The boxing competition that aired on NBC and was originally hosted by Sugar Ray Leonard and Sylvester Stallone is returning to TV.
Contender
Contender boxer Jeff Fraza killed by train
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
Contender 4 debuts on Versus with new host Tony Danza
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
Contender drops host Sugar Ray Leonard for Tony Danza, announces boxers
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
Versus acquires Contender, will film it in Singapore and air Contender Muay Thai
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
ESPN cancels The Contender because of low ratings
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
Contender Norberto Bravo arrested for misdemeanor domestic violence assault
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
The Contender 3 concludes tonight; finalist’s father committed suicide during production
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
The Contender 3 debuts tonight
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
ESPN renews The Contender for a third season; unedited fights will air on ESPN2
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
UK and US fighters face off in Contender Challenge tonight
Tonight at 9 p.m. ET, ESPN debuts The Contender Challenge, a six-episode competition series that pits veterans from the show against UK fighters. The series also airs on ITV in the UK, and features fights that took place March 30. The US fighters, led by Sugar Ray Leonard, will fight in eight-round bouts. The one-hour… continue reading
Contender may move to HBO for its third season and focus on heavyweight boxers
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
Contender Challenge’s fighters announced
The seven Contender boxers who will take part in the upcoming Contender Challenge have been revealed. The show will feature fighters from the US series fighting UK boxers. The US series boxers who will participate are Jesse Brinkley, Cornelius Bunderage, Michael Clarke, Freddy Curiel, Alfonso Gomez, Jonathan Reid, and Walter Wright, according to frankwarren.tv. An… continue reading
Contender’s boxers will face UK fighters in ESPN’s The Contender Challenge
ESPN is bringing back The Contender, sort of, for a six-episode all-star series that will have boxers from the first two seasons fighting boxers from the UK. The Contender Challenge debuts April 10 on ESPN and ITV, and will feature fights from a single night of boxing, March 30. On that day, Sugar Ray Leonard… continue reading
Contender format sold to Thailand as kickboxing competition; other countries to come
Mark Burnett has sold The Contender‘s format to Thailand, where it will air not as a boxing competition, but as a kickboxing competition. The spin-off will be called The Contender Muay Thai, and “will begin production later this year,” Variety reports. “The series will air on Channel 5 in Thailand; discussions also are ongoing with… continue reading
Contender finale was ESPN’s highest-rated boxing show in nine years
The Contender 2‘s finale, during which Grady Brewer defeated Steve Forbes, was watched by 2.3 million people. That makes it “the highest-rated boxing telecast on ESPN in nine years, dating back to January 10, 1997,” the network said in a press release. The release suggests this may be good news for a possible Contender 3…. continue reading
Grady Brewer wins The Contender 2 by split decision
Grady Brewer won The Contender 2 by split decision, defeating Steve Forbes in what the ESPN commentators called an “upset.” Two judges scored the fight 96-94, but one for Forbes and one for Brewer. The other judge scored 97-93 for Brewer. He won $500,000 and a truck. In the undercard fight, K9 won by knock-out… continue reading
The Contender 2 concludes tonight with a live bout from LA
At 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT tonight, Steve Forbes and Grady Brewer will face off in The Contender 2‘s finale for the title and the $500,000 prize. (Since its move to cable, the show has gotten a lot cheaper, shedding cast members, challenges, and a half million dollars.) Steve and Grady will fight 10 rounds… continue reading
Contender producer says “NBC fucked up” and Jeff Zucker “is an idiot”
Jeff Wald, an executive producer of The Contender, and the man who came up with the initial concept, tells FightNightNews that “NBC fucked up” the show last season. Specifically, he says, the network aired the show against “some incredibly strong competition,” and “put it on three different days in three different time slots the first… continue reading
Two bouncers stabbed in bar fight where Jeff Fraza was watching his Contender loss
Two bouncers were stabbed in a bar fight that broke out at a viewing party for The Contender 2 that Jeff Fraza attended. At River City Billiards in Haverhill, Mass., “fans started throwing their own blows, overturning tables and smashing bottles” after Jeff lost on-screen, the Boston Herald reports. “Two bouncers who jumped into the… continue reading