training the day before.
It’s the fighter from the Gold Team, Deon Elam who raises his hands in victory over Richard Gingras. It’s all tied up with 2 wins apiece, and the Gold Team, once again, has the power of choice.
Facing the knock-out power of Darnell “Ding-a-ling Man” Wilson, Ehinomen “Hollywood Hino” Ehikhamenor gives a safe but smart performance and out boxes Darnell in 5 rounds of boxing. The Gold Team walks away with their 3rd victory in a row and retains the power of choice.
After stopping veteran fighter Lawrence Tauasa with a deadly right hook in just the second round, Troy Ross brings home an impressive TKO victory, keeping control of the Power of Choice and winning the fourth consecutive fight for the Gold Team.
The eight remaining fighters are treated to a Singaporean reward, and the 2nd round of the Contender Tournament begins with a match up of tournament favorites.
A new grudge is forged when the fighters are forced to make a decision that will change the tournament. Alfredo Escalera and AK Laleye finally settle their differences in the ring.
Given a second chance at the Tournament, Joell Godfrey trains hard to prove himself in his upcoming fight. With a spot in the Final Four at stake, Hino Ehikhamenor takes on Deon Elam, and Rico Hoye fights Joell Godfrey in a Double Header.
In the semi-finals double-header, the final four take to the ring for their shot at fighting live at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods for the title of Contender Champion.
Tryouts for the new season begin.
Training continues and the boxers are treated to a visit from Oscar De La Hoya.
A five-round fight between super middleweights.
Boxers contend with problems in and out of the ring.
With power in the blue teams hand they get to choose the last two fights with four people left, Sakio Bika and Paul Smith of the blue team and David Banks and Donny McCrary of the gold team. Blue Team decides Sakio will face Donny and Paul will face David.
The last of the first-round fights determines the semi-finalists.
Former contenders fight live including Alfonso Gomez vs. Ben Tackie.
This is the first of the two semi-final fights. Wayne Johnsen vs Jaidon Codrington
The Second Contender Semi Final Sakio Bika vs Sam Soliman
The Contender: Finale The final Bout, and all the runner-up fights. The final fight, possibly one of the greatest fights of all time? The judges scorecards are in and EVERY ROUND COUNTS! Final: Jaidon Codgrington Vs Sakio Bika Sam Soliman Vs Wayne Johnson David Banks Vs Donny McCrary
Walter Wright vs. Anthony Small
Freddy Curiel fights Ross "The Boss" Minter.
The USA's Alfonso Gomez takes on the UK's Martin Concepcion.
Team USA's Jerson Ravelo takes on Paul Buchanan from Team UK.
Jesse Brinkley from Team USA takes on Team UK's Robin Reid.
Cornelius Bundrage vs. Colin McNeil
This is the first episode of "The Contender: Season 2". It introduces 15 new boxers and one familiar boxer from season 1, all competing to become the next Contender Champion. This episode features the first fight of the season between Cornelius "K-9" Bundrage and Michael Clark.
Part two of the season premiere, this episode features an all out boxing war between Norberto "El Gallito" Bravo and Rudy Cisneros.
Week 3 of The Contender found plenty of tension among the competitors. After harsh words between boxers, it was finally decided that Aaron Torres would fight for the Blue team, and he called out Gary Balletto.
More drama is brewing between Grady Brewer and Vinroy Barrett, but Walter Wright steps up for an "easy" fight, and challenges a dtermined, but ultimately not in shape Andre Eason.
Trouble is brewing between K9 and Walter, as Walter decides to fight K9 next round. Vinroy calls out Grady, and in a close fight Grady takes it home by Unanimous decision.
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Sixteen of the best middleweight fighters in the United States arrive in Los Angeles at the Contender Gymnasium. Each week, the boxers will train at this gymnasium and, with the support of their families who are now living close by, will vie to win $1,000,000 if they win a fight at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Teams are divided into East and West and in the first challenge, the winner of which decides the matchup for the fight that week (one fighter from each team), the players must haul three logs up a steep hill. West comes out victorious, and choose Alfonso Gomez and Peter Manfredo as the contenders of the night. In a suprising fight, Alfonso, with help from his father, mother and family, beats Peter, who has his wife and daughter to cheer him on.
The West once again wins the second challenge, a puzzle using flags, they again are allowed to decide the matchup for the week. Ishe Smith wimps out and the team reluctantly allows Jesse Brinkley to challenge veteran Jonathan Reid to the second round of fighting of the show. Tempers flare when Jesse accuses Ishe of betraying his team by rooting for Jonathan instead of himself. Later, in the second surprising upset of the game, Jesse Brinkley defeats Jonathan Reid in a close match of fighting.
The tension between Ishe and Ahmed reaches a boiling point when West wins the third challenge, a dodgeball game, and Ishe challenges Ahmed to the third boxing match. Though Ahmed starts out strong with a heavy barrage of punches in the first round, Ishe gets the last laugh when he wins the very personal match and gets the third spot into the quarter finals.
The teams reconvene after the fight between Ishe and Ahmed, and everyone seems glad that Ahmed was outed. Jeff begins to feel ill, and after consulting a doctor, he finds out that he has chicken pox and that he must leave the entire tournament. In his place, Stallone tells the remaining contenders to vote one person back into the game. Peter Manfredo, jr. from Episode 1 is voted back in with a vote of 8-4 (the other votes being for Jonathan Reid). Later, at the challenge, the East Coast pulls their car to the finish line the fastest, and they choose Najai Turpin to fight Sergio Mora. At the boxing match, Najai gives it all he has but is defeated by a surprisingly strong Sergio.
The first four Contender fights are recapped as Sylvester Stallone and Sugar Ray Leonard host, pointing out what went wrong about the fight, and what the winner did right.
