ESPN has bumped The Contender 2‘s debut to July from April, when it was originally scheduled to debut.
This Sunday, however, the network will present a special event entitled “East Coast Pride,” a fight between Peter Manfredo, Jr., and Scott Pemberton. The fight will air live from Providence, Manfredo’s home base, at 9:30 p.m. ET.
Manfredo tells the Providence Journal that, although he’s now lost two show-related fights, he’s not unhappy. “I lost but I won, too. Now the producers of the show are letting me call the shots and I was able to bring the show to Providence. I have to thank the people of The Contender for that, and they got me the publicity and got my name out there.” The $250,000 he won probably didn’t hurt, either.
Still, he’s fighting Sunday in part to prove that he’s better than Sergio Mora, who defeated him twice. “After the second Sergio fight, I felt ripped off and I want to prove to The Contender and to the world that I’m a true contender. That’s why I’m taking this step up. Scottie is better than Sergio, and when I win, I’ll prove that I’m the true contender. I am going to do whatever it takes to win this fight,” he told the paper.
