The Contender on ESPN

[Lorena]

So is anyone watching this? I caught the first 5 minutes earlier and recorded the rest of the show.

[Raiders Army]

Yeah, it's not bad so far. My wife likes it as well. It's funny, but I was pretty pissed when I found out that I missed the beginning of the first episode, but then they've replayed the two shows a lot on ESPN. I saw they showed the episodes again on Saturday twice. I'm looking forward to tomorrow night.

[jbmagic]

So is anyone watching this? I caught the first 5 minutes earlier and recorded the rest of the show.


http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=51241&highlight=contender

[Raiders Army]

Sweet revenge on bumping some of his question threads. :)

[Ajaxab]

Kinda interesting what's happened to this show as it has migrated from NBC to ESPN. Much less human interest (fighters not spending the night before the fight with their families and the story that goes along with it) and more in the gym footage instead. I'm not sure it's an improvement as it was cool to get to know Sergio Mora, the fighter-intellectual and Peter Manfredo's family.

The second episode's fight was as good a fight as we're going to see on the show unless multiple knockdowns begin occurring and guys get up off the mat time after time.

[moriarty]

Ehh, I'd rather watch the Ultimate Fighter on Spike ... but that's just my opinion.

[Lorena]

Sweet revenge on bumping some of his question threads. :)

lol :)

It's cool, I deserve it

[LloydLungs]

One big improvement is the removal of the team challenges. That was just a pointless injury risk.

[Raiders Army]

I bought the 48 Laws of Power because of the first Contender.

[Raiders Army]

Pretty good Contender last night. I liked the fact that it was about 40 minutes into the show and they were going to show the fight for pretty much the rest of the episode. I thought the fight itself was too much of a slugfest. They weren't boxing.

Jeez, Aaron was just a dope in the ring. The old mickey guy had to tell him to get focused. The combo of his cheap shots (which there were many) and his take-down of Gary in the 2nd round is why he lost. I liked Gary, but he was too wild in the 1st round trying to go for the knockout. Aaron also fought Gary's fight. When he fought his fight, like in the 4th round, he totally pounded on him. Entertaining fight overall though.

[spleen1015]

Either of the 2 boxers last night would have lost to any of the 4 that fought previously, for sure.

[Raiders Army]

I don't know. Aaron looked pretty good when he was focused, but it was sort of hard to tell since they edit it so much.

[kingfc22]

That had to be the quicked 10 count I've ever seen. Sad to see Ebo lose as he was my pick to win it all.

[Lorena]

I seriously got all emotional and you're right, it was a pretty quick 10 count. I felt really, really bad for Ebo though. Antmeister mentioned that his face changed color and I had to rewind it to make sure and yup, after that blow his face had a shade of purple. Poor guy, I hope he's alright.

As of now, I don't see how ANYONE can beat the Tucson guy (can't remember his name right now). He has a vicious, vicious uppercut that can knock a guy into submission.

[spleen1015]

Ebo was clearly the better fighter last night.

It cracks me up when these guys do all of this talking and don't do a thing in the ring. Michael just got lucky. I would say overall he been the worse on the show so far, followed closely by Aaron.

[Lorena]

Sometimes all it takes is one good hit. I remember when Anthony Bonsante got knocked the hell out last season. He had his opponent beat and the other guy (can't remember who it was, Jesse Brinkley maybe?) got one good hit and BLAM, down goes Bonsante.

1 good hit

[Arles]

Ebo made the 10 count, but fighters are required to show the abiity to continue after they stand up to be allowed to keep fighting. The ref asked Ebo to walk to him with his gloves out and Ebo just stood there all jelly-legged. Had the fight been allowed to continue, Michael would have just slugged him once more and potentially injured Ebo as he couldn't protect himself.

I *think* the knockout would be scored as a TKO and not a normal KO since the ref made the determination to stop the fight after Ebo beat the count.

In any event, I doubt Ebo would have had a chance with the bigger punchers like K-9 or Balleto. Plus, Wright would have murdered him on skill. So, his best chance would have been to face Brewer or Bravo, but I wouldn't have given him more than a 50-50 shot against those guys. Overall, I thought he just didn't have the wind or chin to win a 5-round match. His shots had little power and he went for broke in punches in the first 3 rounds. If he had KO power, that might have worked but for all the opening Michael gave him, he barely wobbled him once.

[sabotai]

Ebo made the 10 count, but fighters are required to show the abiity to continue after they stand up to be allowed to keep fighting. The ref asked Ebo to walk to him with his gloves out and Ebo just stood there all jelly-legged.

