Contender

January 22, 2018 by Andy Dehnart Leave a Comment

The boxing competition that aired on NBC and was originally hosted by Sugar Ray Leonard and Sylvester Stallone is returning to TV.

February 5, 2012 by Andy Dehnart

The Contender season one and two cast member and boxer Jeff “Hell Raza” Fraza was killed early Saturday morning when he was hit by a commuter train in Haverhill, Mass. He was 34. His former girlfriend and mother of his son, Sylvia Pastrana, told the Boston Herald, “I was just told that he was walking… continue reading

December 3, 2008 by Andy Dehnart

The Contender 4 debuts tonight, and the show is on its third network in four seasons. The 12 episodes will air on Versus, formerly known as the Outdoor Life Network, on Wednesday nights at 10. But networks aren’t all it’s changed: the show has a new host, Tony Danza (who replaced Sugar Ray Leonard); new… continue reading

September 29, 2008 by Andy Dehnart

Besides changing networks and moving to Singapore, the boxing reality competition series The Contender will now be hosted by Tony Danza, of Taxi and Who’s the Boss fame. Danza, who was a professional boxer in the 1970s, replaces Sugar Ray Leonard, who has hosted the show alone since season two (Sylvester Stallone didn’t return after… continue reading

July 11, 2008 by Andy Dehnart

The Contender, which was cancelled by ESPN after two seasons, has found a third home: Versus, the network formerly known as OLN. For the fourth season, the network will move the show to Singapore and feature teams of American and international 200-pound cruiserweight boxers. In addition, starting at the end of this month, Versus will… continue reading

April 11, 2008 by Andy Dehnart

Mark Burnett’s boxing competition The Contender, which aired its second and third seasons on ESPN, plus an all-star season, has been cancelled by the network, but its producers say they’ll find another home for the show. “It was a hard decision to make. We were talking to [promoter Tournament of Contenders] about a renewal but… continue reading

January 4, 2008 by Andy Dehnart

Contender 2 fighter Norberto Bravo “was arrested on suspicion of beating his fiancee in front of the couple’s 4-year-old son, Tucson police said Thursday,” according to the Tucson Citizen. Norberto “Nito” Bravo Jr. was arrested “on misdemeanor charges of domestic violence assault, domestic violence criminal damage and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, Sgt…. continue reading

November 6, 2007 by Andy Dehnart

The third season of The Contender concludes tonight with a live fight at 9 p.m. ET. After three undercard fights, Sakio Bika and Jaidon Codrington will fight in Boston Garden for $750,000. The two “could conceivably battle to a draw,” but one comes into the fight with recent emotional trauma: “[d]uring the filming for the… continue reading

September 4, 2007 by Andy Dehnart

Mark Burnett’s Contender begins its third season tonight on ESPN, the series’ second on the network. The show debuts at 10 p.m. ET, concluding November 6 with a live fight finale. The new season focuses on 16 super-middleweight boxers, a new weight class. Also new this year is a $1 million prize and two new… continue reading

August 7, 2007 by Andy Dehnart

The new season debuts Sept. 4 at 10 p.m. ET and will be “the first to feature the full, uncut fights that will air on ESPN2,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. The 16 boxers will compete for $1 million, a $500,000 increase (although ESPN says the prize is $750,000). Also increasing will be the contestants’… continue reading

March 22, 2007 by Andy Dehnart

ESPN will soon air The Contender Challenge, a series of fights between veterans from the US show and UK boxers. But a third season of the reality series is also apparently in the works, and it may involve two major changes. The Contender 3 will leave ESPN and focus on heavyweight, not middleweight, fighters, Boxing… continue reading