Peter Manfredo, after being let back into the game, begins to feel "off." He has tasted his first defeat when Alfonso beat him, and he is afraid to lose again. At the challenge, which tests versatility, West wins again, and is able to choose the matchup for that night. Miguel Espino chooses to fight Manfredo. At the fight, Manfredo conquers his fears of losing and wins the match, sending an ashamed and sad Miguel packing.
After feeling their first loss of the game, the West Coast team set lineups for the next three weeks - beginning with Anthony (West) versus Jimmy. When West wins the challenge, Anthony chooses not to pick to fight Jimmy because Jimmy's arms are too long, and that challenges him. He does what is best for him, not for his team, and chooses to fight Brent Cooper, a former Alcoholic who turned to religion. That night, all of the other fighters - even Anthony's team - exclude him and wish Brent all the good luck in the world, leading to an explosive pre-fight press conference and an even more explosive fight - Anthony's determination results in a quick win, and only three out of the five rounds need to be fought. Brent is sent packing by Sly, and Anthony's team wishes bad luck upon him.
Tensions are still surrounding the West Coast from last week's "betrayal" with Anthony choosing not to fight Jimmy Lange. Ishe Smith opts not to take a part in the reward for Anthony's win, saying that he doesn't feel right celebrating a win that he didn't want. At the challenge, the teams knock down graffiti-covered walls and load their debris into the back of a new car, and in the end West wins, giving them a choice of the matchup, ultimatley deciding the matchup for the next week as well, by process of elimination. Tarick chooses to call out Juan, the youngest player in the game, and in the fight, Juan surprises everyone by beating Tarick. On his way out of the Contender Gymnasium, Tarick says that he feels relieved that he finally got his shot.
After his tough fight the week before, Juan De La Rosa feels terrible. The show must go on, however, and the remaining two contestants who have not won a fight, Joey Gilbert and Jimmy Lange, prepare for their fights. In the ring, Joey beats out Jimmy in a close fight, and Joey is given a ticket to the second round while Jimmy is sent home. After, Juan quits due to his injuries, and Sly and Sugar Ray take the remaining boxers to Caesar's Palace to give them a glimpse of what a champion's life is like - filled with girls, money, and greatness.
After returning home from Las Vegas, the fighters are forced to vote someone back into the competition. In order to throw Ishe off, a new alliance of Joey, Anthony, Jesse, & Peter vote Ahmed back into the game. In a turn of events, the challenge is completley individual, and the winner will make the choice of who will fight that night. In the first individual challenge, Jesse Brinkley defeats the competition and picks Sergio and Ishe to fight, knowing that Sergio will beat Ishe and send him packing. In the fight, Ishe is unable to conquer Sergio, and he is sent home, the first of the Round 2 fighers to do so.
Things take a turn to the good in the house when everyone is able to see their family during the next challenge of the competition. The challenge, to haul your family member around a horsetrack, makes Peter Manfredo into a winner, and lets him choose who would be fighting that night. He chooses Alfonso Gomez and Ahmed Kaddour to fight, and Alfonso easily claims victory, putting him into the final four instantly.
Since he beat Ahmed in the last challenge, Alfonso was able to choose someone for his reward. He picked Sergio (because Sergio picked him last time) and the two went on a shopping spree. With injuries abound, Anthony did not compete in the challenge, which Jesse won. Jesse, who makes sure he has the easiest fight the next week, matches up Peter Manfredo and Joey Gilbert, leaving Anthony and Jesse to fight next week. After a lot of training and some more inspiration from their families, Peter and Joey fight a good fight, but the two accidentally headbut, cutting Joey's face and ending the fight midway through the fifth round.
Despite being shaken up and being forced to lose ten pounds, so as to qualify for his weight range, Jesse goes through with his fight with Anthony, who has been training harder than ever in order to make his children proud. At the Pre-Fight Press Conference, Jesse and Anthony have a falling out, but at the fight, Jesse has the last word. He knocks out Anthony and becomes the final Contender player to make it to the Final Four.
The stakes are raised when the Stallone and Leonard announce that the last three fights will be seven rounds instead of the usual five, and that the matchups will be decided by the four boxers themselves - and all of the fighters would have to agree. A rematch is decided between Peter Manfredo Jr. and Alfonso Gomez Jr, who fight in their match at the end of this episode. Manfredo comes out the winner, sending him to the finals, and sending Alfonso packing.
Jesse, who knows that he has a big fight to win against Sergio if he wants to be a part of the finale, an amazing opportunity to win $1 million, feels exhausted after his fight with Anthony only days before. Despite support from both family and friends, Jesse gets beaten up badly by Sergio; Jesse comes out of the fight scarred and bruised. Sergio wins the seven-round fight, ensuring him a position in the prestigious final fight at Caesar's Palace.
In Las Vegas at Caesar's Palace, Sergio Mora and Peter Manfredo Jr. arrive to slug it out in a seven-round fight for $1,000,000. Preceded by a fight between Alfonso Gomez and Jesse Brinkley for the Bronze Medal, which Alfonso wins, the ultimate fight is tough and brutal. In the end, Sergio conquers Peter by a unanimous vote, and he becomes the one and only Contender.
In Las Vegas at Caesar's Palace, Sergio Mora and Peter Manfredo Jr. arrive to slug it out in a seven-round fight for $1,000,000. Preceded by a fight between Alfonso Gomez and Jesse Brinkley for the Bronze Medal, which Alfonso wins, the ultimate fight is tough and brutal. In the end, Sergio conquers Peter by a unanimous vote, and he becomes the one and only Contender.
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Release | 2005-03-07 |
| Producer | DreamWorks Pictures |