Exactly. And every fighter knows this. That's why most of the times when a fighter gets up, the first thing he does is turn to the ref and look him in the eyes (and nod their head frantically to say "I'm fine! I'm fine!"). Ebo didn't do that. He got up, but kind of wandered a bit and when the ref finally got his attention, he just stood there. He was out on his feet.

I *think* the knockout would be scored as a TKO and not a normal KO since the ref made the determination to stop the fight after Ebo beat the count.

Correct. A KO is only when the fighter can not get to his feet before the ref gets to 10. If it's the ref decision to stop it, it's a TKO.

[Ramzavail]

I couldn't believe he knocked him out and it almost looked like he wasn't going to finish him off once he was wobbling.

But I think, while it was a good fight, these two guys would be plankton when it comes to K-9.

[Raiders Army]

Great fight last night. I really liked Freddie and think that he could've beat a lot of the guys still in the tourney.

[Arles]

Yeah, my favorites at this point are Wright and Forbes. I think K-9 has a puncher's chance but he would lose against both if he didn't get a knockdown. The rest seem like older journeymen without much upside.

[SunDevil]

Great fight last night. I really liked Freddie and think that he could've beat a lot of the guys still in the tourney.

Which is why one of the trainers mentioned that its better to fight in the first couple of rounds, so you can choose your opponent then wait till the end, and not have much of a choice.

I really liked Freddie, but he did take a beating last night.

[Raiders Army]

Yeah, my favorites at this point are Wright and Forbes. I think K-9 has a puncher's chance but he would lose against both if he didn't get a knockdown. The rest seem like older journeymen without much upside.
Wright was okay, but after his fight he turned pretty arrogant. Par for the course for boxers I suppose but it doesn't exactly endear me to him. Steve Forbes is my favorite right now.

[Grammaticus]

Is this show on tonight?

[Lorena]

Is this show on tonight?

It's on Tuesdays 10pm Eastern.

My favorites are Forbes, and that guy from Tucson (I keep forgetting his name). But Forbes especially, he has some wicked punches.

[SunDevil]

Is this show on tonight?

I know it comes on Friday, but like 4 or 5 pm PST. You could check ESPN's site for their TV listing.

[kingfc22]

Acevedo looked really good for most of his fight last night. Really looked like he was landing some hard shots.

Frobes and Wright are also the guys I see as the favorites. The K-9/Wright bout should be a dandy.

[Grammaticus]

I know it comes on Friday, but like 4 or 5 pm PST. You could check ESPN's site for their TV listing.
Good idea, for some reason I keep missing this and I loved the first Contender. Watched it religeously.

[Raiders Army]

It's on Tuesdays 10pm Eastern.

My favorites are Forbes, and that guy from Tucson (I keep forgetting his name). But Forbes especially, he has some wicked punches.
I really thought his uppercut was deadly. He was landing it on Curiel every time he threw it. I thought it was funny when he did that walk and just threw the uppercut. No combo, no set-up jab, just an uppercut.

Speaking of which, I notice that a lot of the boxers who lost in the 1st round of the tourney didn't throw the uppercut. Sorta says something, eh?

[Raiders Army]

Freakin great fight tonight. If Acevedo hadn't run out of gas, he would've won. That was by far the best fight out of Seasons 1 and 2.

[Grammaticus]

That was a sweet fight. I called Forbes and my wife was fo Acevedo. I thought she was going to win this one. But my man Forbes came through for me. Forbes was lazy in round one and three. Actually in round three I thought he was a bit out of it and at risk for a knockdown, whew.

[Lorena]

Yeah I was telling Antmeister that the 3rd round did Acevedo in. What a close, exciting fight! That Forbes guy dug deep and came out with some serious intensity.

Oh yeah, and Tucson won that Tundra... good for him! I can hardly wait to see K-9 and Kobe (Ant and I call him Kobe because he looks and acts like Kobe Bryant) fight next week; that's gonna be a good one too.

[Raiders Army]

I thought for sure Steve Forbes was going to have an easy win...guess I was wrong on that. By the same token, I was thinking Wright (I like Kobe as a nick) was going to have an easy win over K-9...I'm going to have to re-think that one.

[Grammaticus]

On a similar note, I saw Don King on Fox and Friends this morning with a 7' 2" Russian boxer, Nickoli or something like that. Has anyone seen this guy fight? Is he actually any good?

