The Contender: Live Matches (updated 8/11/05)

Alcatraz · Post by **Alcatraz** » Wed May 25, 2005 4:35 pm

I saw some of it but then I started to lose track of when it was on. I saw a little but last night.

Gibbs' Hog · Post by **Gibbs' Hog** » Wed May 25, 2005 4:50 pm

REDEEMEDSKIN wrote:Did anyone else either watch the fights or the recaps on yahoo! ?

Bill Simmons and I can't possibly be the only ones who tuned in, could we have been?

It seems, by the type of responses posted to this thread, that you and that other guy actually are the only ones who watched the show. Sorry, Redeemed. At least the Family Guy's back!

JansenFan · Post by **JansenFan** » Wed May 25, 2005 4:52 pm

You mean "uncancelled"?

Gibbs' Hog · Post by **Gibbs' Hog** » Wed May 25, 2005 4:55 pm

Is that a word? Then, yes...uncancelled

They should do the same with the BS show.

JansenFan · Post by **JansenFan** » Wed May 25, 2005 4:59 pm

Not a real word; more like a word they made up to re-lauch Family Guy.

Oh yeah, and for the record, I didn't see any of the contender, except for the clips I saw when they were talking about the guy that killed himself.

REDEEMEDSKIN · Post by **REDEEMEDSKIN** » Wed May 25, 2005 5:02 pm

JF, for you and the other boxing fans on the boards, you really ought to watch the final fight from last night. It was pretty good.

I do have a question, though, I always thought fights were 10-12 rounds, why did they only fight 5 in the weekly competitions and 7 in the finals?

JansenFan · Post by **JansenFan** » Wed May 25, 2005 5:06 pm

I think every organization has the right to decide how many rounds each fight will be. In this case, it was likely to make the fights fit into a specific time limit and make the fights more exciting for television.

REDEEMEDSKIN · Post by **REDEEMEDSKIN** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 4:56 pm

Just read some good news about the show.

"The Contender" to begin second season on ESPN

"The Contender," the reality television series about professional boxers, will begin its second season in April 2006 on ESPN.

The network, Mark Burnett Productions, and DreamWorks Television made the announcement Thursday.

"The Contender" is an unscripted drama about the lives of 16 professional boxers as they compete for the chance to change their lives. The show will air as part of ESPN Original Entertainment (EOE) programming and be executive produced by "Survivor" creator Mark Burnett, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Sylvester Stallone. Casting and production on the series, which will air in primetime beginning April 2006, will begin immediately.

" 'The Contender' has all of the elements that make it the right fit for ESPN: compelling storylines, dynamic characters and suspense over the outcome," Mark Shapiro, ESPN executive vice president, programming and production, said. "This series speaks to our viewers' love for competition and their appreciation for triumph over adversity, and it goes without saying that the track record of Mark Burnett is exemplary -- a perfect match for the critical and ratings successes EOE has delivered in both scripted and unscripted drama."

Said Burnett: "Our vision from the onset was to improve the entertainment experience of televised boxing for the fans. What better platform to achieve that vision than on the network that pioneered sports television programming."

After being introduced to the contestants in the first episode, subsequent shows will see one or more boxers eliminated through ring competition. Viewers will see contestants training in the ring, living together in one house and witness their personal interactions, while learning the details of these men's lives and what led them to pursue their dreams.

ESPN has options to renew the series for two subsequent seasons.

[url=http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=2131600]Link[url]