[sabotai]

On a similar note, I saw Don King on Fox and Friends this morning with a 7' 2" Russian boxer, Nickoli or something like that. Has anyone seen this guy fight? Is he actually any good?

Nikolai Valuev, and he barely beat John Ruiz by decision for his title. That pretty much says the answer to the last question is "not very". He did look better fighting Owen Beck...but then again, he was fighting Owen Beck.

Valuev is huge, has a ton of strength, but he's very slow. Basically, it's the punches you don't see that hurt you, and no one will ever not see a punch coming from Valuev. His stamina is also questionable. Against Maskaev or Lyahkovich, he could win. I'd say he probably beats Lyahkovich and probably loses to Maskaev, but has a good chance of winning. Against Klitschko, he loses badly.

[Grammaticus]

I'm going to have to try and watch some footage of him boxing. From your description, it sounds like what I would have expected, strong, but slow.

[Ironhead]

Nikolai Valuev, and he barely beat John Ruiz by decision for his title. That pretty much says the answer to the last question is "not very". He did look better fighting Owen Beck...but then again, he was fighting Owen Beck.

Valuev is huge, has a ton of strength, but he's very slow. Basically, it's the punches you don't see that hurt you, and no one will ever not see a punch coming from Valuev. His stamina is also questionable. Against Maskaev or Lyahkovich, he could win. I'd say he probably beats Lyahkovich and probably loses to Maskaev, but has a good chance of winning. Against Klitschko, he loses badly.

I haven't seen any of Lyakhovich outside of the Brewster fight but I was impressed. Then again, checking his background, it looks like he was in a close fight with "The Southern Disaster" before that so that can't be good. What makes you think the hairy giant beats Lyakhovich? Too much size?

[sabotai]

I haven't seen any of Lyakhovich outside of the Brewster fight but I was impressed. Then again, checking his background, it looks like he was in a close fight with "The Southern Disaster" before that so that can't be good. What makes you think the hairy giant beats Lyakhovich? Too much size?

One of the reasons he looked decent against Brewster was because Brewster suffered a detatched retina in the second round as was half blind for just about the entire fight.

I haven't seen much of Lyakhovich, and I haven't seen much of Valuev, so I'm going only off of what little I've seen and what I've read of them. I have a really strong suspicion of Lyakhovich's chin and power. To beat Valuev, you're going to need power to wear him down. Dancing around the ring isn't going to wear him out much because he looks like he conserves his energy very well. He doesn't waste his punches and he doesn't chase people. He plods forward methodically. Valuev doesn't look like he has any defense at all, and he gets tagged, but if those punches don't have power behind them, it doesn't matter.

That's why I think Klitschko beats him rather easily. I know Wlad has a knock against him for his chin, but other than the Sanders fight, I think most his problems were stamina, balance and defense and with Emmanuel Stewart, I think he's fixed those. (And then you have the Peter fight, in which he was sent to the canvas due to punches to the back of the head). I think Klitschko will just repeatedly drops that straight right bomb on Valuev until the giant either falls of the fight gets stopped.

Lyahkovich has only lost once, but it was a knock out lose to a journeyman fighter (Maurice Harris) who's only won half of his wins by KO, and Lyahkovich is the only contender worthy fighter he beat. Harris, since 2001, lost a landslide decision against Byrd, and was knocked out by Akinwande and Oquendo. Plus, Lyahkovich had that close decision with Dominick Guinn. And other than Guinn and Brewster, I don't recognize anyone on Lyahkovich's fight record.

So, in short, I don't think he has the power or the chin to stand up to Valuev, but I think Maskaev does. But thanks to there not being much info on these guys, or video avaiable, that's basically just a semi-informed opinion.

[Lorena]

That was an ugly ass fight. K-9 hit him hard, but I don't necessarily think it should have been unanimous because Walter fought well, he just got sucked into K-9's game.

Oh well, sucks to be Walter, he had a big 'ol slice of humble pie tonight. His girlfriend was all into it, I could never do that. I keep telling our 2 year old, "Landon, you will NOT be a boxer". I couldn't stand watching a loved one get hit.

Next week is a double-header and I can see Bravo winning it easily. Not entirely sure on the other fight though.

[kingfc22]

I hope Forbes kicks K-9's ass. K-9 is a weak boxer. He looks so awkward in the ring and all he has is his power.

[Lorena]

I hope Forbes kicks K-9's ass. K-9 is a weak boxer. He looks so awkward in the ring and all he has is his power.

Yeah, Antmeister and I were talking about how awkward he looked in the ring. K-9 is strong, but I doubt he'll get past Forbes... that guy's a beast.

[sabotai]

I was not impressed with either fighter. In cases like this, I want the guy with the more annoying girlfriend/wife to lose, so I'm glad K-9 won. :)

[Raiders Army]

Before the fight, I was telling my wife that K-9 was going to Mike Tyson him. He straight up brawled. My wife was also pulling for Wright but that was because she hadn't seen the episodes where Wright was being a cock to K-9 and Andre Eason in the ring (during Wright's first fight). I hated how he was calling Andre "Champ" and how he said that he didn't want his family to be there for his fights so he could concentrate. Well, I guess his uncle, mom(?), and girlfriend(?) showing up cost him the fight. :rolleyes:

I also hope that Micheal Stewart loses (yeah, that's the correct spelling). He got lucky against Ebo in the first round of the tournament.

[Arles]

I like K-9. I'm so tired of the "technical patters" like Wright who win fights and have losing opponents that look like they went for a night on the town (ie, no damage at all). It's refreshing to see the "old school brawler" who isn't much technically but can land some power shots and really throw someone off their game. If you watch the Eason/Wright and K-9/Wright fights back to back, it looks like two different fighters. The reason is K-9 came out and hit Wright with a couple early power shots that made Wright be a little more cautious. While that's not great "boxing technique", it can be just as effective as a more skilled puncher.

[Ironhead]

I will take a boxer over a brawler any day...

hxxp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYdUfFRVxzg

[Raiders Army]

I like the power shots as well. Either that or let's go back to bare-knuckle boxing!

[spleen1015]

Michael Stewart talks a lot of crap for someone who sucks as bad as he does. He should have been gone after the 1st fight, but got the lucky knock out.

He is definitely the worst fighter this season. Sheesh.

[Ramzavail]

Was that Glass Joe?




...oh my bad, that was Gary Balletto.

[Lorena]

I thought my boy "El Gallito Bravo" (which means "Brave Little Rooster") was gonna lose, I totally underestimated Balletto; had he landed more punches, I'm afraid Bravo would have gone home.

I'm glad to see old man Grady beat Michael. You're right, he talked a lot shit and didn't follow through.

Next week will be freaking awesome. I'm hoping for a Bravo vs. Forbes fight for the final.

[spleen1015]

I would like to see Bravo win it. I like his approach. He seems like the guy who has his head in it the most. He is very focused when he is in the ring. I think he will fight Forbes in the final and that fight will be a close one.

[SunDevil]

WTF.

Bravo won that fight against Grady, I can not believe the judges did not give it to him.

[kingfc22]

Hell of a fight between Bravo and Grady. Bravo had the early knockdown, but IMO Grady outworked him the final 4 rounds.

[Lorena]

I don't know the sport well enough to know if Forbes was kinda baiting K9 to hook him or what, but they kept stopping the fight which frustrated the hell outta me. Forbes is so quick with his flurry of punches you can hear the whoosh before they land.

I so wanted Bravo to win and am saddened for him but damn, Grady kept strong after the knockdown. I couldn't believe how they both had the energy at the end of the fight to punch like they did. Bravo Grady, you deserve it.

As good as Grady is, I can't see him beating Forbes, that guy is a force to be reckoned with.

[Raiders Army]

I was glad Forbes won his fight. I have no idea why the ref didn't take a point away from K9. That was bullshit that he got so many warnings and kept doing it. He even did it after the ref told him he was going to take a point away.

I wanted Bravo to win because I think it would've been a better fight between him and Forbes, but I liked both Bravo and Grady. Grady really impressed me since I figured he would be tired from his last fight, where he threw a lot of punches. He had the stamina and the testicular fortitude to come back from the round 1 knockdown.

I can't wait for next week. Does anyone know if there is an undercard like in the first Contender and if so, who is fighting?

[spleen1015]

The undercard will consist of fights between a few of the other guys on the show. The '3rd Place' fight will be right before the title fight. I don't think the undercard will be shown on the telecast, but you can see all of the fights on ESPN.com starting at 8:15. I think there are 4 undercard fights.

[Raiders Army]

The K9/Bravo fight was pretty good last night. The Forbes/Brewer fight was okay and a lot more like real boxing than the previous Contender. I think the Bad Boy could beat the Latin Snake easy.

I'd probably pay for a Contender Season 1 vs. Season 2 PPV.